Debtist and Norvestor join forces to drive further growth in Europe

Frankfurt, 6 May 2026 – Debtist, a leading provider of digital debt collection and receivables management, today announces the investment by Norvestor Nova I SCSp (“Norvestor”). The private equity company will acquire a majority stake in Debtist, while the founders Matteo Benedetti, Tony Zabel, and Brandon Baumgarten will stay closely involved and continue to support the company. Day-to-day operations will continue to be led by the existing management team.

With Norvestor, Debtist gains a partner that has followed the receivables management and debt collection industry for several years and recognized the potential of AI in receivables management early, while also having a relevant track record of investing into technology-driven growth companies. As one of the most experienced private equity investors in the Nordic region, Norvestor focuses on partnering with founders to build leading companies in their respective markets.

Together, the parties aim to scale Debtist across Europe and significantly accelerate expansion into both existing and new markets.

Since its founding, Debtist has also been supported by Gräf & Centorbi Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, which has accompanied the company throughout its early development and market entry.

“We started Debtist with the ambition to reinvent debt collection through technology, data and empathy – delivering better outcomes for clients while treating consumers fairly and transparently. Our AI-native platform has proven that a fully digital, automated approach can fundamentally change how receivables are managed. Partnering with Norvestor and reinvesting significantly alongside them is the next logical step in this journey. Their experience in growing tech-enabled services companies makes them the ideal partner as we scale across Europe.” – Matteo Benedetti, Tony Zabel and Brandon Baumgarten, Co-Founders, Debtist

Technology meets scale

The receivables management market is undergoing significant change: traditional processes are increasingly reaching their limits, while digital solutions enable more efficient and scalable approaches.

With Norvestor on board, Debtist aims to further strengthen its position as an AI-native platform. The focus is on continuing to develop its technology, entering new markets quickly, and making professional receivables management more accessible.

“Debtist is a rare combination of a truly AI-native technology platform, a highly scalable and asset-light business model, and an ambitious founding team with a clear vision for the future of receivables management in the region. We have been impressed by the company’s strong growth and the quality of the technology and team they have built in a short period of time. Our partnership with Matteo, Tony, and Brandon fits squarely with Norvestor’s strategy of backing founders to build regional champions, and we look forward to supporting Debtist on this next phase of its journey.” – Anton-Moritz Oliver, Investment Director, Norvestor

A key advantage of this approach is that, through a high degree of automation and the use of AI, Debtist can efficiently and individually manage claims that have previously not been economically viable for traditional debt collection providers. The partnership creates additional opportunities to roll out this approach further across Europe.

“Debtist utilises AI in a new way, mirroring human behavior, allowing it to optimise the debt collection process resulting in very high collection rates, while still operating at significantly lower cost than competition. This further allows Debtist to address claims that earlier was too costly to pursue.” – Tor-Erling Gunnerød, Partner, Norvestor

Expanding European presence

In addition to Germany, Debtist is already active in the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom.

The combination of proprietary technology, strong collection performance, and a clear go-to-market approach provides the foundation for continued growth and expansion into new markets in the coming years.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed no later than June 2026.

Since its founding, Debtist has also been supported by Gräf & Centorbi Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, which has accompanied the company throughout its early development and market entry.

About Debtist

Debtist is a technology‑enabled receivables management and debt collection company founded in 2023 and headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Debtist’s proprietary AI‑driven technology platform replaces manual processes with a fully digital, highly automated solution covering the full value chain from pre‑court dunning to long‑term monitoring and collection. By analysing debtor data, segmenting accounts and continuously optimising outreach strategies, Debtist improves recovery performance while ensuring regulatory compliance and transparency across markets. Debtist serves mid‑market and enterprise clients and is currently active in Germany, the Nordics, and the UK.

About Norvestor

Norvestor Advisory is a leading private equity company focusing on mid-market buyouts in the Nordic region. The team has worked together since 1991, making it one of the most experienced private equity teams in the Nordics, having executed 100 investments with more than 750 add-on acquisitions, in addition to executing 68 exits, including 16 IPOs. The Norvestor funds seek to invest in growth companies in the Nordic mid-market that have the potential to achieve a leading Nordic or international position, typically through organic growth, acquisitions across fragmented industries or by geographic expansion. Read more: www.norvestor.com

Debtist Co-Founders Tony Zabel, Matteo Benedetti and Brandon Baumgarten (l. to r.)