Moody's rates V.Group loans B1, Caa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B2 corporate family rating and a B2-PD probability of default rating to Vouvray Midco Ltd., the holding and parent company of V.Group. It also assigned a provisional B1 rating to Vouvray US Finance LLC's $260 million seven-year first-lien term loan, a provisional Caa1 rating to its $125 million 7.5-year second-lien term loan and a provisional B1 rating to Vouvray Acquisition Ltd.'s $35 million five-year revolving credit facility. The outlook is stable.

Together with some balance-sheet cash, the proceeds of the term loans will be used to refinance the company's existing debt facilities and to fund a repayment of shareholder loan notes. The revolver will be used for working capital needs and general corporate purposes and is expected to be undrawn at closing.

The agency said the B2 corporate family rating reflects V.Group's high opening financial leverage, relatively small scale and dependence on key operational personnel, specifically fleet superintendents and skilled crew.

However, this is partially offset by the company's leading market position in the marine operations segment, diversified customer portfolio with long-term relationships and low churn rates and strong track record of growth, Moody's said.

The agency considers opening leverage to be high at 6.4 times.

© 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.