S&P puts TIM Hellas on developing watch

Standard & Poor's said it placed the B+ long-term corporate credit ratings of TIM Hellas Telecommunications SA and related entities on CreditWatch with developing implications following press reports that the group's private equity owners, Texas Pacific Group and Apax Partners, have put the business up for sale with a bidding process already underway, albeit at an early stage.

Also on developing watch are Hellas Telecommunications (Luxembourg) V's B €1.125 billion senior secured notes due 2021, Hellas Telecommunications (Luxembourg) III's B- €355 million subordinated notes due 2013 and Hellas Telecommunications Finance SARL's B- €500 million subordinated pay-in-kind notes on.

The agency said the CreditWatch placement reflects material uncertainties regarding the group's future leverage and the buyer's creditworthiness if a sale materializes. Although a sale to other private-equity firms would likely result in similar or higher leverage than at present, a trade sale to a potentially higher-rated entity may have positive implications for the ratings.

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