Moody's downgrades Telenet

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Telenet Group Holding NV's corporate family rating to B1 from Ba3, its probability of default rating to B2-PD and its senior secured bank credit facilities and senior secured notes to B1 from Ba3. The outlook is stable.

The agency said the downgrade reflects the expected increase in gross leverage (to 5.2 times, as measured by Moody's, on a 2012 pro forma basis) from the company's proposed €900 million dividend and a share buyback of up to €50 million in 2013. It also reflects Moody's expectation that Telenet's leverage will increase toward 5.5 times or higher over time as the company's controlling shareholder, Liberty Global, Inc., implements an alignment of Telenet's leverage policy with that of Liberty Global.

Moody's said the B1 corporate family rating continues to acknowledge Telenet's solid market share in the overall Belgian digital TV and broadband markets, the competitive advantages derived from its technologically advanced networks and the growth potential of the company's mobile and B2B activities.

© 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.