UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13G/A
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. 1)*
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
(Name of Issuer)
COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.01 PER SHARE
(Title of Class of Securities)
292554102
(CUSIP Number)
December 31, 2004
(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)
Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this
Schedule is filed:
[ ] Rule 13d-1(b)
[X] Rule 13d-1(c)
[ ] Rule 13d-1(d)
* The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's
initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and
for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the
disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed
to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act
but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the
Notes).
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CUSIP No. 292554102 Page 2 of 9 Pages
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1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
Copper Beech Capital Advisors LLC
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) |_|
(b) X
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
4 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
Delaware
------------------------- -------- ---------------------------------------------
5 SOLE VOTING POWER
NUMBER OF -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
SHARES 6 SHARED VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED BY 367,870 shares
-------- ---------------------------------------------
EACH 7 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
REPORTING
PERSON -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
WITH 8 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
367,870 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
9 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
367,870 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
10 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN
SHARES* |_|
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
11 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)
1.7 %
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
12 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
OO
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CUSIP No. 292554102 Page 3 of 9 Pages
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------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
Copper Beech Capital Management, Inc.
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) |_|
(b) X
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
4 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
Delaware
------------------------- -------- ---------------------------------------------
5 SOLE VOTING POWER
NUMBER OF -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
SHARES 6 SHARED VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED BY 543,535 shares
-------- ---------------------------------------------
EACH 7 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
REPORTING
PERSON -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
WITH 8 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
543,535 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
9 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
543,535 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
10 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN
SHARES* |_|
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
11 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)
2.5 %
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
12 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
CO
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CUSIP No. 292554102 Page 4 of 9 Pages
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------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) |_|
(b) X
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
4 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
United States
------------------------- -------- ---------------------------------------------
5 SOLE VOTING POWER
NUMBER OF -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
SHARES 6 SHARED VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED BY 911,405 shares
-------- ---------------------------------------------
EACH 7 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
REPORTING
PERSON -0-
-------- ---------------------------------------------
WITH 8 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
911,405 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
9 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
911,405 shares
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
10 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN
SHARES* |_|
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
11 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)
4.1 %
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
12 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
IN
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
Item 1(a). Name of Issuer:
Encore Capital Group, Inc.
Item 1(b). Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices:
5775 Roscoe Court
San Diego, CA 92123
Items 2(a) Name of Person Filing:
And 2(b):
This Schedule is being jointly filed by:
(i) Copper Beech Capital Advisors LLC ("Advisors"), a Delaware
limited liability company which acts as general partner to
two private investment partnerships (the "Partnerships"),
with respect to the shares held by the Partnerships;
(ii) Copper Beech Capital Management, Inc. ("Management"), a
Delaware corporation which acts as investment advisor to an
offshore investment fund (the "Fund") and an institutional
managed account (the "Managed Account"), with respect to the
shares held by the Fund and the Managed Account; and
(iii) Frank R. DeSantis, Jr., managing member of Advisors and
President of Management, with respect to all of the reported
shares.
The principal business address of each reporting person is 540 Madison Avenue,
33rd Floor, New York, New York 10022.
Item 2(c). Citizenship:
(i) Advisors is a Delaware limited liability company.
(ii) Management is a Delaware corporation.
(iii) Mr. DeSantis is a United States citizen.
Item 2(d). Title of Class of Securities:
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share ("Common Stock").
Item 2(e). CUSIP Number:
292554102
Item 3. If this statement is filed pursuant to Rules 13d-1(b), or 13d-2(b)
or (c), check whether the person filing is a:
(a) [ ] Broker or Dealer registered under section 15 of the Act,
(b) [ ] Bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Act,
(c) [ ] Insurance Company as defined in section 3(a)(19) of the
Act,
(d) [ ] Investment Company registered under Section 8 of the
Investment Company Act of 1940,
(e) [ ] An investment adviser in accordance with ss.
240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E),
(f) [ ] An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance
with ss. 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F),
(g) [ ] A parent holding company or control person in accordance
with ss. 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G),
(h) [ ] A savings association as defined in Section 3(b) of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act,
(i) [ ] A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an
investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940,
(j) [ ] A group, in accordance with ss. 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).
Item 4. Ownership.
The following states the beneficial ownership of the reporting persons as
of December 31, 2004. This report relates to the same shares of Common Stock
which may be deemed to be owned (i) directly (in the aggregate) by the
Partnerships, the Fund, and the Managed Account, none of which individually
beneficially own more than 5% of the class; (ii) indirectly by Advisors, in its
capacity as general partner to the Partnerships; (iii) indirectly by Management,
in its capacity as investment advisor to the Fund and the Managed Account; and
(iv) indirectly by Mr. DeSantis, who, as principal of Advisors and Management,
has the power to direct the vote or disposition of such securities.
Copper Beech Capital Advisors LLC
(a) Amount beneficially owned: 367,870 shares
(b) Percent of class: 1.7%
(c) Number of shares as to which such person has:
(i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: None
(ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 367,870 shares
(iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: None
(iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of:
367,870 shares
Copper Beech Capital Management, Inc.
(a) Amount beneficially owned: 543,535 shares
(b) Percent of class: 2.5%
(c) Number of shares as to which such person has:
(i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: None
(ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 543,535 shares
(iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: None
(iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of:
543,535 shares
Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.:
(a) Amount beneficially owned: 911,405 shares
(b) Percent of class: 4.1%
(c) Number of shares as to which such person has:
(i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: None
(ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 911,405 shares
(iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: None
(iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of:
911,405 shares
Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class.
If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date
hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than
five percent of the class of securities, check the following [X].
Item 6. Ownership of More Than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person.
The Partnerships, the Fund, and the Managed Account have the right to
receive dividends from and the proceeds of the sale of the subject securities
owned by such entities. None of such parties indivisually owns beneficially more
than 5% of the class.
Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary which Acquired the
Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group.
Not applicable.
Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group.
Not applicable.
Item 10. Certification.
By signing below each of the undersigned hereby certifies that, to the best
of the undersigned's knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were
not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing
or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired
and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction
having that purpose or effect.
SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of the undersigned's knowledge and
belief, each of the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this
statement is true, complete and correct.
Dated: February 10, 2005
Copper Beech Capital Advisors LLC
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
----------------------------------
By: Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
Title: Managing Member
Copper Beech Capital Management, Inc.
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
----------------------------------
By: Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
Title: President
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
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Frank R. DeSantis, Jr., an individual
Joint Filing Agreement
The undersigned hereby agree to the joint filing with each other of the attached
statement on Schedule 13G/A and to all amendments to such statement and that
such statement is and all amendments to such statement are made on behalf of
each of them.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned hereby execute this agreement on February
10, 2005.
Copper Beech Capital Advisors LLC
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
----------------------------------
By: Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
Title: Managing Member
Copper Beech Capital Management, Inc.
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
----------------------------------
By: Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
Title: President
/s/ Frank R. DeSantis, Jr.
----------------------------------
Frank R. DeSantis, Jr., an individual