Fitch puts Ithaca Energy positive watch

Fitch Ratings said it placed Ithaca Energy plc's long-term issuer default rating of B and senior unsecured rating of B+ on rating watch positive.

The positive watch follows the announcement of a potential combination with Eni SpA’s United Kingdom business.

“The RWP reflects Fitch's expectations that the merger will be credit positive given that it will boost Ithaca's business profile and the new assets are debt-free. If it goes ahead, the transaction will increase Ithaca's scale to around 100 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day (kboe/d), balancing production between oil/gas and increasing operational diversification.

“We expect the group to maintain solid credit metrics and have better financial flexibility post-transaction. However, the production costs and reserve life of the combined entity are unlikely to improve materially from Ithaca's current profile,” the agency said in a press release.

Fitch said it aims to resolve the RWP after the expiry of the four-week exclusivity agreement or if the transaction goes ahead once it is complete, which may take longer than six months.

© 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.