S&P downgrades Abengoa, Befesa

Standard & Poor's said it lowered its long-term corporate credit ratings on Abengoa SA and its indirectly controlled subsidiary Befesa Zinc SAU to B from B+.

S&P also affirmed its B short-term corporate credit rating on Abengoa.

The outlooks on the long-term ratings are negative. The ratings on Abengoa and Befesa were removed from CreditWatch, they had been with negative implications since Dec. 27.

The agency lowered its issue ratings on Abengoa's and Abengoa Finance SAU's rated senior unsecured debt instruments to B from B+, in line with the corporate credit rating on Abengoa. The recovery rating on these instruments remains 4.

Furthermore, S&P lowered its issue rating on the €300 million senior secured notes issued by orphan special-purpose vehicle Zinc Capital SA to B from B+, in line with the corporate credit rating on Befesa. The recovery rating on the proceeds loan is unchanged at 3.

In addition, the agency assigned its assessment of B+ to Befesa's standalone credit profile, based on the view of its "weak" business risk profile and "aggressive" financial risk profile.

S&P said the downgrade of Abengoa reflects its view that the company's credit metrics are no longer commensurate with the B+ rating level.

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