On Dec. 18, 2015, Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane SpA (ICBPI) announced it has completed the sale to private equity firms Bain Capital, Advent International, and Clessidra, following the approval of European Central Bank and Bank of Italy. In our view, the acquisition diminishes ICBPI's creditworthiness, given the double leverage implied by the transaction and the implications it has on ICBPI's financial policy and strategy. We are therefore lowering our long-term rating on ICBPI to 'BB-' from 'BB+' and removing the rating from CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed on June 24, 2015. We are also assigning 'B' ratings to issuing vehicle MercuryBondCo and its payment in kind notes. These ratings are in line with the preliminary
