Obbligazioni societarie HIGH YIELD e oltre, verso frontiere inesplorate - Vol. 1

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US912920AL99 Qwest Corp. Anleihe: 7,200% bis 10.11.2026

Rating Action: Moody's rates Qwest Corp. new notes Baa3



Global Credit Research - 10 Sep 2015


New York, September 10, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has assigned a Baa3 rating to Qwest Corporation's proposed offering of senior unsecured notes due 2055. The proceeds from the note offering are expected to be used to redeem all of the Qwest Corporation 2026 Notes and a portion of the 2033 Notes. The company's other ratings and negative outlook remain unchanged.

Moody's has taken the following rating action:
Qwest Corporation
.. New Senior Unsecured Notes due 2055: Assigned Baa3 (LGD3)

RATINGS RATIONALE

CenturyLink, Inc.'s ("CenturyLink" or "the company") Ba1 Corporate Family Rating reflects the company's predictable cash flows, its broad base of operations, and a still strong market position, especially in its fiber-enabled large markets. These positives are offset by the challenges the company faces in reversing the downward pressure on revenues and EBITDA margins due to competitive forces and secular changes in the industry. Management's tolerance for higher leverage and its recent inclination to use a majority of its excess cash flow for share repurchases also weighs on the rating. Finally, the expectation of significantly higher cash taxes in 2016 and beyond will also prevent meaningful debt reduction. Consequently, credit protection measurements (i.e. debt to EBITDA) are expected to remain relatively flat, at best.

CenturyLink had a weak 2Q'15 performance with results negatively impacted by a renegotiation of a long-term wholesale agreement that drives an approximately $40 million reduction to the company's revenue guidance for FYE2015 and expenses that were $80 million higher than anticipated. To offset these negative developments, CenturyLink is implementing plans to reduce planned expenses by $125 million for the second half of 2015, including lowering contract labor and professional services cost, reductions in employee headcount and other expense reductions. The company also created a team to identify and drive ongoing efficiencies in the business which should result in additional opportunities to improve performance and reduce expenses by driving additional automation and simplification into the business. We expect these initiatives to produce the expected cost savings this year and beyond. That said, margin stability is unlikely until 2017, at the earliest. Finally, CenturyLink announced a $200 million reduction in planned capital spending this year. We do not believe that this modest reduction in investment will negatively affect growth prospects as its capital intensity levels remain among the highest in the sector.

Moody's could lower the ratings further if one of the following occurs: a) leverage (Debt / EBITDA, Moody's adjusted) were to exceed 3.4x or free cash flow to debt fell below 5% on a sustained basis; b) management were to signal further tolerance of additional financial leverage; c) a new share repurchase program (or any dividend increase) was announced, or: d) capital investment were reduced to levels that would weaken the company's competitive position.

Though unlikely given the company's share repurchase program and current leverage target, Moody's could raise CenturyLink's ratings if leverage were to be sustained below 3.0x (Debt / EBITDA, Moody's adjusted) and free cash flow to debt were in the high single digits. More importantly, we would need evidence that management is committed to a more conservative financial policy.

The principal methodology used in this rating was Global Telecommunications Industry published in December 2010. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
 
MEXICO CITY?Mexican telecommunications companies Axtel SAB and Alestra have agreed to merge their operations, seeking greater size to compete in an increasingly competitive local market.

Axtel said Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with conglomerate Alfa SAB and Alfa's telecom unit Alestra to join the two telecommunications companies.

"The new entity will have a more robust network and commercial operation," Axtel said in a news release, adding that the planned merger should create economies of scale and financial synergies. The combined base of corporate and consumer clients generate pro forma annual revenue around 15 billion pesos ($890 million).

Axtel will continue to exist as a listed holding company, and plans to issue shares to Alfa to pay for Alestra for the equivalent of 51% of the merged concern.

The companies said the transaction is expected to close at the end of this year or in early 2016.

Axtel offers fixed-line services, including telephony, broadband Internet and TV. It had 605,000 customers, who had 1.5 million subscriptions to its different services, at the end of 2014. Alestra's operations focus on corporate customers, and include data centers, networks, cloud and consultancy services.

The merger comes amid changes in the competitive landscape in Mexican telecommunications. U.S. giant AT&T Inc. bought two mobile operators this year and plans significant investments to compete with Amé rica Mó vil SAB and Spain's Telefó nica SA. On the fixed-line front, Amé rica Mó vil unit Telmex faces increased competition from cable TV companies offering telephony and broadband.

Write to Anthony Harrup at [email protected]

non dovremmo avere problemi per il bond..giusto??
 
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