EQT VII to acquire leading specialist mortgage provider BlueStep Bank

• EQT VII to acquire Sweden based BlueStep Bank, the leading specialist mortgage provider in the Nordic region

• BlueStep Bank has pioneered the specialist mortgage market in Sweden and Norway, providing more than 29,000 customers with loans since 2005

• EQT VII will support BlueStep Bank on its continued growth and transformation journey by investing in the organization and supporting further expansion  

The EQT VII fund (“EQT VII”) and Bregal Investments (“Bregal”) announced today that EQT VII has entered into an agreement to acquire BlueStep Holding AB (“BlueStep Bank” or “the Company”) from funds managed by Bregal Capital LLP and advised by EMK Capital LLP, and other owners.

Since its foundation in 2005, BlueStep Bank has pioneered the specialist mortgage market in Sweden and Norway. By a differentiated approach to customer on-boarding and loan underwriting, focusing on the customer’s underlying loan servicing ability, BlueStep Bank has provided more than 29,000 customers with loans since inception, building a loan portfolio of SEK 13 billion. BlueStep Bank is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and has approximately 200 employees.

“We are very excited to become part of the EQT family”, says Öyvind Thomassen, CEO of BlueStep Bank. “EQT’s entrepreneurial approach, vast sector knowledge and digital capabilities will be of valuable support in our continued growth ambitions”.

Albert Gustafsson, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII, adds: “We are impressed by BlueStep Bank’s operations, track record and management team. The Company has created the specialist mortgage market in the Nordic region and has a market leading position today. We are convinced that EQT VII is the right partner to support the development of BlueStep Bank by focus and investment into further growth.”

Patrik Johnson, Partner at Bregal Capital LLP and EMK Capital LLP said: “BlueStep Bank is a responsible lender serving an important and growing niche. We are grateful to the management team for their significant achievement in building BlueStep Bank into what it is today and believe that they together with EQT have many exciting opportunities ahead of them”.

The transaction is subject to ownership approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and from competition authorities, and is expected to close during fourth quarter of 2017. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.

Contacts:

Albert Gustafsson, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII +46 8 506 553 44

Öyvind Thomassen, CEO BlueStep Bank +46 8 501 005 04

EQT Press Office +46 8 506 553 34

About EQT

EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 37 billion in raised capital across 24 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About BlueStep Bank

BlueStep Bank AB (publ) is a Swedish bank with presence in Sweden and Norway. The bank is specialized in catering for the growing share of the population that are not being served by traditional banks. BlueStep focuses on understanding each customers' situation and their future financial capabilities. BlueStep offers both lending products and deposits. The company has been operating since 2005 and have approximately 200 employees. The Company has its headquarter in Stockholm, an office in Helsingborg and a branch office in Oslo, Norway. BlueStep Bank is licensed by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. 

More info: www.bluestepbank.com  

About EMK Capital

EMK Capital LLP is an independent private equity firm, established to continue the investment track record of Edmund Lazarus (previously Founder and Managing Partner of Bregal Capital) and Mark Joseph (previously Founder and Partner at Oakley Capital Private Equity) and to continue to manage portfolio companies of Bregal Capital. EMK is focused on investing in businesses with unrecognised and/or hard to realise value and where EMK can support management teams in executing transformative change. The firm closed its first fund in May 2017 at its hard cap of £575 million.

More info: www.emkcapital.com

About Bregal Investments

Bregal Investments is a global private equity firm which has over US $10 billion in invested or committed capital. The firm invests through several dedicated funds including: Bregal Freshstream, a UK and Benelux focused middle market private equity fund, Bregal Unternehmerkapital, Equity Capital for mid-sized companies in German-speaking Europe, Bregal Partners, a North American middle market private equity fund, Bregal Energy, an Energy-focused private equity fund, Bregal Sagemount, a U.S. private equity fund for growth companies, Bregal Private Equity Partners, a global investor in private equity funds and secondaries.

More info: www.bregal.com