Bulletin: Orange S.A.'s Hybrid Stock Retains Equity Content Following Immaterial Redemption

PARIS (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 21, 2022--S&P Global Ratings today said that France-based telecommunications operator Orange S.A. (Orange)'s decision to launch an any-and-all tender offer on, and not replace, its £426 million (€547 million at historical swapped rate) hybrid callable in April 2023 and issued in 2014 does not affect the intermediate equity content of the remaining €5 billion of hybrids. This is because we think that: Orange (BBB+/Stable/A-2) remains committed to maintaining its layer of hybrid capital as a cushion in times of stress; The announced redemption is within 10% of the group's total hybrid stock and comes more than 12 months after the previous immaterial (about 5%) reduction completed in May 2021; and The effect on Orange's credit

...November 21, 2022 PARIS (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 21, 2022--S&P Global Ratings today said that France-based telecommunications operator Orange S.A. (Orange)'s decision to launch an any-and-all tender offer on, and not replace, its ú426 million (547 million at historical swapped rate) hybrid callable in April 2023 and issued in 2014 does not affect the intermediate equity content of the remaining 5 billion of hybrids. This is because we think that: - Orange (###+/Stable/A-2) remains committed to maintaining its layer of hybrid capital as a cushion in times of stress; - The announced redemption is within 10% of the group's total hybrid stock and comes more than 12 months after the previous immaterial (about 5%) reduction completed in May 2021; and - The effect on Orange's credit metrics will be minimal, including a slight increase in S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA (about 0.02x), versus the meaningful rating headroom. We forecast about 2.7x debt to EBITDA at year-end 2022, which...

Bulletin