A consortium of partners comprising APS, Balbec Capital and Nomura has completed the acquisition of VB-Leasing International Holding, a leasing company operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The net asset value, when the economic benefit passed to the partners was €111 million.

APS and its partners have acquired VB-Leasing, a company headquartered in Vienna, together with its operational subsidiaries in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia, with nearly 20,000 vehicles under management.

“The transaction, combining the acquisition of the holding company in Austria with 4 operating leasing companies across Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosia and Herzegovina, confirms our position as a leading investor and asset manager in portfolios of loans in emerging Europe. It also proves our expertise in the area of management and advisory services related to performing loans, on top of the traditional NPLs business,“Martin Machoň, CEO of APS, stressed the significance of the transaction.

”APS has, in cooperation with its partners, successfully completed, from a managerial point of view, an extraordinarily complex transaction, which is an enormous team accomplishment.“ Viktor Levkanič, Chief Investment Officer of APS, added.

Nomura, a global investment bank, and Balbec Capital, an American investment firm that has invested over $2 billion in fourteen countries since 2010, are also involved in the transaction. APS continues its successful journey commenced in 2016, from when the firm expanded its operations to Croatia, Hungary, Cyprus and Greece.

Nomura is an Asia-headquartered financial services group with an integrated global network spanning over 30countries. By connecting markets East & West, Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through its four business divisions: Retail, Asset Management, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking), and Merchant Banking. Founded in 1925, the firm is built on a tradition of disciplined entrepreneurship, serving clients with creative solutions and considered thought leadership.

Balbec Capital LP is a global private investment firm with expertise in sourcing alternative credit investments, with a focus on obligors or assets in bankruptcy proceedings, restructuring, or some other form of distress. Founded in 2010 by a senior management team that helped pioneer investment opportunities in consumer insolvency assets, Balbec capitalizes on its extensive transactional experience, global infrastructure, strategic partnerships and proprietary analytics. The Firm’s global platform enables it to rotate capital to attractive risk-adjusted investment opportunities, while maintaining intense focus on capital preservation and mitigating downside risk.

​APS is a leading CEE/ SEE distressed debt investment advisor and manager with headquarters in Prague and staff of more than 800 professionals in 15 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia. APS was founded in 2004 and has acquired portfolios of distressed loans in the last 14 years in excess of €8.1bn nominal value of acquired debt.