Windstream Services, LLC -- Moody's: CS&L acquisition of PEG Bandwidth is credit neutral; ratings unaffected

New York, January 07, 2016 -- Moody's Investors Service said that Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc's ("CS&L" or "the company") plan to acquire PEG Bandwidth ("PEG" or "the target") for around $400 million is credit neutral and will not impact its ratings or outlook. The transaction will be funded through a combination of cash and stock and is credit neutral due to the modest diversification benefits which are mostly offset by a temporary increase in leverage. CS&L's B2 corporate family rating (CFR), B2-PD probability of default rating, SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating, and stable outlook are unchanged. The cash portion of the deal will be financed by drawing approximately $315 million on the company's previously unused $500 million revolving credit facility. Although leverage will rise slightly following the acquisition, Moody's expects leverage to return to pre-deal levels due to management's commitment to its current leverage target and willingness to raise additional equity to fund growth. CS&L's leverage will temporarily rise by 0.3x to around 5.8x debt to EBITDA (incorporating Moody's standard adjustments). Moody's expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2016.

Vollständigen Artikel bei Moodys lesen