Fitch puts Accor on evolving watch

Fitch Ratings said it placed Accor SA's long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating of BBB- on Rating Watch evolving.

The agency also placed Accor's short-term issuer default rating of F3 and senior unsecured long-term rating of BBB- on evolving watch, along with the BB rating on its €900 million subordinated hybrid perpetual bond.

The agency said that turning HotelInvest into a subsidiary and selling a majority stake will effectively make Accor a truly asset-light hotel operator, generating recurrent management contract and franchise fees.

Currently, Fitch said it expect the balance of risks to be skewed to a positive rating action with either an affirmation at BBB- with a positive outlook or an upgrade to BBB upon completion of the split and sale process.

Management has not yet announced clear parameters defining the company's financial policies post-deconsolidation of HotelInvest, the agency added.

Therefore, Fitch said it will resolve the evolving watch once it has a clearer understanding of the company's financial targets.

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