Jefferson Capital to Acquire Credit Card Portfolio with Face Value of $488 Million

Rhea-AI Summary

Jefferson Capital (NASDAQ: JCAP) said a wholly owned subsidiary signed a definitive asset purchase agreement to buy a revolving credit card portfolio from affiliates of Bluestem Brands for a gross purchase price of $302.8 million and portfolio face value of $488.2 million. The price will be adjusted for interim cash flows from a June 30, 2025 cut-off through closing. Jefferson will fund the deal with existing capacity under its senior secured revolving credit facility and expects closing in Q4 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

The company will use an interim servicing agreement with Bluestem to transition servicing to CardWorks Servicing, LLC and will not continue originations through the Bluestem platform.

Positive

• Gross purchase price of $302.8 million
• Acquisition adds portfolio with $488.2 million face value
• Transaction funded via existing revolver capacity
• Interim servicing to enable orderly transition to CardWorks

Negative

• Purchase price subject to interim cash flow adjustments from June 30, 2025
• Deal closing conditional on regulatory approvals
• No ongoing originations through Bluestem platform, limiting growth channel

Insights

Credit-portfolio transaction analyst

Acquisition expands Jefferson Capital’s purchased receivables by a large revolving credit card portfolio funded from existing capacity; closing expected in Q4 2025.

Jefferson Capital will buy a suspended revolving credit card portfolio with face value $488.2 million for a gross purchase price of $302.8 million, subject to interim cash flow adjustments from a June 30, 2025 cut-off through closing. The company will use capacity under its senior secured revolving credit facility to fund the deal and will engage Bluestem under an interim servicing agreement while CardWorks Servicing, LLC transitions ongoing servicing.

The transaction materially increases managed receivables while leaving retail operations out of scope; regulatory approvals remain a closing condition, creating timing and execution risk. Financing from existing facility reduces immediate dilution risk but concentrates balance-sheet utilization and may affect covenant headroom.

Watch the completion of customary regulatory approvals and the final cash flow adjustment at closing in Q4 2025, plus any disclosures on covenant usage under the revolving credit facility and the interim servicing operational handover. The listed figures ($302.8 million purchase price and $488.2 million face value) are the key monitorable metrics ahead of closing.

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jefferson Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ: JCAP) (“Jefferson Capital”), a leading analytically driven purchaser and manager of charged-off and insolvency consumer accounts, announced today that a wholly owned subsidiary has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of credit card assets from affiliates of Bluestem Brands (“Bluestem”). As part of the transaction, Jefferson Capital will pay a gross purchase price of $302.8 million to acquire a revolving loan portfolio for which the ability to draw on the receivables has been suspended with face value of $488.2 million. At closing, the gross purchase price will be adjusted for interim portfolio cash flows (net of servicing expense and adjusted for new purchases) from a cut-off date of June 30, 2025 through the closing date.

“Following last year’s Conn’s portfolio purchase, this transaction solidifies our leadership position as a strategic acquirer of a wide spectrum of dislocated consumer credit assets in complex situations,” said David Burton, Jefferson Capital’s Chairman and CEO. “Our unique expertise in small balance active and charged off portfolios allows us to offer comprehensive solutions for sellers with run-off portfolios while generating attractive returns for our shareholders.”

In connection with the portfolio purchase, Jefferson Capital will enter into an interim servicing agreement with Bluestem to facilitate the orderly transition of the portfolio servicing activities to CardWorks Servicing, LLC, a leading credit card servicer.

The transaction will be funded with existing capacity under Jefferson Capital’s senior secured revolving credit facility.

Jefferson Capital does not intend to pursue any on-going originations through the Bluestem platform, and the transaction does not include any of the retail operations or assets of Bluestem.

The Bluestem portfolio purchase is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025 subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Houlihan Lokey is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Reed Smith LLP is acting as acquisition counsel to Bluestem.

About Jefferson Capital, Inc.
Founded in 2002, Jefferson Capital is an analytically driven purchaser and manager of charged-off and insolvency consumer accounts with operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America. It purchases and services both secured and unsecured assets, and its growing client base includes Fortune 500 creditors, banks, fintech origination platforms, telecommunications providers, credit card issuers and auto finance companies. Jefferson Capital is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with additional offices and operations located in Sartell, Minnesota, Denver, Colorado and San Antonio, Texas (United States); Basingstoke, England, London, England and Paisley, Scotland (United Kingdom); London, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario (Canada); as well as Bogota (Colombia).

Contacts:

Investor Relations
IR@jcap.com

Media Relations
Doug.Donsky@icrinc.com

Disclosure Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements concerning the Bluestem portfolio purchase, including the anticipated purchase price and timeline for closing, and our leadership position. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: a deterioration in the economic or inflationary environment in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Latin America, including the interest rate environment; our ability to replace our portfolios of nonperforming loans with additional portfolios sufficient to operate efficiently and profitably; our ability to collect sufficient amounts on our nonperforming loans to fund our operations; the possibility that third parties we rely on to conduct collection and other activities fail to perform their services; the possibility that we could recognize significant decreases in our estimate of future recoveries on nonperforming loans; changes in, or interpretations of, federal, state, local, or international laws, including bankruptcy and collection laws, or changes in the administrative practices of various bankruptcy courts, which could negatively impact our business or our ability to collect on nonperforming loans; goodwill impairment charges that could negatively impact our net income and stockholders’ equity; our ability to comply with existing and new regulations of the collection industry, the failure of which could result in penalties, fines, litigation, damage to our reputation, or the suspension or termination of or required modification to our ability to conduct our business; adverse outcomes in pending or future litigation or administrative proceedings; the possibility that class action suits and other litigation could divert management’s attention and increase our expenses; investigations, reviews, or enforcement actions by governmental authorities, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could result in changes to our business practices, negatively impact our deployment volume, make collection of account balances more difficult, or expose us to the risk of fines, penalties, restitution payments, and litigation; the possibility that compliance with complex and evolving international and United States laws and regulations that apply to our international operations could increase our cost of doing business in international jurisdictions; our ability to comply with data privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation; our ability to retain, expand, renegotiate or replace our credit facility and our ability to comply with the covenants under our financing arrangements; our ability to refinance our indebtedness; our ability to service our outstanding indebtedness; changes in interest or exchange rates, which could reduce our net income, and the possibility that future hedging strategies may not be successful; and the possibility that we could incur business or technology disruptions or cybersecurity incidents. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2025 and our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

FAQ

What did Jefferson Capital (JCAP) announce on October 27, 2025 regarding Bluestem?

Jefferson Capital announced a definitive agreement to buy a revolving credit card portfolio from Bluestem affiliates for a gross purchase price of $302.8 million.

How large is the Bluestem credit card portfolio Jefferson Capital is acquiring (JCAP)?

The portfolio has a stated face value of $488.2 million, with a gross purchase price of $302.8 million.

When is the Jefferson Capital (JCAP) Bluestem portfolio deal expected to close?

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

How will Jefferson Capital (JCAP) fund the Bluestem portfolio acquisition?

Jefferson Capital intends to fund the transaction using existing capacity under its senior secured revolving credit facility.

Will Jefferson Capital (JCAP) continue originations through the Bluestem platform after the acquisition?

No. Jefferson Capital does not intend to pursue ongoing originations through the Bluestem platform.

Who will service the Bluestem portfolio after Jefferson Capital's (JCAP) acquisition?

An interim servicing agreement with Bluestem will facilitate transitioning portfolio servicing to CardWorks Servicing, LLC.