S&P ups Wind Telecomunicazioni, loans, notes

Standard & Poor's said it raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA to BB- from B+.

The outlook is stable.

At the same time, the agency raised the issue ratings on the senior secured loans issued by Wind and on the senior secured notes issued by Wind Acquisition Finance SA to BB from BB-, one notch above the corporate credit rating on Wind. The recovery ratings on these instruments are unchanged at 2, indicating an expectation of substantial (70%-90%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

In addition, S&P raised the issue rating on the senior notes issued by Wind Acquisition Finance to B+ from B, one notch below the corporate credit rating on Wind. The recovery rating on these notes is unchanged at 5, indicating an expectation of modest (10%-30%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

Furthermore, S&P raised the issue rating on the payment-in-kind notes issued by Wind Acquisition Holding Finance SA to B from B-, two notches below the corporate credit rating on Wind. The recovery rating on the PIK notes is unchanged at 6, indicating an expectation of negligible (0%-10%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

Finally, the agency removed all the aforementioned ratings from CreditWatch, where they placed them with positive implications on Nov. 26 in conjunction with the criteria redesign.

S&P said it bases the upgrades primarily on its assessment of Wind as a "strategically important" subsidiary for its Dutch parent Vimpelcom Ltd. The agency assesses Vimpelcom's group credit profile at bb, in line with the corporate credit rating on Vimpelcom.

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