18th Dec 2019 19:20
(Alliance News) - Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday it has affirmed the B1 corporate family rating and the B1-PD probability of default rating of Cineworld UK Holdco Ltd.
Moody's has also affirmed the B1 ratings of the outstanding USD3,375 million and the EUR212 million of senior secured term loan B borrowed by Crown Finance US Inc and the USD462.5 million senior secured revolving credit facility borrowed by Cineworld.
Moody's also said the outlook remains stable for both entities.
The rating action follows Cineworld's announcement that it has agreed to acquire Cineplex, a cinema operator in Canada with a 75% box office market share.
Gunjan Dixit, Moody's Vice President - Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst for Cineworld, said: "Cineworld's B1 corporate family rating will be weakly positioned in the rating category following the acquisition of Cineplex."
"Although the box office will likely not be particularly strong in 2020, we expect the company to de-lever towards 5.0x by the end of 2020 mainly helped by EBITDA growth from synergy realization as well as some debt reduction," Dixit noted.
Moody's said the stable outlook reflects the expectation that Cineworld will close the acquisition of Cineplex in accordance with the timetable outlined and on the terms announced.
Cineworld shares closed 1.9% higher in London at 227.40 pence each on Wednesday.
By Loreta Juodagalvyte; [email protected]
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