S&P puts Salini Impregilo on watch

S&P said it placed the BB ratings on Salini Impregilo SpA on CreditWatch with negative implications, along with the BB ratings on its senior unsecured debt.

On Dec. 13, the International Chamber of Commerce in Miami ordered Grupo Unidos por el Canal SA (GUPC), the construction consortium that built the Panama Waterway extension and that includes Salini Impregilo, to pay back $836 million to the Panama Canal Authority.

The tribunal's ruling stems from a protracted dispute between the Panama Canal Authority and GUPC led by Spain's Sacyr and Salini Impregilo, S&P said.

The dispute concerned cost overruns related to the construction of a third set of locks for the waterway, which was completed in 2016, the agency explained.

Salini Impregilo announced that its contract advanced payments will be paid immediately from its available cash resources, S&P noted.

The agency said it believes this award and several other ongoing cases may impede the company's ability to reduce gross debt through 2019, and could negatively affect credit metrics and liquidity.

© 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.