Fitch Ratings Assigns 'BB+' to Mosaic Credit Facility.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has assigned a 'BB+' rating to The Mosaic Company's (Mosaic) new $850 million senior secured credit facility. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The new credit facility consists of a $450 million revolver at Mosaic, a $350 million Term Loan B at Mosaic Global Holdings Inc. (Mosaic Global Holdings), and a $50 million Term Loan A at Mosaic Potash Colonsay ULC ULC Up (Stage) Left Center ULC Universal Life Church ULC Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada ULC Ultra Light Client ULC Ultra Low Cost (cellular phone) ULC Urban Libraries Council , an operating subsidiary of Mosaic Global Holdings. Fitch rates the components of the secured credit facility as follows. -- Mosaic Company senior secured revolving credit Revolving Credit A line of credit where the customer pays a commitment fee and is then allowed to use the funds when they are needed. It is usually used for operating purposes, fluctuating each month depending on the customers current cash flow needs. facility 'BB+'; -- Mosaic Global Holdings Inc. senior secured term loans A and B 'BB+'. The ratings reflect the facility's strong collateral position and the likelihood of principal recovery. The new facility is secured by perfected first-priority interest in accounts receivable accounts receivable n. the amounts of money due or owed to a business or professional by customers or clients. Generally, accounts receivable refers to the total amount due and is considered in calculating the value of a business or the business' problems in paying and inventory, perfected first-priority interest limited to 65% of voting equity at certain foreign subsidiaries, as well as certain real property. The new facility imposes financial covenants, cross-default and cross-acceleration provisions, limitations on indebtedness, preferred equity and restricted payments, as well as restrictions on the purchase or redemption of securities junior to the credit facility. The new credit facility repaid and replaces the secured revolver and term loan at Mosaic Global Holdings, as well as the $160 million interim credit agreement at Mosaic. In October 2004, Fitch indicated that the 'BB+' rating would be assigned to the new Mosaic secured credit facility if such facility was executed as expected. At that time, Fitch also provided debt ratings as follows: -- Mosaic mandatory convertible Mandatory Convertible A type of convertible bond that has a required conversion or redemption feature. Either on or before a contractual conversion date, the holder must convert the mandatory convertible into the underlying common stock. preferred securities 'B'; -- Mosaic Global Holdings senior unsecured debt Unsecured debt Debt that does not identify specific assets that the debtholder is entitled to in case of default. with subsidiary guarantees 'BB'; -- Mosaic Global Holdings senior unsecured debt without subsidiary guarantees 'BB-'; -- Phosphate Acquisition Partners LP senior secured notes 'BB-'. The Mosaic Company is one of the largest global suppliers of phosphate and potash fertilizers. Mosaic earned approximately $246 million in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become on $3 billion in revenue; the company had $2.5 billion in debt at Nov. 30, 2004. |
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