Intrum (INTRUM: Caa2 neg/CCC neg/CCC) headlines rolling around deal closure, which has been delayed and means the leverage target date is being pushed into 2026. Most of the EUR bonds prices’ rose last week which seems at odds with this morning deleverage delay, we fear.

• Intrum has sold “material portion” of its investment portfolio to Cerberus for SEK7.2bn (c.USD700m) which is about double the current market cap of the equity. Intrum holds 35% of the purchased entity and a 5yr servicing agreement.
• Cash proceeds are SEK1bn lower than expected due to the later closing but, having held and serviced the portfolio and its cash generation for longer, mgmt is claiming the economics are broadly similar to previous expectations.
• Proceeds will be used to delever with net leverage seen below SEK49bn by “end of 2Q” – this appears to imply 30-Jun-24, we feel. Mgmt sees leverage target of 3.5x now only being hit in 2026