Bankinter Consumer Finance and Sonae set up a joint venture with the aim of creating Portugal's leading consumer-credit institution

Bankinter Consumer Finance and Sonae have reached an agreement to set up a joint venture , which will become the first consumer-credit institution on the Portuguese market.

Sonae will sell a 50% stake in Universo, the entity that manages this group's financial services, to Bankinter Consumer Finance.

Under the agreement, Portugal's leading consumer-credit institution will be created, which will have Sonae and Bankinter Consumer Finance as its shareholders, with both companies owning a 50% stake each.

Universo currently has over one million customers and a loan portfolio worth approximately 400 million euros.

Bankinter Consumer Finance, Bankinter's consumer-credit subsidiary which operates in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, is one of the flagship institutions for this sector in the Iberian market.  At the end of the 2022 financial year, excluding Avant Money mortgages in Ireland, Bankinter Consumer Finance has a portfolio of 3.9 billion euros, which is up 26% on the previous year.

In Portugal, it has approximately 100,000 credit cards and a wide range of co-branded cards with other partners.

The underlying value of Universo's own funds within this transaction is approximately 45 million euros, with 50% of Universo's share capital being sold for an estimated value of 19 million euros under this deal. On top of this amount, the agreement also includes the payment of up to an additional five million euros, which are contingent and deferred for five years following the finalisation of the deal.

Alfonso Saez, Chief Executive Officer of Bankinter Consumer Finance, stated that "the partnership with Sonae will help us to strengthen our position within the Portuguese consumer-credit market, where we have performed excellently in recent years, and will continue to do so working hand in hand with a major business group in the country like Sonae".

Alberto Ramos, Country Manager for Bankinter Portugal commented that "the agreement with Sonae and setting up this joint venture between the two companies is an opportunity for Bankinter to grow in Portugal, helping it to establish a stronger positioning and specialisation on Portugal's consumer-credit market, and reach out to more customers and partners, who will benefit from the experience and combined knowledge of Bankinter Consumer Finance's and Sonae's teams".

João Dolores, Sonae's Chief Financial Officer, said that "the agreement that we have now reached with Bankinter sets out to create Portugal's leading consumer-credit operator, building on its digital positioning and helping to boost the performance of the group's businesses and its ecosystem of partners".

The announced deal will be finalised should the standard requirements for this type of deal being fulfilled, including the relevant regulators approving it.