Portfolio Recovery Names IR Director, Announces Expanded Credit Facility for Aktiv Kapital Deal

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRAA), a financial and business services company operating in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., today announced that Darby Schoenfeld has been named director of investor relations. She will support PRA outreach to stock analysts and institutional investors.

Prior to joining PRA, Schoenfeld was the director of investor relations at JTH Holding, Inc., the parent company of Liberty Tax Service, where she established and implemented an investor relations program shortly after the company was listed on the NASDAQ. Previously, she was a member of the investor relations team at Amerigroup Corporation which was traded on the NYSE.

“As PRA continues to expand into new global markets, we’re finding growing numbers of domestic and international institutional investors beginning to track and invest in our stock. Darby’s experience in a new role for PRA is well-timed with our plans for continued profitable growth, and will help the company better connect with investors,” said Kevin Stevenson, chief financial and administrative officer, treasurer and assistant secretary, PRA. Schoenfeld will report to Stevenson.

Schoenfeld’s finance career prior to investor relations has included roles as a securities analyst and as an advisor to small business owner retirement plans. She has an MBA from The Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary and a BA degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Earlier in the week, PRA announced an expanded credit facility as it moves toward completion of its acquisition of European ARM firm Aktiv Kapital.

PRA said it had modified its Credit Agreement of December 19, 2012, as amended, increasing the company’s domestic revolving credit commitments by $214.5 million, successfully securing from existing and new lenders the maximum amount of the facility’s accordion loan feature.

The additional lender agreements raise PRA’s total credit facility from $628 million to $842.5 million, which now consists of (i) a fully-funded $192.5 million term loan, (ii) a $630 million domestic revolving credit facility, of which $630 million is available to be drawn, and (iii) a $20 million multi-currency revolving credit facility, of which $20 million is available to be drawn, all of which mature on December 19, 2017.

“PRA continues to prepare to finance our acquisition of Aktiv Kapital with some combination of cash, seller financing and funds from our credit facility. We believe we have made good progress in completing a number of customary and regulatory closing conditions, and we believe we are on track toward closing on the acquisition this quarter,” said Kevin Stevenson, chief financial and administrative officer, treasurer and assistant secretary, PRA.

In February of this year, PRA agreed to acquire Aktiv Kapital AS, a Norway-based company specializing in the acquisition and servicing of non-performing consumer loans throughout Europe and in Canada for approximately $880 million. PRA also agreed to assume approximately $435 million of Aktiv Kapital’s corporate debt, resulting in an acquisition of estimated total enterprise value of $1.3 billion. The two companies combined will become one of the world’s largest acquirers of consumer debt from banks and other creditors with more than $4.6 billion in estimated remaining collections from customers.

As a leader in the U.S. debt buying industry, Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (PRA) returns capital to client banks and other creditors to help expand financial services for consumers. PRA acquires consumer debt, then collaborates with customers to create realistic, affordable debt repayment plans in compliance with consumer protection laws. The company also acquires consumer debt in bankruptcy court cases, filing claims to receive customer payments from court trustees. In addition, PRA provides a broad range of collection and recovery services to business and government clients. For more information, please visit www.PortfolioRecovery.com.