Moody's gives JDE Peet's Baa3

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa3 long-term issuer rating to JDE Peet's NV and upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1 the senior unsecured rating on the outstanding €3.7 billion term loan A borrowed by Jacobs Douwe Egberts International BV and now guaranteed by JDE Peet's. Moody's also withdrew JDE Peet’s Ba1 corporate family rating and Ba1-PD probability of default rating. The outlook of both entities has been changed to stable from positive.

Finally, Moody's also withdrew Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holdings BV’s Ba1 CFR and Ba2-PD PDR. The withdrawal follows JDE Peet's decision to guarantee to support the debt outstanding at JDE International. The debt instruments at the parent company JDE Peet's, €1.3 billion, and at JDE International, €3.7 billion, which constitute most of the debt, now benefit from cross guarantees and rank equally, the agency said.

"JDE Peet's Baa3 rating reflects its resilient operating performance during 2020, despite its exposure to the away-from-home channel, its progress in reducing financial leverage and the simplification of its capital structure," said Paolo Leschiutta, a Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for JDE Peet's, in a press release.

"The upgrade assumes further deleveraging over the next six to 12 months, supported by the company's prudent financial policy," added Leschiutta.

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