Bulletin: Credit Metric Expectations For Howden Group Holdings Ltd. Unaffected By Incremental Term Loan

LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 7, 2023--U.K.-based insurer Howden Group Holdings Ltd. (Howden) plans to raise a £455 million equivalent ($555 million) first-lien term loan due in 2030 to reprice £209 million ($255 million) of its existing $875 million term loan B due in 2027 at more attractive interest rates, add the remaining proceeds of £246 million to its lockbox account, and pay transaction fees. Howden will use the money from the lockbox account to fund a pipeline of further bolt-on acquisitions. We expect this will improve S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage as EBITDA-accretive deals are completed. Following the issuance, we forecast adjusted leverage will improve to about 8.5x in fiscal year 2024 (ends Sept. 30, 2024) and about 7.2x in

...November 7, 2023 LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 7, 2023--U.K.-based insurer Howden Group Holdings Ltd. (Howden) plans to raise a ú455 million equivalent ($555 million) first-lien term loan due in 2030 to reprice ú209 million ($255 million) of its existing $875 million term loan B due in 2027 at more attractive interest rates, add the remaining proceeds of ú246 million to its lockbox account, and pay transaction fees. Howden will use the money from the lockbox account to fund a pipeline of further bolt-on acquisitions. We expect this will improve S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage as EBITDA-accretive deals are completed. Following the issuance, we forecast adjusted leverage will improve to about 8.5x in fiscal year 2024 (ends Sept. 30, 2024) and about 7.2x in fiscal year 2025. Despite increasing interest costs, compared with our previous estimates, we continue to forecast funds from operations (FFO) to cash interest coverage of about 1.8x-1.9x in fiscal year 2024 and close to 2.0x in...

Bulletin