S&P upgrades Nasdaq

Standard & Poor’s said it raised the issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Nasdaq Inc. to BBB from BBB-.

The group credit profile on Nasdaq remains at BBB+.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrades reflect the impact of the company’s double leverage on the rating, S&P said.

Previously, the rating on the non-operating holding company was two notches lower than the group credit profile, S&P said. The agency said it narrowed that differential to one notch.

Although Nasdaq’s double leverage is very high compared with other rated financial market infrastructure companies, S&P said it believes the company has several compensating factors that mitigate some of the risk that significant double leverage can present for creditors.

The agency said it believes Nasdaq has ample liquidity available at the holding company, including cash at the parent level and $440 million available under its $750 million revolving credit facility as of Sept. 30.

The ratings also consider the company’s leading market share positions in most of the businesses it operates, including cash equity and equity options trading, listings, market data, market technology and corporate solutions, S&P 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.