Moody's rates Seat Pagine Gialle

Moody's Investors Service said it has assigned a B1 senior implied rating to Seat Pagine Gialle SpA. Concurrently, Moody's also assigned the following ratings: secured credit facilities issued by Seat Pagine Gialle SpA rated B1; second lien facility issued by Northstar International Co. SA rated prospective B2; senior notes issued by Lighthouse International Co. SA rated prospective B3; and unsecured issuer rating to Seat Pagine Gialle SpA at Caa1.

The outlook is stable.

The B1 senior implied rating reflects high financial risks based on Seat's substantial pro forma total leverage of 6.9x to fiscal 2003 EBITDA of €602.3 million, its modest pro forma fiscal 2003 EBITDA interest coverage of 2.1x and the minimal tangible assets on the balance sheet. Moreover, total pro forma funded debt of €4.155 billion considerably exceeds consolidated fiscal 2003 revenues of €1.450 billion.

However, the ratings are supported by Seat's dominant market position as the incumbent directory publisher in Italy, its solid number two market positions in the U.K. directory market and German directory assistance market, and the good earnings visibility, modest competitive threats and stable demand characteristics of the directory business model.

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