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LCM Joins KKR in Deal to Buy €1.9 Billion Orange Bank Loans

By Esteban Duarte and Jillian Deutsch
An Orange Bank sign outside the Orange SA headquarters in Paris, France, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Orange reported sales in line with its 2023 targets and just below analyst estimates in the first quarter, as a price increase to counter inflation led to a slight increase in the number of mobile customers who left the French carrier. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- European alternative asset manager LCM Partners Ltd. is joining KKR & Co in a deal to buy about €1.9 billion ($2 billion) of loans from Orange Bank SA as the unit of the French telecoms company pulls out of the financial services market.

London-based LCM Partners, which is partly owned by Brookfield Asset Management, will take roughly a third of the transaction, according to people familiar with the matter. KKR is set to lead the group of investors in the deal, which is likely to be completed in the coming days, the people said.

KKR has been working with Morgan Stanley on the deal, Bloomberg News reported in June. The transaction involves three portfolios, mostly comprising home and consumer loans, people familiar with the matter said at that time. 

Link Financial, a firm owned by LC Financial Holdings, which is also the parent company of LCM Partners, will be servicer of the transaction, the people said. Brookfield Asset Management increased its stake in LC Financial Holdings to 49.9% in 2021.

Rothesay, a pensions insurance specialist, is providing the financing for KKR’s proposed transaction, the people said. 

Representatives for LCM Partners, Orange Bank, KKR, Morgan Stanley and Rothesay declined to comment.

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