Moody’s gives Ardagh notes Ba2

Moody’s Investors Service said it gave a Ba2 rating to the planned $600 million of backed senior secured notes due 2027 to be co-issued by Ardagh Metal Packaging Finance plc and Ardagh Metal Packaging Finance USA LLC.

Concurrently, the agency affirmed Ardagh Metal Packaging SA’s (AMP) ratings, including the B1 corporate family rating, the Ba2 rating on the $1.15 billion equivalent backed senior secured notes due 2028 and the B3 rating on the $1.5 billion equivalent backed senior unsecured notes due 2029, both co-issued by subsidiaries Ardagh Metal Packaging Finance and Ardagh Metal Packaging Finance USA. Moody’s also changed AMP’s outlook to negative from stable.

Ardagh plans to use the proceeds together with €250 million in perpetual preferred shares issued by AMP and to be fully subscribed by its parent company Ardagh Group SA, will be used for general corporate purposes and pay transaction fees.

"The change in outlook to negative reflects the increase in AMP's financial leverage relative to our previous expectations, the company's more aggressive than expected financial policy and our expectation that the company will need to incur additional funding in the next 12 to 18 months to support its growth investment plan and preserve an adequate liquidity profile, slowing down its deleveraging trajectory," said Donatella Maso, a Moody's vice president, senior credit officer and lead analyst for AMP, in a press release.

© 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.