Moody's affirms Hutchison Whampoa

Moody's Investors Service said it has affirmed the A3 debt rating for Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and its guaranteed finance subsidiaries in response to its announcement that it has signed an agreement to buy back DoCoMo's 20% stake in H3GUK for £120 million, payable at Hutchison Whampoa's discretion, in cash or in shares of to-be-listed Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd.; and acquire DoCoMo's £200 million shareholder's loan to H3GUK for cash.

The outlook remains negative.

Moody's said the rating affirmation reflects Moody's opinion that the transaction will not have any significant negative impact on Hutchison Whampoa's financial profile, as expected cash proceeds from its sale of Proctor & Gamble-Hutchison Ltd. will be more than sufficient to cover the entire purchase consideration.

This holds even under the worst-case scenario that all purchase costs are to be paid in cash. The transaction, therefore, will not undermine Hutchison Whampoa's current liquid reserve of about $18 billion.

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