Moody's assigns (P)B3 to Edcon's notes‚ downgrades CFR to B3
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a provisional (P)B3 senior secured rating to the proposed issuance of senior secured notes due in 2018 by Edcon Holdings' main operating subsidiary‚ Edcon.
Concurrently‚ it has downgraded Edcon's corporate family rating (CFR) to B3 from B2‚ its probability of default rating (PDR) to B3-PD from B2-PD and various instrument ratings assigned to Edcon Holdings and Edcon.
The outlook on the ratings is stable.
The proposed senior secured notes will be guaranteed by Edcon‚ Edcon Acquisition and Edgars Consolidated Stores.
"We have assigned a (P)B3 rating decision to Edcon's senior secured notes in line with the downgrade of its ratings to B3‚ which stems from our assessment that the company's leverage profile has not materially improved over the past year as originally expected‚" says Dion Bate‚ a Moody's assistant vice president - analyst and local market analyst for Edcon.