Mar 30, 2024
Cerberus Mulls Bigger Intrum Partnership as Company Tackles Debt
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Cerberus Capital Management LP and Intrum AB are considering a more extensive partnership as the Swedish debt collector explores options to address its borrowings.
The US alternative investor is looking at further ways to invest in Intrum and its assets after buying a portfolio from the company earlier this year, said people familiar with the matter. Talks are preliminary and might not yield any outcome, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
Intrum raised net proceeds of 8.2 billion kroner ($769 million) when Cerberus agreed in January to pay 98% of book value for a third of its non-performing loan portfolio.
Intrum has been considering alternatives to deal with looming maturities, as its high leverage and business challenges have cut access to debt capital markets. The company owes €5.4 billion ($5.8 billion) with some borrowings due as soon as July.
Representatives of Cerberus and Intrum weren’t immediately available to comment outside of normal business hours.
Bond Traders Are Alarmed by Debt Firm’s Own Massive Debt Pile
Cerberus is one of the world’s biggest investors in non-performing loans and has been active in several European markets, including Italy, Spain and Cyprus.
Intrum has recently started working with advisers Houlihan Lokey Inc and Milbank LLP and will kick off talks with bondholders, lenders and other stakeholders in coming weeks.
“It’s the full fledged options that are on the table: extensions, current payoffs, different levels of restructuring,” Intrum Chief Executive Officer Andres Rubio told a March 25 investor call.
Rubio also said the company may announce capital partnerships later this year that could have a “quite dramatic” impact on its finances.
In the meantime, creditors have organized in two groups. Some holders of the bonds due in 2024 and 2025 have picked Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Lazard Inc. as advisers, while Latham & Watkins and PJT Partners Inc are advising a separate group holding about 40% of Intrum’s notes.
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