Moody's rates Viking Cruises notes B3

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B3 (LGD5) rating to Viking Cruises, Ltd.’s proposed $250 million senior notes due 2025, affirmed the B3 (LGD5) rating on the company’s existing $525 million 8˝% senior notes due 2022 and moved the B1 corporate family rating and B1-PD probability of default rating to Viking Cruises from its parent company, MISA Investments Ltd., now that all debt has been repaid at MISA. The outlook remains stable.

The proceeds of the proposed notes will be used to support new ship construction at subsidiary Viking Ocean Cruises Ltd.

The agency said Viking's B1 corporate family rating reflects its well-recognized brand name in a small market segment in the cruise industry, the European river cruise market.

The rating acknowledges that Viking's leverage is very high, Moody’s said, with gross rent-adjusted debt to EBITDAR pro forma for the proposed $250 million notes offering of 6.6 times. It also acknowledges the agency’s expectation that leverage will remain high for the next 12 to 18 months.

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