Moody’s ups Portugal Telecom

Moody’s Investors Service said it has upgraded to Baa3 from Ba2 the long-term senior unsecured bond ratings, to provisional Baa3 from provisional Ba2 the rating on the EMTN program of Portugal Telecom SGPS, SA and its financing subsidiary Portugal Telecom International Finance BV.

The outlook is negative.

"Portugal Telecom's upgrade to Baa3 reflects predominantly the explicit guarantee that its bondholders now have as well as the company's stronger global diversification and greater financial strength all owing to its merger with Oi SA," said Carlos Winzer, a Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for Portugal Telecom.

“In addition, the guarantee from Oi mitigates Portugal Telecom's exposure to the domestic Portuguese macroeconomic risks," added Winzer.

Fitch lifts Affiliated Managers to positive

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.’s long-term issuer default rating at BBB, senior unsecured notes at BBB and senior bank credit facility at BBB.

The agency also affirmed AMG Capital Trust II’s trust preferred securities at BB.

The outlook also was revised to positive from stable.

The operating environment for traditional investment manager remains favorable, driven by improved global equity markets that have lifted assets under management levels and attracted investor flows, Fitch said.

This has resulted in good fee revenue generation, improved investment performance and stable operating margins, supported by continued cost discipline, the agency said.

These positive trends are tempered by the cyclical nature of market-value appreciation, potential performance and reputational risks in a rising interest-rate environment and regulatory uncertainty surrounding investment managers and their funds, Fitch said.

Moody’s may cut tw telecom

Moody’s Investors Service said it has placed the Ba3 corporate family rating and the Ba3-PD probability of default rating of tw telecom inc. under review for downgrade, while leaving its SGL-1 liquidity rating unchanged.

At the same time, Moody's said it also placed the Baa3 senior secured and B1 senior unsecured ratings of subsidiary tw telecom holdings inc. under review for possible downgrade.

This action follows Level 3 Communications Inc.'s (B3 review for upgrade) announcement that it will acquire tw telecom in a $7.5 billion enterprise value stock-and-cash transaction that was announced on June 16, the agency said.

Moody's said it has placed the tw telecom ratings under review for downgrade reflecting Level 3’s weaker credit profile and a high likelihood of the closing of the acquisition.

Moody’s may lift Level 3

Moody’s Investors Service said it (Moody's) will review Level 3 Communications Inc.'s ratings for upgrade following the company's announcement that it will acquire tw telecom in a $7.5 billion stock-and-cash transaction.

Pending normal regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, the agency said.

Level 3 has a B3 corporate family rating and a B3-PD probability of default rating.

Since Moody's expects improved free cash generation and reduced leverage, Level 3’s ratings are on review for upgrade following the company's announcement that it will acquire tw telecom.

Moody’s: Radian outlook positive

Moody’s Investors Service said it has assigned provisional ratings to Radian Group Inc. under a multi-seniority shelf registration statement that was filed by Radian on May 6.

The agency said it currently rates Radian Group's senior debt at B3 and Radian's principal mortgage insurance operating subsidiaries Ba2 for insurance financial strength.

The outlook is positive.

Moody's said that Radian Group's B3 senior debt rating reflects the improving credit profile of Radian Guaranty, its flagship operating subsidiary, offset by the meaningful debt burden relative to its liquidity and the fact that dividends from Radian Guaranty are unlikely for the foreseeable future, given its still weak regulatory capital position.

S&P rates AV Homes notes B-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a B- corporate credit rating to AV Homes, Inc.

The agency also said it assigned a B- rating and 3 recovery rating to the company’s proposed $200 million of senior unsecured notes. The 3 recovery rating indicates 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the builder’s vulnerable business risk profile characterized by a small, geographically concentrated operating platform and lack of sustained profitability to date, S&P said.

The agency said it views the financial risk profile as highly leveraged given projected cash flow-based credit metrics that will remain very weak over the next two years.

Moody’s rates Cenveo notes B3, Caa2

Moody’s Investors Service said it rated Cenveo Corp.'s new $540 million first-lien notes B3 and the new $250 million second-lien notes Caa2.

