Moody's rates Inverness loans B1, Caa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned B1 (LGD3, 34%) ratings to Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc.'s $150 million senior secured revolver due 2013 and $900 million senior secured term loan due 2014 and a Caa1 (LGD5, 82%) rating to its $250 million second-lien term loan due 2015.

The agency also confirmed the B2 corporate family and probability-of-default ratings and Caa1 (LGD5, 82%) existing $150 million senior subordinated notes due 2012.

The outlook is stable, and this concludes the review for possible downgrade begun on April 26 when Inverness Medical announced an agreement to acquire Biosite Inc. for $90 per share, which was revised to $92.50 per share.

Proceeds from the credit facilities, along with proceeds from a recent issuance of convertible subordinated notes and cash, will be used to finance the pending merger with Biosite and to refinance existing debt. The transaction is expected to be completed in July.

Moody's said the B2 corporate family rating considers the highly leveraged position, acquisitive nature of the company and integration risk associated with the acquisitions of Biosite and of Cholestech Corp., which is expected to be completed in the third quarter. Pro forma for the increased debt resulting from the new credit facility, the company's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA was more than 5.5x for the 12 months ended March 31.

The stable outlook anticipates an improvement in the company's operating performance driven by an increase in the diagnostic tools market and cost synergies realized from the acquisition of Biosite and Cholestech, the agency said.

S&P assigns Trilogy, loan B-

Standard & Poor's said it assigned its B- corporate credit and senior unsecured rating to Trilogy International Partners LLC and its proposed $200 million senior secured term loan.

The ratings assigned to Trilogy are constrained by the company's exposure to sovereign, regulatory and foreign exchange risks, given the concentration of its operations in countries that have or have had political and economic problems and by the company's brief track record operating as a consolidated entity, the agency said.

The agency noted that the ratings are supported by the favorable growth prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean and by a degree of geographic diversity in the company's operations.

© 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.