The Italian pledge credit hub strengthens. Value Custody Spa, the company born from the sale of the pledge branch of Unicredit to the Dorotheum and which became operational on 2 July last on the Italian market, acquires the business branch InPledge twigs Creval Banking Group. With the new acquisition, the company confirms itself as the European leader in pawn credit. The closing is expected by the end of 2019 but for those who have already entrusted themselves to InPegno, the acquisition will guarantee the circular renewal of the policies at any Creval branch, in addition to the future 43 Custodia Valore agencies. The 43 workers of InPegno will be absorbed by the new ownership.
“With the birth of Custodia Valore, just over a year ago, we declared that we were aiming for constant growth. Today, thanks to the acquisition of InPegno, our family is further enriched in terms of staff, reaching a total of 235 employees, and in branches throughout the area, reaching a total of 43. A path that will allow us to offer the market more advantageous and competitive for our customers,” said Andreas Wedenig, General Manager of Custodia Valore.
Custodia Valore was assisted by KPMG Corporate Finance, a division of KPMG Advisory SpA as financial advisor (M&A and Structuring of the Transaction), by KPMG SpA for transaction services and due diligence activities and by the Associated Law Firm Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria as consultant legal.
After the acquisition, the first steps of the new management will concern the revision of the operating system with the aim of optimizing the procedures and making them more efficient. The appraisal activity will also be developed, concludes the note, for the valorisation of the valuable assets involved and jewellery.
Pawn credit is a form of financing that does not require complex procedures since it does not provide for patrimonial investigations and is limited to the simple valuation of the asset: the sums are disbursed at the same time as the asset is sold as a pledge (jewelry, precious and valuable goods) . The pledge can subsequently be renewed, redeemed (which happens in 95% of cases) or, alternatively, it can be sold at auction.
