S&P: West on negative watch

S&P said it placed the BB- corporate credit rating on West Corp. on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The agency said it would not place the issue-level ratings on CreditWatch because it expects all of the debt to be repaid upon close of the transaction.

The CreditWatch placement follows news that West entered into an agreement to sell itself to private equity sponsor, Apollo Global Management LLC, for $23.50 per share in cash, an equity value of about $2 billion, S&P said.

In resolving the CreditWatch placement, the agency said it will discuss with management the strategic implications of the sale to Apollo Global Management, as well the new capital structure.

S&P also said it intends to resolve the CreditWatch placement when the transaction closes with the expectation that if leverage exceeds 5x, it will likely lower the rating by at least one notch.

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