Fitch rates athenahealth, Virence B+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned long-term issuer default ratings to athenahealth, Inc., VVC Holding Corp. and Virence Intermediate Holdings LLC of B+ with a stable outlook.

Fitch also said it assigned a senior secured first-lien term loan rating of BB with recovery rating of RR2 and a senior secured second-lien term loan of B- with recovery rating of RR6, co-issued by athenahealth and VVC Holding.

The agency said it expects Athena to experience reliable, consistent high mid-single digit organic growth through the forecast horizon as a result of strong secular trends in U.S. healthcare spending.

The company's growth prospects are further supported by strong retention rates, resulting from high switching costs that include staff training, implementation costs, business interruption risks and reduced productivity when swapping vendors, Fitch said.

The agency said it believes that the secular tailwinds and high switching costs produce a dependable growth trajectory that benefits the credit profile.

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