New York, March 03, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") placed the
B2 corporate family rating of Springleaf Holdings, Inc. ("Springleaf")
and the B2 senior unsecured rating of operating subsidiary Springleaf
Finance Corporation ("SFC") on review for downgrade following
the company's announcement that it will acquire OneMain Financial
Holdings, Inc. ("OneMain") from Citigroup, Inc.
for $4.25 billion in an all-cash transaction.
Moody's also placed OneMain's B2 corporate family and senior unsecured
ratings on review for downgrade.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The rating action reflects the pending transaction's several risks
to Springleaf's bondholders including: 1) increased leverage;
2) weakened liquidity; and 3) integration complexity given the size
of the acquisition.
Moody's estimates that Springleaf's leverage, measured
as debt to tangible equity, could increase substantially on a pro-forma
basis from 4x at September 30, 2014. Likewise, the
company's balance sheet leverage, measured as tangible common
equity to tangible managed assets, will weaken substantially from
approximately 20% at September 30, 2014 to below 4%,
as estimated by Moody's, assuming no change in the company's
capital structure. The deterioration in leverage metrics would
result from the additional borrowing of approximately $1 billion
that Springleaf is contemplating at the time of the acquisition and from
the assumption of OneMain's debt, as well as from a large
amount of goodwill due to the $2 billion purchase price premium.
The small size of Springleaf's pro forma tangible equity buffer
would indicate limited loss-absorption capacity.
Springleaf's liquidity profile will materially weaken after the
transaction given that the company intends to fund the entire $4.25
billion acquisition with cash on hand, which Moody's estimates
to be approximately $4 billion. Post-acquisition,
Springleaf's primary source of liquidity will be availability under
secured warehouse conduit facilities, as well as proceeds from a
potential sale or financing of remaining non-core real estate loans
totaling approximately $1 billion. With the purchase of
OneMain, Springleaf will get access to the additional pool of unencumbered
assets that could be securitized, subject to market conditions.
In 2015, Springleaf also faces approximately $800 million
of unsecured debt maturities that it will need to manage through its remaining
liquid resources or through future capital markets access, exposing
the firm to refinancing risk.
Moody's also believes that the size of the business combination
will result in integration risks that could be disruptive to the combined
company's operational stability until the transition is completed.
Measured on a loan portfolio basis, OneMain is substantially larger
than Springleaf, with OneMain's loan portfolio of $8.3
billion being more than twice the size of Springleaf's core loan
portfolio of $3.6 billion at September 30, 2014.
Post-acquisition, the combined entity will be run as separate
companies until the planned integration commences in mid-2016.
At that point, Springleaf will begin integrating the systems and
facilities and consolidating some of the branches. The company
expects to incur approximately $250 million of acquisition-related
costs. Moody's also notes that the complementary strategies
and locations of the two companies could drive growth and performance
improvements in coming periods that strengthen franchise positioning if
the integration is effectively managed. Scheduled to close in the
third quarter of 2015, the acquisition is subject to regulatory
approvals and other conditions.
Moody's review will assess the adequacy of the combined entity's
capital and liquidity/funding profile, the costs and timelines associated
with integration efforts, and potential implications for franchise
positioning and operating performance stemming from the transaction.
Downward rating pressure could emerge if we believe that Springleaf's
balance sheet leverage, measured as tangible common equity to tangible
managed assets is expected to remain below 4% for an extended period.
The ratings could also be downgraded if the company does not maintain
sufficient liquidity buffer commensurate with the heightened liquidity
risk stemming from a large acquisition that might require additional unforeseen
expenses, beyond the day-to-day operating and financing
needs. The ratings could be downgraded if the integration results
in higher than anticipated operating costs, or if performance of
the combined entity fails to meet expectations.
Ratings could be affirmed if Springleaf improves its balance sheet leverage,
measured as tangible common equity to tangible managed assets, to
above 4% within a short timeframe, if it builds a sufficient
liquidity buffer commensurate with the heightened liquidity risk stemming
from a large acquisition, and if integration of OneMain is executed
according to expectations.
A summary of today's action follows:
Springleaf Holdings, Inc.:
Corporate Family: B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Senior Unsecured Shelf: (P)Caa1 rating placed on review for downgrade
Subordinated Shelf: (P)Caa2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Junior Subordinated Shelf: (P)Caa3 rating placed on review for downgrade
The provisional ratings for each debt class for Springleaf Holdings,
Inc. are shown as non-backed (assuming no guarantee from
Springleaf Finance Corporation). Should the debt securities issued
by Springleaf Holdings, Inc. be guaranteed by Springleaf
Finance Corporation, the ratings would be equalized with those of
Springleaf Finance Corporation.
Springleaf Finance Corporation:
LT Issuer: B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Senior Unsecured: B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Senior Unsecured MTN Program: (P)B2 rating placed on review for
downgrade
Senior Unsecured Shelf: (P)B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Subordinated Shelf: (P)B3 placed on review for downgrade
Junior Subordinated Shelf: (P)Caa1 placed on review for downgrade
AGFC Capital Trust I:
Preferred Stock: Caa1(hyb) rating placed on review for downgrade
OneMain Financial Holdings, Inc.
Corporate Family: B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
Senior Unsecured: B2 rating placed on review for downgrade
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Finance Company Global
Rating Methodology published in March 2012. Please see the Credit
Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
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 rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
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 rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this 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.
The below contact information is provided for information purposes only.
Please see the ratings tab of the issuer page at www.moodys.com,
for each of the ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the
lead analyst and the Moody's legal entity that has issued the ratings.
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.
Anna Sherbakova
Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Robert Franklyn Young
MD - Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's places Springleaf's and OneMain's B2 ratings on review for downgrade following acquisition announcement