S&P lifts Nielsen, rates parent BB-, convertibles B

Standard & Poor's said it raised the corporate credit rating on the Nielsen Co. BV to BB- from B+, along with all of its existing issue-level ratings on the company's debt by one notch in conjunction with the corporate credit rating change.

The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with positive implications in January.

The outlook is stable.

The agency also said it assigned a BB- corporate credit rating to parent company Nielsen Holdings NV, along with a B rating to its mandatorily convertible bonds due 2013 with a recovery rating of 6, indicating a negligible expected recovery in a default.

The rating reflects an expectation that Nielsen will continue to reduce leverage, but that it will still remain high, S&P said.

The rating also considers an expectation that the company's operating performance will remain relatively stable due to its significant sources of recurring revenue and strong market position, the agency said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.