S&P: Polyus Gold on watch

Standard & Poor’s said it placed Polyus Gold International Inc.’s BB+ long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications.

Wandle Holdings Ltd., the main shareholder of Polyus Gold, has proposed to acquire all Polyus’ outstanding shares, S&P said. It recently announced that the vast majority of shareholders have accepted this proposal, the agency said, and the transaction has become unconditional.

The transaction is expected to close by Nov. 17, S&P said. The offer translates into a $5 billion deal, the agency added.

S&P said it does not know what the long-term finance structure at the parent level will look like.

Given Polyus’ current modest leverage, servicing several billion dollars of additional debt could have negative implications for its dividend policy and capital structure, the agency said, and result in a downgrade of one notch or more.

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