Moody's downgrades PanAmSat

Moody's Investors Service downgraded PanAmSat Corp.'s ratings, concluding a review initiated on April 20 following the announcement of a definitive agreement between a private equity group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and PanAmSat's parent company, The DIRECTV Group Inc (Ba3 senior. implied on review for upgrade) for the purchase of DIRECTV's 80.5% stake and the remaining stake held by the public.

Moody's also assigned a Ba3 rating to PanAmSat's newly proposed $2.91 billion senior secured bank debt facility and a B1 rating for its proposed new $1.01 billion of senior unsecured notes which are expected to be part of the new capital structure at the close of the transaction together with existing senior secured notes totaling $275 million.

Moody's downgraded PanAmSat's senior implied to Ba3 from Ba2, its $275 million secured notes due 2005 to Ba3 from Ba2, its $150 million senior secured notes due 2008 to Ba3 from Ba2, its $125 million senior secured notes due 2028 to Ba3 from Ba2, its $800 million senior unsecured notes due 2012 to B1 from Ba3 and its issuer rating to B1 from Ba3.

The downgrade reflects the significantly increased debt leverage being incurred to finance the leveraged buyout of PanAmSat, Moody's said.

The company is expected to have a total debt-to-adjusted EBITDA of about 6.4 times at year-end 2004.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.