Moody's downgrades VNU

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the senior unsecured long-term debt ratings of VNU NV and its subsidiary Nielsen Media Ratings Inc. to Baa2 from Baa1. The ratings remain under review for possible downgrade.

The downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that VNU's financial profile will weaken following the return of €1 billion to shareholders, the discontinuation of the scrip dividend and further restructuring in 2006. The downgrade also reflects strategic uncertainties from the pending changes in chief executive officer and chairman of the supervisory board and from planned portfolio optimization steps.

This is slightly mitigated by VNU's currently stated intention to manage the company to a high Baa rating, the agency said. In addition, the company recently said it had received expressions of interest from various parties regarding a possible acquisition of the company.

© 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.