...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 6, 2016--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings and outlook on Redwood City, Calif.-based data center operator Equinix Inc. are not immediately affected by the company's announcement that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 29 data centers from Verizon Communications Inc. for $3.6 billion, or about 13 times EBITDA, in an all-cash transaction. This acquisition comes on the heels of Telecity in early 2016 and Bit-Isle earlier in late 2015. We don't expect the company to finalize their plans for permanent financing for several months but assuming a relatively balanced mix of debt and equity, we forecast that pro forma debt to EBITDA would be in the mid-4x area on an S&P Global Ratings-adjusted basis, which is consistent with our expectations for the rating. Our current downgrade threshold includes debt to EBITDA remaining above 5x for a sustained period, which we view as unlikely given management's stated target of 3x-4x net...
