Fitch rates American Tower notes BBB-

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a BBB- rating to American Tower Corp.'s proposed offering of $500 million senior unsecured notes due 2023.

The proceeds will be used to partially repay $1.257 billion of borrowings on the company's senior unsecured revolving credit facilities and for general corporate purposes.

The company's long-term issuer default rating is BBB- and the outlook is stable.

The company borrowed $1.257 billion on its two revolving credit facilities in the fourth quarter of 2012 to fund acquisitions.

In December, the company paid about $526 million to acquire 2,031 sites from Royal KPN NV's German subsidiary and $68 million for smaller acquisitions in Mexico and Colombia. In the fourth quarter, American Tower paid $506.6 million to acquire 680 sites in the United States. While increasing leverage initially, Fitch said it believes the acquisitions add scale and diversify the company's revenue stream in the longer-term.

The ratings are supported by the financial flexibility provided by the company's strong free cash flow and high EBITDA margin, the agency said.

The tower industry is benefiting from wireless carriers expanding their fourth generation (4G) networks to supply rapidly growing demand for mobile broadband services. As a result, Fitch said it expects these dynamics to more than offset the effects of recent and potential future wireless operator consolidation on American Tower's results.

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