S&P affirms Tim Hellas, off watch

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its B+ corporate credit ratings on Tim Hellas Telecommunications SA and related entities and removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on Oct. 19.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said it also assigned its B+ long-term corporate rating to related entity Hellas Telecommunications I SARL. The outlook is stable.

At the same time, the agency said the €110 million in pay-in-kind notes due 2014 issued by Hellas Telecommunications I financial subsidiary Hellas Telecommunications Finance SARL were assigned a B- debt rating, reflecting the notes' level of contractual and structural subordination relative to the rest of the group's debt.

S&P said it also affirmed the B and B- outstanding debt ratings on related entities Hellas Telecommunications Luxembourg V and Hellas Telecommunications Luxembourg III, respectively and removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications.

The affirmation reflects the first signs of a commercial turnaround at Tim Hellas, the €350 million Q-Telecom SA acquisition's expected benefits for the group's business profile, as well as financial leverage that stands to be virtually unchanged from pre-acquisition levels, the agency said.

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