Fitch: JBS on negative watch

Fitch Ratings said it placed JBS SA's ratings on negative watch following news that will acquire certain assets from Marfrig Alimentos SA, including Marfrig's Seara Brazil business, through the assumption of R$5.85 billion of Marfrig's bank debt with maturities between 2013 and 2017.

The completion of the transaction would require the approval of the Brazilian anti-trust authority.

The negative watch includes JBS's BB- foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings, the BB- rating on its notes due 2016 and A-(bra) rating on its national scale rating.

Also on negative watch includes JBS USA LLC's BB- foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings, BB rating on its term loan B facility due in 2018 and BB- rating on its notes due 2014, 2020, 2021.

JBS USA Finance, Inc.'s BB- foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings, BB- rating on its notes due 2014, BB- rating on its bonds due 2020 and BB- rating on its notes due 2021 also are on negative watch.

The BB- rating on ESAL GmbH's notes due 2023 also is on negative watch, along with the BB- ratings on JBS Finance II Ltd.'s foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings and notes due 2018.

Fitch said it will focus on assessing the benefits JBS will receive from increased diversification against the risks of an increasingly leveraged capital structure.

The review also will consider JBS's short- to medium-term strategy for improving Seara's operating performance, including additional investments and expected synergies, the agency 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.