Moody's cuts Jones liquidity

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed Jones Group Inc.'s corporate family rating at Ba2 as well as the Ba3 (LGD 4, 68% from LGD 4, 67%) rating assigned to the company's $250 million of senior notes due 2014, $300 million of senior notes due 2019 and $250 million of senior notes due 2034. The company's speculative-grade liquidity rating was lowered to SGL-2 from SGL-1.

The outlook remains stable.

The affirmation of the company's ratings follows its announcement that it acquired Kurt Geiger from Graphite Capital for about $350 million, which was funded from Jones' cash on hand, the agency said.

The acquisition of Kurt Geiger is a modest positive for Jones' credit profile, the agency added. This acquisition will significantly increase the company's international presence.

The revision of the speculative-grade liquidity rating reflects the utilization of a sizable portion of Jones' existing cash balances to fund this acquisition, the agency noted.

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