MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 6, 2013--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said that it had placed its 'BBB' long-term rating on New Zealand telecommunication company Chorus Ltd. on CreditWatch with negative implications. The CreditWatch placement follows the New Zealand (NZ) Commerce Commission's release of its final determination on copper broadband Unbundled Bitstream Access (UBA) pricing. Chorus has indicated that the UBA determination would result in a reduction in annualized EBITDA of about NZ$142 million from December 2014. "Our forecasts indicate that the determination, if implemented without amendment, will result in Chorus' financial metrics falling outside expectations for the current rating from fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Furthermore, without offsetting credit-supportive actions, the group will likely also breach covenants
