Fitch: Wolters Kluwer unaffected

Fitch Ratings said the announcement by Wolters Kluwer of its intention to dispose of its education business is likely to be credit neutral, however any rating outcome would be dependent on the final transaction structure and application of cash proceeds. The company is rated issuer default BBB with a stable outlook, subordinated notes BBB- and short term F2.

While using all the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt could have positive implications for the rating, Fitch said it considers this highly unlikely given that the company should be able to meet its target 2.5x leverage by fiscal year 2007 without this additional funding. Fitch has historically tolerated leverage above this at BBB for Wolters Kluwer. Only in the most extreme scenario, the agency said, downgrade is a possibility.

While the effect is expected to be credit-neutral at this stage, Fitch said it will further review the situation and take any rating action necessary once details of the transaction are known.

© 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.