Fitch: Washington Prime loan BBB-

Fitch Ratings said it expects to assign an initial issuer default rating of BBB to Washington Prime Group, Inc. and Washington Prime Group, LP.

The agency also assigned BBB ratings to Washington Prime Group, LP's $900 million unsecured revolving credit facility and $500 million unsecured term loan.

The outlook is stable.

In December 2013, Simon Property Group, Inc. announced a plan to spin off all of its strip center business and smaller enclosed malls into a separate publicly traded REIT named Washington Prime Group, Inc. Washington Prime is expected to initially own or have an interest in 55 strip centers and 44 malls, Fitch said.

The ratings consider the company's strong expected credit metrics after the spin-off for the next 12 to 24 months, the agency said.

As an independent, publicly traded REIT with a dedicated management team, Washington Prime should initially benefit from the franchise affiliation with Simon Property, S&P said.

Credit strengths also include a high degree of portfolio granularity as evidenced by limited asset and tenant concentration, as well as good liquidity and a long-dated debt maturity profile, the agency said.

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