Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) said today that it had assigned 'BBB-' issue ratings to senior unsecured instruments to be issued by Lerøy Seafood Group ASA (Lerøy). The company is financed primarily by secured bank debt and long-term leasing liabilities. For this reason, its long-term senior unsecured obligations are rated one notch below the issuer rating. The 'BBB-' issue rating will be applicable to future senior unsecured instruments issued by the company.
Rationale
Lerøy has announced that it has issued three senior unsecured green bonds of NOK 500m each and with 5-, 6- and 10-year tenors. NCR expects the newly issued bonds to have only a modest impact on Lerøy's credit metrics, depending on how the proceeds are used, and is unlikely to increase Lerøy's financial risk. As such, our 'BBB' issuer rating on the company is unchanged.
We note that the bonds will be issued by the parent company, which manages liquidity for the consolidated company, and that the secured bank debt is currently held by subsidiaries, without a guarantee from the parent and with the related covenants linked to the subsidiaries' financial position.
| Rating list | To | From |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term issuer credit rating: | BBB | BBB |
| Outlook: | Stable | Stable |
| Short-term issuer credit rating: | N-1+ | N-1+ |
| Senior unsecured issue rating: | BBB- | None |
If you have any questions, please contact:
Geir Kristiansen, credit rating analyst, +4790784593, geir.kristiansen@nordiccreditrating.com
Mille O. Fjeldstad, credit rating analyst, +4799038916, mille.fjeldstad@nordiccreditrating.com
The methodology documents used for this rating are NCR's Corporate Methodology published on 14 Aug. 2018 and NCR's Rating Principles published on 16 Sep. 2019. For the full regulatory disclaimer please see the rating report.