Moody’s rates Action loan B1

Moody’s Investors Service said it affirmed the B1 corporate family rating, probability of default rating and ratings on the existing senior secured facilities of Action Holding BV.

The agency also said it assigned a provisional B1 rating to the envisaged €1.200 billion senior secured credit facilities, comprising a €1.125 billion term loan B and €75 million revolving credit facility. The facilities were made available to Action’s immediate parent, Peer Holding BV.

The outlook is stable.

The proceeds will be used to effect full repayment of the existing €730 million term loan B borrowed by Action, Moody’s said.

The surplus, together with a portion of Action’s cash on balance sheet, will be used to pay a dividend of about €500 million to Peer’s ultimate shareholders, including majority-owners 3i Group and funds managed by 3i, the agency said.

The ratings recognize the company’s limited, but increasing, geographic diversity with more than 60% of store EBITDA in 2015 generated in the Netherlands, Moody’s said.

The ratings also consider its exposure to the competitive and fragmented discount retail segment and sizable number of new store openings, which lead to execution risk, the agency said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.