Part of Cerba Healthcare's revolving credit line is reportedly up for sale as the French lab operator advances toward a restructuring overseen by the courts. People familiar with the process say one or more lenders aim to auction roughly €28 million from the €450 million RCF, with bids from fund managers due Wednesday. Representatives for Cerba, EQT, and PSP Investments declined to comment.
Cerba told creditors last week it was opening conciliation proceedings, a court-guided process the company said offers an "appropriate framework" for debt talks. Pressure has been building: France cut allowable prices for medical tests in 2024, and there were multiple RCF trades last year once it became clear the balance sheet would need a revamp.
Revolving credit facilities are flexible drawdown lines and change hands far less transparently than bonds. Banks usually originate them, but when borrowers hit turbulence, lenders sometimes sell pieces to specialist credit funds at discounts to face value.
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Cerba paired the conciliation news with second-quarter numbers that showed some growth in revenue and earnings, and it said it expects a government update later this month on future testing prices. In the meantime, its €720 million senior secured notes due 2028 have ticked up to about 70 cents on the euro, from 68.6 cents before the announcement, according to Bloomberg data. For your wallet, the takeaway is simple: in messy restructurings, even small shifts in earnings or regulation can move prices.
