Media Report: Baycorp Collection Sale Backfires

Oh the awkwardness: having to return the already drunk champagne to the bottle, having to deflect the compliments from well-meaning well-wishers not up on the news, having to return the money, already spent, from that sale once thought a “sure thing.”

Welcome to the world of Baycorp Advantage.  Or, rather, Veda Advantage, since that’s the new name Baycorp will soon be going with.  According to a story running in the National Business Review, that sale may have backfired.

In June of 2006, Baycorp sold its debt collection business, Baycorp Advantage Collection Services, to Trans Tasman Collections – a consortium including Allco Equity Partners and Deutsche Bank Capital Partners.

It was a honey of a sale, too: TTC was to pay the full asking price of $A97 million (US$75.6 million).  Which it did.  And there was much rejoicing on the Baycorp side, as one would imagine there would be.

However, now TTC is asking for some of that $A97 million back.  How much is not clear at the moment, but TTC is alleging that not all of the conditions of the sale have been met.