Moody's reviews Spie for upgrade

Moody's Investors Service said it placed all ratings of Spie BondCo 3 SCA under review for upgrade, including its B1 corporate family rating, its B1-PD probability of default rating, the B3 rating assigned to its senior notes due 2019 and the B1 rating assigned to the debt facilities borrowed by Clayax Acquisition 4 SAS.

The review follows Spie's announcement that it plans to raise about €525 million in an initial public offering on the regulated market of Euronext Paris. In addition to new banking facilities, the IPO proceeds will be applied toward debt redemption and debt refinancing.

The agency said the IPO will likely lead to a material reduction in net debt and further strengthen free cash flow through a reduction in interest expense. Spie expects its net leverage to fall to below 2.5 times by the end of 2014 from around 3.9 times at the end of 2013. The anticipated improvement in leverage is also attributed to the full-year contribution from the acquisition of Hochtief Service Solutions (renamed Spie GmbH) in September 2013.

If the IPO goes ahead as scheduled, Moody's could upgrade the corporate family rating by one or two notches.

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