Asta Funding, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASFI) (the “Company”), today announced
the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary Simia Capital, LLC
("Simia") to continue its position as a leader in the personal
injury claims funding business.
The Company has been in the personal injury
funding claims business since 2011, operating through Pegasus
Funding, LLC ("Pegasus"), an 80% owned indirect subsidiary.
The Pegasus joint venture expires December 28, 2016, and will not
be renewed. Instead, the Company has made the decision to liquidate
its existing Pegasus portfolio and expand its position in the
personal injury claims business by forming Simia, a wholly owned
subsidiary.
Gary Stern, Asta Chairman, president and CEO
said, "We have enjoyed success over the last five years in the
personal injury claims funding business, and we have renewed our
commitment to this business segment by establishing a wholly owned
entity to conduct its operations moving forward. Effective
January 2, 2017, the Company will begin funding personal injury
claims through Simia. We are excited to expand our presence
in this business segment, and look to this as being an important
component of the Company's overall growth strategy."
As part of the formation, Simia has retained
former GWG MCA Capital, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Patrick F.
Preece, who joined Simia as its Chief Executive Officer on November
11, 2016 and has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the
Company, effective November 15, 2016. Mr. Preece was head of
asset securitization for Autobahn Funding, a $6 billion commercial
paper conduit for DZ Bank that specialized in alternative asset
classes. Throughout his career Mr. Preece has focused on the
origination and management of structured finance and asset-backed
lending with an emphasis on litigation finance.
Mr. Stern added, “Patrick has a wealth of
experience, exceptional industry knowledge and an in-depth
understanding of the marketplace. I am confident that
Patrick’s significant experience in structured settlements,
asset-backed lending and esoteric assets will enhance the Company's
position in the personal injury funding business, as well as other
asset classes that the Company may consider as future investments,
and will be a great addition to our existing management team.”
"I am honored and grateful to the board for the
opportunity to lead this new company. Our goal is to build on
Asta’s success by continuing to develop innovative and relevant
products for the litigation finance industry," says Patrick Preece.
Mr. Stern concluded, "We have been pleased with
our steady progress in the personal injury claims funding business,
our renewed commitment in this business positions the Company to
substantially grow market share in the coming years. We've
put together a talented management team, and an ambitious plan for
the future; one that is based on growing the business and creating
shareholder value."
About AstaAsta Funding, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASFI),
headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, is a
diversified financial services company that assists consumers and
serves investors through the strategic management of four
complementary business segments: Personal Injury Claims, Structured
Settlements, Consumer Debt and Disability Advocacy.
Founded in 1994 as a sub-prime auto lender, Asta now manages
business units that include funding of personal injury
claims through its 80 percent owned
subsidiary, Pegasus Funding LLC, and starting on January 2,
2017, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Simia Capital,
LLC; structured settlements through its wholly owned
subsidiary, CBC Settlement Funding LLC; acquiring
and managing international distressed consumer receivables
through its wholly owned subsidiary, Palisades Acquisitions
LLC; and benefits advocacy through its wholly owned
subsidiary, GAR Disability Advocates, LLC. For additional
information, please visit our website
at http://www.astafunding.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this news release other than
statements of historical facts, including without limitation,
statements regarding our future financial position, business
strategy, budgets, projected revenues, projected costs, and plans
and objectives of management for future operations, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expects,"
"intends," "plans," "projects," "estimates," "anticipates," or
"believes" or the negative thereof, or any variation thereon, or
similar terminology or expressions. We have based these
forward-looking statements on our current expectations and
projections about future events. These forward-looking statements
are not guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Important factors which could
materially affect our results and our future performance include,
without limitation, our ability to purchase defaulted consumer
receivables at appropriate prices, changes in government
regulations that affect our ability to collect sufficient amounts
on our defaulted consumer receivables, our ability to employ and
retain qualified employees, changes in the credit or capital
markets, changes in interest rates, deterioration in economic
conditions, negative press regarding the debt collection industry
which may have a negative impact on a debtor's willingness to pay
the debt we acquire, and statements of assumption underlying any of
the foregoing, as well as other factors set forth under "Item 1A.
Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2015 and other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral
forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on
our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
foregoing. Except as required by law, we assume no duty to update
or revise any forward-looking statements.
Investor Contact:
Bruce R. Foster, CFO
Asta Funding, Inc.
(201) 567-5648
Asta Funding (NASDAQ:ASFI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Asta Funding (NASDAQ:ASFI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024