European investment firm Waterland Private Equity has sold its majority stake in debt collection services provider coeo to doValue, the Italian credit management specialist, to continue its expansion strategy and to integrate its AI expertise in development and application into a larger corporate group.
During the partnership of coeo and its founder Tom Haverkamp with Waterland, the company evolved from a German provider into a European industry leader.
The coeo Group, headquartered in Dormagen, operates in debt collection and debt purchasing. Its core clients include online retailers and payment service providers in the e-commerce sector, especially in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) segment.
In addition to its three offices in North Rhine-Westphalia, the company – founded in 2010 – now operates in seven other European countries, including the UK, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
In 2018, coeo entered into a growth partnership with Waterland, during which founder Tom Haverkamp retained a significant minority stake. As part of the exit, Italian financial services provider doValue will acquire the shares held by both existing shareholders.
The management team, led by Sebastian Ludwig (CEO DACH) and Elias Reitter (CEO International), will continue to lead the business.
During its partnership with Waterland, coeo has evolved into one of the leading European tech-driven debt collection companies.
Thanks to the early and company-wide adoption of AI, along with the creation of its own AI lab, the company has automated more and more aspects of receivables management – while at the same time making communication with debtors more personal.
As a result of these investments, coeo now boasts the highest share of digital collections in the industry and is recognised by both debtors and creditors for its particularly efficient and service-oriented case handling.
In addition to the successful implementation of its AI strategy, Waterland and coeo jointly advanced the internationalisation of the business. The expansion into seven additional countries since 2018 was driven by acquisitions as well as the organic establishment of local entities.
coeo also experienced rapid growth in its home market, fuelled particularly by new business wins. In 2024, the company generated revenues of over €260m and employed more than 750 people.
With the acquisition of coeo – whose brand will be retained – doValue continues its expansion into Central and Northern Europe. The aim is to integrate coeo’s complementary expertise in debt purchasing and management, as well as its technological development capabilities, into the group. There is also further potential to expand into Southern Europe.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by financial supervisory authorities and is expected to close in the coming months.
