PIMCO, Fortress finalise UniCredit loan purchase

PIMCO and Fortress Investment Group have completed the purchase of two respective non-performing loan portfolios from Italian bank UniCredit. The purchase was initially announced at the end of 2016.

The portfolios together consist of €17.7 billion in loan assets, according to an announcement from UniCredit. Further terms of the transactions, including how much the two asset managers paid for the portfolios, could not be determined by time of
publication.

The firms initially announced the transaction in December 2016. At the time the intention, according to UniCredit, was to place the loans into two separate vehicles in which both PIMCO and Fortress would hold a majority stake. Under this arrangement, it was announced UniCredit would hold a minority stake in the two established vehicles.

The bank has now announced it will potentially seek to reduce its minority stake in the loans during the latter part of 2017. It has also noted asset-backed securities are likely to be issued by the two vehicles holding the loans by the end of July.

The sale of non-performing loans is part of UniCredit’s strategic business plan. The bank has previously looked to rid itself of underperforming assets. This has included the sale of a stake in Polish bank Bank Pekao as well as the sale of US-based asset manager Pioneer Investments.

Spokespeople from PIMCO, Fortress and UniCredit did not respond to calls seeking additional comment by time of publication.