S&P ups Wolters Kluwer view to stable

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on Wolters Kluwer NV to stable from negative, following the group's announcement that it intends to restrict any returns to shareholders out of the disposal proceeds from its education publishing business to €475 million. The remainder of the proceeds will be retained in the group to meet current debt maturities and fund in-fill acquisitions.

S&P also said it affirmed all its ratings, including the BBB+ long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings and the A-2 short-term corporate credit rating.

The outlook revision reflects a confirmation of financial policy targets by Wolters Kluwer's management, as well as the group's intention to continue prioritizing business development and acquisition spending over shareholder returns as long as the current rates of return on investment continue, S&P said.

Wolters Kluwer targets financial leverage of up to 2.5x net reported debt-to-EBITDA, which S&P considers to be in line with the rating level, the agency said.

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