Moody's confirms Central American Bottling

Moody's Investors Service said it confirmed Central American Bottling Corp.'s B1 senior unsecured debt and corporate family ratings, while changing the outlook to stable.

This rating action concludes the review for possible upgrade initiated on June 2, the agency said.

According to the agency, the ratings confirmation reflects Moody's belief that the recent deterioration of global economic growth prospects and difficult credit market conditions has tempered prospects for the company's near to medium term operating performance, liquidity and credit metrics.

The confirmation also reflects the existence of event risk as the region's beverage sector continues to consolidate, which could impact credit metrics if the company decided to carry out a material debt-financed acquisition, Moody's said, adding that the B1 ratings continue to be supported by the company's valuable beverage franchises and its role as PepsiCo's (Aa2, stable) anchor bottler in Central America, its leading market positions across franchise territories and solid scores on brand diversity and product innovation because of its access to PepsiCo's broad product portfolio.

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