Moody's assigns Edcon's provisional rating‚ outlook stable

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a provisional (P)Caa2 rating to the proposed issuance of €400m senior notes‚ due in 2019‚ by retailer Edcon Holdings.

Concurrently‚ Moody's has affirmed Edcon's corporate family rating (CFR) at B3‚ its probability of default rating (PDR) at B3-PD and various instrument ratings assigned to Edcon Holdings Limited and Edcon Limited.

The ratings agency said on Friday that the proposed senior notes would be guaranteed on a subordinated basis by Edcon Limited‚ Edcon Acquisition (Pty) Ltd and Edgars Consolidated Stores Limited. The outlook on the ratings is stable.

"We have assigned a (P)Caa2 rating decision to Edcon's proposed senior notes in line with the current ratings assigned to the €378m senior notes due 2015‚ on the understanding that the new senior notes will be used to refinance the existing €378m senior notes‚" said Dion Bate‚ a Moody's Vice President - Senior Analyst and local market analyst for Edcon.

The proposed €400m issuance senior notes due in 2019 will improve the company's liquidity profile by further lengthening its maturity profile‚ added Bate.