Moody’s ups ASDA, rates debt B1

Moody's Ratings said it upgraded the long-term corporate family rating to B1 from B2 and the probability of default rating to B1-PD from B2-PD of Bellis Finco plc (ASDA).

At the same time, Moody's upgraded to B1 from B2 the ratings of the existing backed senior secured debt instruments and senior secured bank credit facilities issued by Bellis Acquisition Co. plc, and to B3 from Caa1 the rating of the backed senior unsecured notes issued by Bellis Finco.

The agency assigned a B1 rating to the euro and pound sterling tranches of the £900 million equivalent senior secured term loan due 2031 being issued by Bellis Acquisition and to £1.75 billion-equivalent of other debt, the £166 million senior secured term loan A due 2028, and the £667 million revolving credit facility due 2028 to be issued by Bellis Acquisition, the latter two bank facilities effectively extending the existing facilities by three years.

The outlook on both entities remains stable.

“The rating upgrade follows the announcement by the company of a planned refinancing that would lower its amount of funded debt by £340 million, or 7%, to £4.5 billion,” the agency said in a news release.

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