Best’s News & Research Service - March 23, 2017 01:50 PM (EDT)
A.M. Best Assigns Issue Credit Rating to Liberty Mutual Finance Europe Designated Activity Company’s New Senior Unsecured Notes
- March 23, 2017 01:50 PM (EDT)
Oldwick //BestWire// - A.M. Best has assigned a Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of “bbb” to the recently announced EUR 500 million 1.75% fixed rate senior unsecured euro bonds to be issued by Liberty Mutual Finance Europe Designated Activity Company (LM Finance) (Ireland) due March 2024. The outlook assigned to the Credit Rating (rating) is stable. LM Finance is a newly formed financing company that is indirectly owned by Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. (LMHC). The existing ratings of LMHC and its subsidiaries are unchanged.
LMHC intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes. The guarantee of the new notes will rank pari passu with LMHC’s existing senior unsecured debt, which was issued through Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (LMGI), which currently has a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” with a stable outlook. The issued notes are to be guaranteed by LM Finance’s immediate parents, LMHC and LMHC Massachusetts Holdings Inc., as well as by LMGI.
LMHC’s financial leverage and coverage ratios are within A.M. Best’s guidelines for LMGI’s current rating and are expected to remain so over the near term.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings.
A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.