Moody’s assigns Baa3 to ICON notes

Moody's Ratings said it assigned Baa3 instrument ratings to the planned $2 billion of backed senior secured notes composed of three tranches maturing in 2027, 2029 and 2034 all issued by ICON Investments Six DAC, a direct subsidiary of ICON plc. The outlook assigned is stable.

“The proposed backed senior secured notes issued by ICON Investments Six DAC are rated at the same level as ICON's existing rated debts. This is because the proposed new issuance will have the same security package and upstream guarantees as provided to the existing senior secured bank credit facilities and existing notes,” Moody’s said in a press release.

The proceeds and balance sheet cash are expected to be used to repay a portion of the group's existing $2.976 billion senior secured term loan B facility and to pay transaction costs.

“The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that ICON will continue to have a strong operating performance and good liquidity profile, over the next 12-18 months. The outlook also reflects expectations of a continued conservative financial policy with a balanced approach to M&A and potential shareholder distributions that will support deleveraging towards 2x (Moody's-adjusted gross leverage), over the next 12-18 months,” the agency said.

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