S&P ends watch on Awaze

S&P said it affirmed its B- ratings on Awaze Ltd., the €350 million term loan, and €75 million revolver and removed the ratings from CreditWatch negative, where they were placed on Aug. 7. The outlook is stable.

Awaze extended the maturity of its term loan and revolving credit facility and reduced the total amount of gross debt in an amend and extend transaction, buoyed by a €190 million equity injection, to repay €94 million on the prior term loan.

“We view the A&E as opportunistic since lenders could opt out of the maturity extension and would have been repaid by the original maturity date, and because those who consent will receive a margin step-up to 500 basis points (bps) from 400 bps on the TLB with a 96 original issuance discount (OID),” the agency said in a statement.

The outlook reflects the position that the group will always maintain adequate liquidity “to manage its intra-year working capital volatility, execute its business strategy, and return to growth in 2024, which should translate to leverage below 5.5x and marginally positive free operating cash flow after leases.”

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