Madrid, June 07, 2016 -- Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) has today assigned a provisional
(P)B2 rating, with a loss given default assessment of LGD3,
to the EUR500 million senior secured notes due 2022 to be issued by eircom
Finance Designated Activity Company (eircom Finance DAC), formerly
eircom Finance Limited, an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary
of telecommunications company eircom Holdings (Ireland) Limited (eir).
The senior secured notes, along with the senior bank facilities
issued by eircom Finco S.a.r.l. are guaranteed
by eir and certain subsidiaries.
All other ratings remain unchanged, including the B2 corporate family
rating (CFR) and B2-PD probability of default rating of eir and
the existing instrument ratings. The outlook on all the ratings
remains positive.
"We have assigned a provisional (P)B2 rating to eir's proposed
bond issuance in line with the company's B2-rated outstanding
senior credit facility, as the proposed senior secured notes benefit
from the same guarantors and are secured with the same collateral",
says Iván Palacios, a Moody's Associate Managing Director
and lead analyst for eir.
"This refinancing exercise is credit positive for eir, as
the new notes will be used to refinance existing debt at a lower interest
rate, thereby improving coverage ratios and covenant headroom,
and extending its debt maturity to 2022", adds Mr Palacios.
In addition, the company is in the process of raising a EUR150 million
revolving credit facility, which will further strengthen the company's
liquidity sources.
Proceeds from this bond issuance will be used to redeem the EUR350 million
guaranteed senior secured notes due 2020 issued by eircom Finance DAC,
as well as the outstanding EUR159 million term loan B2 issued by eircom
Finco S.a.r.l., together with a marginal
amount of cash. Moody's will withdraw the B2 ratings on these notes
following their redemption, which is expected to be on 17 June 2016,
as well as the B2 ratings on the term loan B2.
Moody's issues provisional ratings in advance of the final sale of securities
and these ratings reflect the rating agency's preliminary credit opinion
regarding the transaction only. Upon a conclusive review of the
final documentation, Moody's will endeavour to assign a definitive
rating to the proposed debt instruments. The definitive ratings
may differ from the provisional rating.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Today's assignment of the (P)B2 rating on the proposed senior secured
notes is in line with eir's CFR and with the rating on the EUR2.0
billion (outstanding) senior credit facility. The new notes are
guaranteed by the same entities that guarantee the senior credit facility,
and are secured over the same collateral on a pari passu basis with the
senior credit facility.
This refinancing exercise is leverage neutral and does not have an impact
on eir's rating or its positive outlook. However, there are
a number of positive considerations from this refinancing, including
(1) the expected improvement in coverage ratios, covenant headroom
and cash flow generation, owing to the lower cost of debt of the
new notes; and (2) the extension of the debt maturity profile to
2022, from 2020 in the case of the senior secured notes and 2019
regarding the term loan B2.
In addition, the new EUR150 million revolving credit facility will
strengthen eir's liquidity profile, increasing its sources
of liquidity and enhancing its flexibility in the event of unexpected
liquidity needs.
The B2 CFR reflects (1) eir's integrated business model; (2) its
strong position in the fixed-line market as Ireland's incumbent
operator, and its position as the third-largest operator
in the mobile segment; (3) the potential for its competitive position
to strengthen over time, as a result of its accelerated investment
plan in fibre and 4G networks; and (4) Moody's expectation
of positive free cash flow generation once eir completes the current investment
cycle.
However, the rating also reflects (1) eir's high leverage,
although Moody's expects deleveraging from current levels;
(2) the challenging competitive environment in the Irish telecoms market;
and (3) its IAS 19 accounting pension deficit.
RATIONALE FOR THE POSITIVE OUTLOOK
The positive outlook reflects eir's strong position within the B2 rating
category, with the potential for moving to B1 on the basis of further
improvements in performance, as well as operational and financial
measures taken by management.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN
Upward pressure on the rating would be supported by continued improved
operating performance, with growth in revenues and EBITDA leading
to lower leverage such as adjusted debt/EBITDA sustainably falling below
5.0x. Upward rating pressure would also develop if the group
were to generate growing positive free cash flows and to maintain a sound
liquidity profile, with comfortable headroom under financial covenants.
Downward pressure on the rating could materialise if the group fails to
execute its business plan or if pricing dynamics deteriorate, leading
to weaker-than-expected credit metrics, including
adjusted debt/EBITDA sustainably above 5.5x, and persistently
negative free cash flow generation. Given the volatility of eir's
IAS 19 pension deficit, the B2 rating with a positive outlook incorporates
the potential for moderate deviations from these ranges on a temporary
basis.
Moody's would also be concerned if eir's liquidity came under stress as
a result of a weaker-than-expected operating performance
or larger-than-planned cash outflows for capex or voluntary
leavers.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
Assignments:
..Issuer: eircom Finance Designated Activity Company
....Backed Senior Secured Regular Bond/Debenture,
Assigned (P)B2 (LGD 3)
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES
The principal methodology used in this rating was Global Telecommunications
Industry published in December 2010. Please see the Ratings Methodologies
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
eircom Holdings (Ireland) Limited is the holding company of the eir group,
the principal provider of fixed-line telecommunications services
in Ireland, with a revenue share of the fixed-line market
of approximately 49% (according to ComReg). The group is
also the third-largest mobile operator in Ireland, with a
subscriber market share of approximately 21% (excluding mobile
broadband and Machine to Machine, according to ComReg). eir
reported revenue of EUR1.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of EUR518
million for the last 12 months ended March 2016.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to
each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their
credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating.
For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory
disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and
in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to
the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction
structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive
rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further
information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the
respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Ivan Palacios
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A.
Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta
Madrid 28002
Spain
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Michael J. Mulvaney
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A.
Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta
Madrid 28002
Spain
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's assigns (P)B2 rating to eir's new EUR500 million senior secured notes