Brief: Credit rating agency Moody's upgrades its rating on Iliad to Ba2, with outlook as 'stable'
BRIEF-Credit rating agency Moody's upgrades its rating on Iliad to Ba2, with outlook as 'stable' June 19 (Reuters) - ILIAD:
• Credit rating agency Moody's upgraded on Friday its rating on French telecoms and media company Iliad Holding -which runs the 'Free' telecoms and Internet brand - to Ba2 from Ba3.
• Moody's added its outlook for Iliad Holding and Iliad S.A. has been changed to stable from positive.
• Earlier this month, Bouygues Telecom BOUY.PA, Orange ORAN.PA and Free-owner iliad Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Altice France to buy telecoms operator SFR for €20.35 billion ($23.3 billion), including debt.
• "The upgrade to Ba2 reflects Iliad's sustained strong organic growth and improved cash flow generation, driving material deleveraging and stronger credit metrics," said Ernesto Bisagno, a Moody's Ratings Vice President - Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst for Iliad Holding, in a statement.
• The SFR acquisition will also materially enhance Iliad's scale and generate significant synergies, mitigating the expected increase in leverage and integration costs," added Bisagno.
Source text: ID:nMDY2cY3dF
($1 = 0.8726 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta)