U.S. Collection Agencies to Combine Businesses

Reading, Pa.-based Accounts Recovery Bureau, Inc. (ARB), a subsidiary of Kadent Corporation, announced Friday that it had entered into a business combination agreement with CBSJ Financial Corp. to transfer the management of CBSJ’s San Jose, Ca. collection agency operation and its clients to ARB.

ARB, the accounts receivables managment unit of business process outsourcing and collection provider Kadent, focuses on aged healthcare receivables collection for hospitals, healthcare providers, court systems, and utilities. CBSJ is also a healthcare collector, with around 80 percent of its revenues coming from hospital clients, according to Kadent CEO Bruce Colburn.

The transaction will give ARB a presence on the West Coast though all operations there will continue to be branded under the CBSJ name, said Colburn.

Colburn added in a press release, “I believe CBSJ is extremely well positioned in a critical area of the West Coast market based on the relationships it has developed from providing consistent quality client-tailored services year after year, including sensitive consumer interaction, robust operational and financial reporting, and better-than-average recovery yields. Our combination strengthens both companies and I am delighted to be associated with Theresa and the CBSJ team.”

ARB plans to continue to maintain CBSJ’s presence in the San Jose and surrounding markets, expand CBSJ’s client base and geographic reach, and offer to clients in these markets other services provided by Kadent.

“I am pleased to have selected ARB after a search to identify a collection agency with a reputation that most closely fits CBSJ’s long-standing philosophy of client service and consumer sensitivity,” said Theresa Jones, CBSJ’s owner in the release. “I will continue to have an interest in CBSJ’s business; however, the combination with ARB will now allow CBSJ to access Kadent’s national resources and industry expertise, which I strongly believe will further contribute to our client’s success.”