Moody's: Continental notes Ba2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Ba2 (LGD4, 65%) rating to Continental Resources, Inc.'s offering of new $1 billion senior unsecured notes due 2023. The Ba1 corporate family rating and Ba1-PD probability of default rating are unchanged, and the outlook is stable.

Proceeds from the new notes will be used to pay off a portion of the borrowings under the company's senior secured revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

The Ba1 corporate family rating reflects Continental's high-quality asset base in the prolific Bakken Shale play, oil-focused portfolio and demonstrated ability to rapidly grow production and reserves, the agency said.

The rating is constrained by the company's geographic concentration, relatively high financial leverage, reliance on external capital to fund its aggressive growth targets, still evolving midstream infrastructure in the Bakken and potential key man risk, Moody's said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.