Mogo Finance group, one of the largest European used car finance groups, has announced it is planning to acquire two lending companies – Kredo and Tigo. Both companies currently are part of Finitera group. The acquisitions are subject to regulatory approval.

Finitera has been seeking a strategic investor since the beginning of 2020. Its management team came to the decision to sell both companies in order to ensure the ability for them to return back to a sustainable growth phase as well as to enable them to further strengthen their business model and product offering in Albania and North Macedonia markets.

The acquisitions are a result of a thorough evaluation of growth and synergy opportunities for Tigo and Kredo, and possible market consolidation by Mogo Finance group*. If approved, the acquisitions will not affect current Mogo car loan portfolio development in both markets.

The applications for the shareholder change will be submitted to the national regulators shortly, and the initial feedback from both regulators is expected still this year.

Until the regulators announce their decisions, nothing changes for investors on Mintos with active investments in Kredo, Tigo or Mogo issued loans. Once the acquisition has been finalized, Kredo and Tigo will no longer have standalone Mintos risk ratings, as both companies would be assigned the unified Mogo group rating. Loans issued by both companies would also be covered by the Mogo Finance group guarantee instead of the Finitera group guarantee.

Mintos will inform investors of the deals details and all acquisition-related changes on Mintos marketplace once the acquisition has been finalized.

About Mogo group

Mogo group was founded in 2012 in Latvia and joined the Mintos marketplace in 2015. The company now places loans on the marketplace in 5 currencies, originated in 11 countries. Mogo Finance has successfully funded € 100 million Eurobond on Frankfurt’s regulated market. Mogo has been recently listed on Financial Times 1000 Europe’s fastest-growing companies (1 of only 27 companies from Baltic states and the only company from Baltic states with an annual turnover of more than € 15 million). As of the end of December 2019, Mogo group had a net loan portfolio of over € 189 million across its operations (see more of the Mogo Group Consolidated report of 2019). See company’s latest financial statements in the Mogo Group unaudited report for the six months ended 30 June 2020). Some of the equity investors of Mogo Finance group and Mintos overlap.

*North Macedonia is one of the operational markets of Mogo Finance. Loans issued by Mogo Finance in North Macedonia are not listed on Mintos.

About Kredo

Kredo Finance is an alternative financial institution licensed by the Bank of Albania in 2017 with more than 95 thousand customers and 36 physical branches across Albania. In 2019 Kredo was awarded with the Albanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry curated “Best Customer Service” prize. Arlinda Muja, the CEO of Kredo is the current president of Albanian Microfinance Association, that way contributing to the development of the whole industry and fruitful cooperation with legislative and regulatory authorities. See more details in the financial statements and independent auditors report Kredo Finance S.H.P.K. ending 31 December 2019 and Kredo Finance S.H.P.K. Unaudited Financial Statements on 30 June 2020. Some of the equity investors of Kredo and Mintos overlap.

About Tigo

Tigo is a lending company offering easy and fast solutions for micro-crediting of individuals. The company was licensed in 2017, with more than 55 thousand customers and 8 physical branches across North Macedonia.  The CEO of Tigo is Filip Dimitrovski. Tigo is the founder and member of the Association of Financial Companies in North Macedonia and is committed to responsible lending, long-term cooperation and positive assessment by its clients and market regulation institutions. See more details in the financial statements year ended 31 December 2019 and Tigo Finance Dooel Skopje Unaudited Financial Statements on 30 June 2020 (second part of the document). Some of the equity investors of Tigo and Mintos overlap.