Moody's rates Crown Castle loans B1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B1 corporate family rating to Crown Castle Operating Co. and a B2 debt rating to its $1.25 billion senior secured credit facilities. The outlook is stable.

The agency said the ratings are supported by the company's stable and predictable cash flow.

The ratings are constrained by the company's levered balance sheet. The company's stated financial policy is to maintain the ratio of total debt to EBITDA at 5x to 7x, although after applying standard Moody's adjustments and including preferred stock, the adjusted target is between 6x to 8x. Upon initial drawing of the new term loan, this ratio will be about 8.5x.

Crown Castle's decision to use the added liquidity to repurchase common shares and to make further acquisitions also constrains the rating, Moody's said.

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