CURO Group Holdings Corp. (CURO) Announces Transformational M&A Transactions

CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) (“CURO”), a tech-enabled, omni-channel consumer finance company serving non-prime and prime consumers in the U.S. and Canada, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Legacy U.S. Direct Lending business to Community Choice Financial, a consumer financial services company based in Dublin, Ohio, for total cash consideration of $345 million, $35 million of which will be payable over 12 months under a Transition Services Agreement. CURO also has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire First Heritage Credit, a consumer lender that provides near-prime installment loans along with customary opt-in insurance and other financial products, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi. The total purchase price is $140 million in cash.

“In late 2021, we acquired Heights Finance, a leading near-prime installment lender, signifying our entry into this broader consumer lending market in the U.S.,” said Don Gayhardt, Chief Executive Officer of CURO. “Continuing on that strategic shift, today we are announcing that we are selling our legacy storefronts and online businesses in the U.S., which operate under the Speedy Cash, Rapid Cash and Avio Credit brands, and we are purchasing a U.S. based near-prime installment lender, First Heritage Credit. Together, these transactions completely transform our U.S. direct lending business to a near-prime installment lender offering larger loans. These three transactions have strategically recast our U.S. direct lending business in less than a year’s time.”

The transactions have been approved by CURO’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of Community Choice Financial and First Heritage Credit, respectively. Both transactions are expected to close within the next 45 days, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Advisors

Jefferies LLC served as financial advisor and King & Spalding LLP served as legal counsel to CURO in these transactions. Stephens Inc. served as financial advisor and Morrison Foerster served as legal counsel to Community Choice Financial. Stephens Inc. served as financial advisor and Butler Snow served as legal counsel to First Heritage Credit.

Investor Conference Call

CURO will hold a conference call to discuss the transactions at 8:00 a.m. ET today. The call will include a discussion of the transactions followed by a question and answer session with management from CURO. You may access the call at 1-833-953-2430 (1-412-317-5759 for international callers). Please ask to join the CURO Group Holdings call. To access the live webcast, interested parties are invited to visit the investor relations section of the Company’s website at http://ir.curo.com/. A supplemental investor presentation providing more details of the transactions is available in the “Events & Presentations” section of CURO’s Investors website at https://ir.curo.com/events-and-presentations.

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