Intrum Justitia Acquires $435 million German Debt Portfolio from Commerzbank

Intrum Justitia announced Thursday that it has acquired a German portfolio of written-off receivables with an aggregate outstanding principal of EUR 300 million ($435 million). The seller of the portfolio is Commerzbank.

The portfolio consists of nonperforming bank-loans and the analysis and evaluation of the entire portfolio has been conducted in accordance with Intrum Justitia’s regular principles and yield requirements. Intrum Justitia will take over premises in Hannover, Germany and staff of approximately 40 people from Commerzbank.

“Germany is a significant market for purchasing of debt portfolios and Intrum Justitia has many years of experience in servicing banking cases in Germany. The purchase of the Commerzbank portfolio will further strengthen our position as a banking specialist in the German market and the new office in Hannover will provide an important foothold in Northern Germany. I am very pleased that we were able to conclude this deal”, says Thomas Hutter, Regional Managing Director Intrum Justitia.

The execution date of the take-over will be 15th of September 2011, however with a cut date of January 1st 2011, implying that all collections between the cut-off date and execution date are included in the deal.

“Intrum Justitia made a significant purchase of a banking portfolio in Germany in 2006 and by acquiring yet another large portfolio, like this one, we take an important step forward in Germany. The market for large portfolios of written off receivables slowed down significantly in the financial downturn. While we have seen increased market activity when it comes to smaller and mid-sized portfolios, the larger deals have not materialized until now. Naturally we hope to be able to establish more business process outsourcing contracts like this one in the future”, says Lars Wollung, CEO & President of Intrum Justitia.

Intrum Justitia is Europe’s leading Credit Management Services (CMS) group, offering comprehensive services, including purchase of receivables, designed to measurably improve clients’ cash flows and long-term profitability. Founded in 1923, Intrum Justitia has some 3,100 employees in 22 markets. Consolidated revenues amounted to SEK 3.8 billion in 2010. Intrum Justitia AB is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 2002.