Naver's Proposed Yen-Denominated Notes Rated 'A-'

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 20, 2023--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A-' long-term issue rating to the proposed issuance of yen-denominated senior unsecured bonds by Naver Corp. (A-/Stable/--). The Korea-based internet company plans to use the proceeds to refinance its existing bank borrowings and for general corporate purposes. The rating on the proposed notes is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We equalize the rating on the notes with the long-term issuer credit rating on Naver. As of June 30, 2023, Naver's capital structure consisted of Korean won (KRW) 2.6 trillion of debt at the parent level and KRW1.4 trillion of debt at the subsidiary level. The company's priority debt ratio of 35% is well

...October 19, 2023 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 20, 2023--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A-' long-term issue rating to the proposed issuance of yen-denominated senior unsecured bonds by Naver Corp. (A-/Stable/--). The Korea-based internet company plans to use the proceeds to refinance its existing bank borrowings and for general corporate purposes. The rating on the proposed notes is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We equalize the rating on the notes with the long-term issuer credit rating on Naver. As of June 30, 2023, Naver's capital structure consisted of Korean won (KRW) 2.6 trillion of debt at the parent level and KRW1.4 trillion of debt at the subsidiary level. The company's priority debt ratio of 35% is well below our notching threshold of 50%. In addition, its low leverage limits the potential subordination risks, in our view. We believe Naver's debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio will likely increase modestly to 0.8x in 2023 from 0.5x in 2022,...

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