Fitch affirms Mediacom

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the B+ issuer default rating assigned to Mediacom Communications Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Mediacom LLC and Mediacom Broadband LLC.

Mediacom Broadband's senior unsecured ratings also were affirmed at B with a recovery rating of RR5, along with Mediacom LLC's senior unsecured rating at B with a recovery rating of RR5.

Zylstra Communications Corp.'s issuer default rating also was affirmed at B+, along with its senior secured rating at BB+ with a recovery rating of RR1.

The agency also said the ratings were removed from Rating Watch negative.

The outlook is stable.

The affirmations follow news that Mediacom's merger agreement between the company, JMC Communications, LLC and Rocco B. Commisso, Mediacom's founder and chief executive officer, has closed.

As a result of the merger, Mediacom will be a private company.

This transaction will not trigger any change of control provisions included in Mediacom's subsidiary senior secured credit facilities or its unsecured notes, Fitch said.

Fitch said it estimates that the cash requirements to close the merger agreement was about $390 million and was funded through a combination of borrowings under the company's existing credit facilities and existing cash balances.

Initially, the incremental debt used to facilitate the close of the merger will weaken Mediacom's credit profile relative to its current ratings, the agency said.

But a key consideration is an expectation that the company will utilize free cash flow generation to reduce outstanding debt, Fitch said.

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