Cerved Group S.p.A. (BIT:CERV) said on March 21, 2020 talks to sell its debt collection arm to Intrum AB (publ) (OM:INTRUM) had fallen through due to the coronavirus outbreak that is wrecking Italy's economy. Intrum Italy and Cerved entered exclusive talks in mid-February a few days before the emergence of the virus. Cerved said in a statement that an exclusivity period granted to Intrum Italy had expired on March 20, and talks had been halted due to “the current economic and financial situation attributable to the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency.” Two people familiar with the matter said both sides remained opened to resuming discussions down the road.

Sources had said Intrum Italy had offered more than EUR 450 million for Cerved's bad-loan collection unit. A spokesman for Intrum Italy declined to comment, referring to a March 13, 2020 statement by Intrum.