Fairstone Financial Holdings acquired by Duo Bank of Canada

On February 19, 2020, Duo Bank of Canada ("Duo Bank") announced that it reached a definitive agreement to purchase all outstanding shares of Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc. ("Fairstone"), which included all operating subsidiaries as well as its 1,400+ employees, from an investor group led by J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC and Värde Partners, Inc.

Closing of the transaction was announced on January 5, 2021.

Further information can be found on Canada Newswire's website.

Fairstone, headquartered in Montreal, is Canada's leading non-bank provider of responsible lending solutions for near-prime borrowers with over $3 billion in assets on a consolidated basis.

Duo Bank, supported by Stephen Smith, Centerbridge Partners L.P. and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, is a Schedule I Canadian bank founded on a mission to provide value-driven financial products that are clear and simple, to help Canadians focus on what matters to them.

Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed.

J.C. Flowers is a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry.