On Nov. 2, 2017, Luxembourg-based debt collection company Garfunkelux Holdco 2 S.A., which trades as Lowell, announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire the Nordic carve-out business from Intrum Justitia AB. We understand that the company plans to fund the acquisition through a mixture of new debt and equity, and expects to close the transaction in the first half of 2018, subject to the relevant regulatory approvals. However, more details regarding the transaction are not yet available. We are therefore revising our outlook to developing and affirming our 'B+/B' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on Lowell. The developing outlook indicates that we could affirm, lower, or raise our ratings, depending on the proposed financing package, the potential
