Moody's may downgrade Saint-Gobain

Moody's Investors Service said it placed the A2/P-1 debt ratings of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA on review for possible downgrade.

The rating review was prompted by announcement by Saint-Gobain that it has made a cash offer for the entire ordinary shares of BPB plc, which based on a 720 pence per share values BPB at £3.7 billion, the agency said.

Moody's said the review for Saint-Gobain will take into consideration the extent to which a fully cash/debt funded offer at this price or higher will result in substantially higher leverage, the risks related to the transaction and future integration of such a sizeable acquisition and the risks related to a potential change in Saint-Gobain's underlying businesses mix and the overall future strategy of the enlarged group.

Affected ratings include the senior unsecured bank credit facility at A2, senior unsecured, long-term debt rating at A2, short-term debt rating P-1 and Saint-Gobain Nederland BV's senior unsecured at A2.

© 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.