S&P: Wesco ratings unaffected by stock buy

Standard & Poor's said there is no impact on its ratings on Wesco Distribution Inc. (B+/stable/--) as a result of Wesco's purchase of 4.3 million of its outstanding Class B non-voting convertible common stock, at a discount from the market price in a privately negotiated transaction.

Although the transaction will cause a slight delay in the firm's efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, S&P said it expects Wesco's credit measures to strengthen over the next one to two years as the market recovers and the company benefits from ongoing cost reductions.

Debt to EBITDA, now estimated at about 6.5x for 2003, should decline to about 5.5x to 6x in 2004, and EBITDA interest coverage should exceed 2x.

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