Cenveo's corporate family rating and probability of default rating were affirmed at Caa1 and Caa1-PD, respectively, the agency said.

The ratings for the existing senior secured term loan and second-lien notes were affirmed at B2 and Caa1, respectively, and will be withdrawn upon expected repayment from the new notes issues.

At the same time, the company's senior unsecured notes were affirmed at Caa3, Moody’s added. Cenveo's speculative-grade liquidity rating was also affirmed at SGL-3 (adequate liquidity).

The outlook remains stable.

The refinancing transaction reduces Cenveo's cost of capital, but with the company's junior-most debt instrument still in place, Moody's said it sees its timely and cost-effective refinance as uncertain.

S&P rates Cenveo notes B, CCC

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the B- corporate credit rating on Cenveo Inc.

The agency also said it assigned a B rating to the $540 million first-lien notes with a recovery rating of 2, indicating 70% to 90% expected default recovery.

S&P also assigned a CCC rating to the $250 million second-lien notes with a recovery rating of 6, indicating 0 to 10% expected default recovery.

When the transaction closes, the agency said it will withdraw the rating on the company’s existing term loan B and second-lien notes.

The outlook is stable.

The company’s proposed capital structure refinancing is essentially a debt-for-debt transaction that provides the company minimal interest expense savings, pushes out maturities and removes maintenance covenants that previously governed the capital structure, S&P said.

Cenveo is a highly leveraged company in an industry that is in a secular decline, the agency said.

The company has developed a strong presence in the envelopes business, but volume and pricing pressure is expected to will continue to be a headwind for the company going forward as email marketing and online billing disrupts the traditional envelope business, S&P said.

Fitch rates ERP Operating notes BBB+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a rating of BBB+ to ERP Operating LP’s $450 million aggregate principal amount of 2.375% senior unsecured notes due 2019 and $750 million aggregate principal amount of 4.500% senior unsecured notes due 2044.

The 2019 notes were issued at 99.900% of par value to yield 2.396%, or 70 basis points, over the benchmark rate and the 2044 notes were issued at 99.297% of par value to yield 4.543%, or 115 bps, over the benchmark rate, the agency said.

The proceeds will be used for working capital and general company purposes, including repayment of all or a portion of the outstanding balance under its unsecured revolving credit facility and all or a portion of the outstanding balance under its unsecured term loan facility, Fitch said.

Equity Residential has an issuer default rating of BBB+, unsecured revolving term loan rating of BBB+ and preferred stock rating of BBB-.

ERP Operating has an issuer default rating of BBB+, unsecured revolving credit facility rating of BBB+ and senior unsecured notes rating of BBB+.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings are supported by the company’s focus on high-quality properties in strong markets and sound financial management, Fitch said.

Moody’s rates Verizon notes Baa1

Moody’s Investors Service said it has assigned a Baa1 rating to Verizon Communications Inc.'s new sterling-denominated senior unsecured notes due 2024.

Verizon is offering to exchange up to all of Cellco Partnership's and Verizon Wireless Capital LLC’s £600 million face value of outstanding notes due Dec. 18, 2018 for the newly issued debt and an amount of cash.

According to the agency, Verizon's Baa1 long-term debt rating reflects its significant scale of operations, the diversity of its revenue mix and a strong market position across all business segments, particularly wireless.

Moody’s gives SBA notes B3

Moody’s Investors Service said it has assigned a B3 rating to SBA Communications Corp.'s proposed $600 million senior unsecured notes maturing 2022.

In connection with this rating action, Moody's said it lowered SBACs corporate family rating to B1 from Ba3, probability of default rating to B1-PD from Ba3-PD and the company's existing debt instruments by one notch, with the exception of the $800 million of 5¾% senior notes at SBA Telecommunications, Inc., which were downgraded by two notches to B3 from B1.

Moody's also affirmed the SGL-1 speculative-grade liquidity rating. The outlook is now stable.

New issue proceeds will be used to, among other things, repay a portion of the $500 million 4% convertible notes due October 2014, the agency stated.

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