Fortescue plans to issue a new US$2.5 billion senior secured debt issue, the proceeds of which will be used to refinance several unsecured debt issues of the company. Although the group?s total debt outstanding will remain unchanged, the proposed transaction is likely to weaken the recovery prospects of both the existing senior secured and unsecured debt holders. Accordingly, we are placing the senior secured and senior unsecured debt ratings of Fortescue on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, we have affirmed the ?BB+? issuer credit rating on Fortescue. The outlook on the issuer credit rating remains stable. On March 5, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BBB' senior secured and 'BB' senior unsecured debt issue ratings
