Bain Capital Credit Invests in Greek Leasing Business from Credit Agricole

LONDON – 10 November, 2014 – Bain Capital Credit, formerly known as Sankaty Advisors, has made a substantial investment in Credit Agricole’s Greek leasing subsidiary, Credit Agricole Leasing Hellas.

The company extends leases to finance the acquisition of real estate and machinery & equipment. The business has approximately €450 million of finance lease receivables, relating to nearly 2,000 contracts across Greece. This includes approximately 150 properties, such as offices, retail units, supermarkets, warehouses and industrial sites, concentrated in Athens and Thessaloniki.

The acquisition of Credit Agricole Leasing Hellas is a landmark transaction in the Greek market, with international investors purchasing all of the shares in a licensed leasing entity. The transaction was approved by the Bank of Greece.

Following the transaction, the company’s name has changed to Hellas Capital Leasing and it will be led by a Greek team.

“We are delighted to be making this unique investment in Greece,” said Alon Avner, a Managing Director and Head of Bain Capital Credit's European business, which has acquired portfolios worth €2.4 billion from European banks over the last three years. “Whilst market conditions remain challenging, we are excited to play a part in Greece’s recovery and provide fresh liquidity to the market. Hellas Capital Leasing is well-positioned to find the right solutions for the existing portfolio and pursue the acquisition of further portfolios in the context of continued bank deleveraging, servicing of third-party assets and new business ventures as the opportunities arise both in Greece and elsewhere.”

Bain Capital Credit was advised on the transaction by a number of best-in-class firms. Atria Group (member of the CBRE affiliate network) provided real estate valuation advice, whilst Karatzas & Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP provided legal assistance. Other financial due diligence and advisory was performed by KPMG and Deloitte. Egon Zehnder also provided support to the investors.

About Bain Capital Credit

Bain Capital Credit, formerly known as Sankaty Advisors, is one of the world’s leading private managers of fixed income and credit instruments. Founded in 1998 and now managing more than $26 billion of assets, Bain Capital Credit has an integrated team of more than 230 people that enables the firm to invest up and down the capital structure and to conduct rigorous, independent analysis of thousands of corporate issuers. Bain Capital Credit invests in a wide variety of securities and investments globally, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed and stressed debt, mezzanine debt, structured products, real estate and equities. An employee-owned private partnership, the firm has offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Luxembourg, Dublin, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Bain Capital Credit is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bain Capital Credit, Ltd., is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, please visit www.baincapitalcredit.com.

Bain Capital Credit’s European team, consisting of more than 30 professionals based in London, has a successful 12-year track record of investing in European leveraged loans, high yield bonds and mezzanine capital, and currently manages investments in approximately 100 companies.

This press release has been updated to reflect the new business unit name, "Bain Capital Credit," which was changed from "Sankaty Advisors."