Moody's views Blackstone unit positively

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Baa3 long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings of Blackstone Private Credit Fund (Bcred) and changed the outlook to positive from stable.

“Moody's changed Bcred's outlook to positive from stable, reflecting its superior franchise value as one of the largest vehicles in the private credit ecosystem which Moody's expects to reflect in its ability to generate superior deal flow while maintaining strong underwriting discipline amid growing persistent macroeconomic challenges to asset quality performance. Additionally, the positive outlook reflects Bcred's relatively more conservative leverage than peers and strong funding relationships with its unsecured and secured creditors.

“Moody's also expects that Bcred's portfolio growth will occur at a more moderate pace and that the company's liquidity coverage will remain robust considering its debt maturities, share redemptions and portfolio funding needs. The outlook is also based on Moody's expectation that Bcred's reliance on secured debt financing will not rise above 35% secured debt-to-assets and that debt-to-equity leverage will be maintained with a solid cushion to the higher end of the BDC's target range of 0.9x - 1.25x,” the agency said in a press release.

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