Intrum Justitia acquires Austrian debt portfolio
Intrum Justitia and the French investment bank Calyon S.A. together have
acquired an Austrian portfolio of written-off receivables with an aggregate
outstanding principal of EUR 640 million (approximately SEK 6 billion). The
seller is Bank Austria Creditanstalt.
In total, the purchase price amounts to approximately EUR 100 million, of which
Intrum Justitia's share is EUR 35 million, or approximately SEK 330 million. Two
thirds of the portfolio consists of nonperforming bank loans with an average
principal of EUR 14,000 per receivable, while one third is comprised of bank
loans granted against collateral in the form of real estate property or a real
estate share. The analysis and evaluation of the entire portfolio has been
conducted in accordance with Intrum Justitia's regular principles and yield
requirements.
Intrum Justitia has previously worked successfully with Calyon regarding
purchases of bank portfolios in the Nordic countries. Intrum Justitia has also
gained experience from several other Nordic portfolios containing collateral in
the form of real estate properties, while Calyon is a leading investor in
mortgage backed debts portfolio in other European countries.
During 2007, Intrum Justitia's operations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
have been coordinated and now share infrastructure and certain key resources.
This so-called regionalization ensures a cost efficient and flexible process
that builds on the methods developed in Switzerland, which will be leveraged on
in conjunction with the current acquisition.
The acquired portfolio is estimated to attribute to Intrum Justitia's revenue
with approximately 3 percent in 2008.
Intrum Justitia is Europe's leading Credit Management Services (CMS) group, with
revenues of approximately SEK 2.9 billion and around 2,900 employees in 24
markets. Intrum Justitia strives to measurably improve its customers' cash flows
and long-term profitability by offering high quality in relationships with both
customers and debtors in each local market. The group offers a wide range of
services to manage commercial and consumer receivables. Intrum Justitia AB
(ticker IJ) is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm, Mid Cap list. For
more information, please visit www.intrum.com
