Fitch: Alstom refi positive

Fitch Ratings said that Alstom's partial refinancing of its €650 million bond due in July 2006 and of its €250 million subordinated notes due in September 2006 for a total consideration of €650 million of new unsecured bonds maturing in 2010 is a positive development that alleviates pressure on the company.

The agency noted that if the exchange offer had failed, this could have exacerbated the uncertainty about Alstom's liquidity and thus eroded the customers' confidence and impacted the order level, as happened in 2003.

This refinancing represents the first time since the 2003 crisis and subsequent emergency state rescue that the company is tapping the bond markets for an issuance of this magnitude, Fitch said.

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