Moody's ups Enersis, Endesa Chile to Ba2

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings of Enersis SA to Ba2 from Ba3 and upgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings of Endesa-Chile to Ba2 from Ba3. Endesa-Chile is owned 60% by Enersis.

The outlook for both companies is stable.

Separately, Moody's assigned a rating of Ba2 to Enersis' planned issuance of $300 million of Rule 144A Notes in the U.S. market. The notes are expected to have a 10-year maturity.

Concurrently, the company has closed an $800 million bank facility of which $500 million will be drawn on Nov. 19, and is undertaking a stock offering to raise about $130 million in new capital.

Moody's said the ratings consider the strong competitive position of both Enersis and Endesa-Chile. The upgrades assume that there will be continued improvements in operating and financial performance at both companies due to efforts to reduce debt, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency.

Both companies are also expected to benefit from moderate improvements in some of the regional economies in which they operate, the agency said.

The stable outlook incorporates the continued expected decline in leverage and strong management of the companies' liquidity position. The stable outlook also reflects Moody's view that, under the current regional environment, further rating upgrades are unlikely, absent strong and structural improvements in the performance of the companies' non-Chilean subsidiaries.

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