S&P upgrades Sanitec

Standard & Poor's said it raised the long-term corporate credit rating on Sanitec OyJ to BB- from B+.

The agency also said it raised the rating on Sanitec's €250 million senior secured floating-rate notes due 2018 to BB- from B+.

The recovery rating on these notes is unchanged at 3, indicating 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

The outlook is positive.

The upgrades follow Sanitec's initial public offering on the Nasdaq OMX in Sweden and reflect an opinion that Sanitec will maintain a more moderate financial policy as a publicly traded company, notwithstanding its partial ownership by Swedish private equity firm EQT, S&P said.

Publicly traded companies tend to exercise less aggressive financial policies than firms owned entirely by private-equity interests, the agency said.

About 60% of Sanitec's stock is now publicly owned, S&P said, and it is possible that the proportion of public ownership could increase over time if EQT monetizes its investment.

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