Moody’s cuts Sivantos facilities, rates loan

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed Auris Luxembourg II SA’s (Sivantos) corporate family rating at B1, probability of default rating at B1-PD and €275 million senior unsecured notes at B3.

Concurrently, the agency downgraded Auris Luxembourg III Sarl’s senior secured facilities to B1 from Ba3 and assigned B1 rating to the new €200 million incremental facility, which is to be merged into the existing senior secured term loan B.

The outlook is stable.

Proceeds from the proposed incremental facility, together with €30 million of cash and €64 million of drawing under revolving credit facility, will be used to finance the acquisition of TruHearing.

Moody’s said the ratings are supported by: (a) Sivantos' leading market position in the global hearing aid devices market, which is dominated by six leading companies and is therefore oligopolistic in character; (b) achieving successful transitioning away from the "Siemens" name to its new "Signia" brand and maintaining strong brand awareness; (c) continued positive momentum in financial and operating performance in line with the agency’s expectations; and (d) low cyclicality of the industry and continued strong growth driven by ageing populations in developed countries and, potentially, increased penetration in emerging markets.

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