(Bloomberg) -- UK asset manager Arrow Global is poised to take over iQera Group as part of a debt overhaul agreed with the majority of its creditors after months of negotiations.
A fund of Arrow Global, which holds a portion of the notes, will become the controlling shareholder in the French debt collector’s business under the deal, iQera said in a statement Thursday. The company — currently backed by private equity firms BC Partners and Montefiore Investment — aims to complete the restructuring by the first half of 2025.
The deal will allow iQera’s other creditors to concede their newly-acquired equity in the business for a greater portion of the reinstated debt, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to identified because the details are private. iQera’s other creditors mainly consist of CLO managers, the person added.
Overall, iQera should reinstate over 60% of its existing debt, the person said.
“iQera is an exceptional business, and we have had a highly positive experience as a former shareholder,” said Zach Lewy, chief executive officer and chief investment officer at Arrow Global. “We remain committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure iQera’s continued success for its clients, employees, and key partners.”
It’s not the first time that Arrow Global, whose strategies include servicing credit portfolios and real estate, has snapped up an ailing industry peer. AFE, an investor in nonperforming loans, was also taken over by Arrow, which was an existing creditor, as part of a debt restructuring.
Rating firms had flagged that iQera had been struggling to sustain revenue growth amid a more competitive market for non-performing loans. Like many debt collectors, its results had also been hurt by years of high interest-rates.
iQera has the support of holders of more than two-thirds of its bonds, revolving-credit facility lenders and shareholders for the main terms of its restructuring, according to the statement. If the company can’t secure the backing of 90% of bondholders, the agreement should provide enough support to allow the opening of accelerated safeguard proceedings, part of the French restructuring process, iQera said.
(adds details of deal in third and fourth graphs and Arrow comment in fifth.)
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