Moody's reinstates Crown Castle at Ba3

Moody's Investors Service said it reinstated Crown Castle Operating Co.'s Ba3 corporate family and probability-of-default ratings, Ba3 senior secured rating, SGL-1 speculative grade liquidity rating and the Ba3 (LGD3, 48%) rating assigned to the company's $850 million senior secured bank facility.

The outlook is stable.

The agency withdrew Crown Castle's ratings in December.

The company's Ba3 corporate family rating reflects Moody's expectation that the fundamentals of the wireless tower sector are likely to remain favorable through the next several years; the agency's prediction that Crown Castle's good market position will allow its strong earnings and cash flow momentum to continue; the company's increased scale following its recent acquisition of Global Signal Inc.; and the expected stability of much of its revenues, which are predominately derived from contractual relationships with the largest wireless operators in the United States.

The rating also incorporates Moody's view that Crown Castle is likely to retain an aggressive financial policy, directing cash flow to shareholders via share buybacks and targeting adjusted leverage toward 8x.

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