CORPORATESISSUER COMMENT 29 SEPTEMBER 2015SOFTBANK GROUP CORP.Moodys SRA Rating Ba1Moodys Outlook STABond-Implied Rating Ba2CDS-Implied Rating Ba3EDF-Implied Rating B3As of 9/25/2015ANALYST CONTACTSAllerton G. Smith 212-553-4058 Sr Dir-Sr Research Analyst allerton.smith@moodys.comABOUT CAPITAL MARKETS RESEARCHAnalyses from Moodys Capital Markets Research, Inc. (CMR) focus on explaining signals from the credit and equity markets. The publications address whether market signals, in the opinion of the groups analysts, accurately reflect the risks and investment opportunities associated with issuers and sectors. CMR research thus complements the fundamentally-oriented research offered by Moodys Investors Service (MIS), the rating agency.CMR is part of Moodys Analytics, which is one of the two operating businesses of Moodys Corporation. Moodys Analytics (including CMR) is legally and organizationally separated from Moodys Investors Service and operates on an arms length basis from the ratings business. CMR does not provide investment advisory services or products.View the CMR FAQ Contact the CMR team Follow us on TwitterMoodys Analytics markets and distributes all Moodys Capital Markets Research, Inc. materials. Moodys Capital Markets Research, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moodys Corporation. Moodys Analytics does not provide investment advisory services or products. For further detail, please see the last page.Market Signals ReviewSoftbank Group Corp. : Market-Implied Ratings Decline The CDS- and bond-implied ratings for SoftBank Communications, Inc. have both worsened from their levels 90 days ago (Figure 1). The downdraft on SoftBanks market-implied ratings may reflect recent developments and strategic shifts in the business model of its Sprint subsidiary.FIGURE 1. SOFTBANK: MOODYS AND MARKET-IMPLIED RATINGS, 90 DAYS (DAILY DATA)We note that on September 15 Moody's Investors Service downgraded several ratings of Sprint Corporation, including the company's Corporate Family Rating (CFR) to B3 from B1, the company's Probability of Default Rating (PDR) to B3-PD from B1-PD and Sprint's senior unsecured rating to Caa1 from B2. Moody's also lowered Sprint's Speculative Grade Liquidity (SGL) Rating to SGL-4 from SGL-3. That rating action reflects Moody's view thatMOODY'S ANALYTICS CORPORATES2 29 SEPTEMBER 2015 MARKET SIGNALS REVIEW: SOFTBANK GROUP CORP. : MARKET-IMPLIED RATINGS DECLINEthe numerous operational and network initiatives, management changes, and funding plans recently announced by Sprint and its parent company and majority shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp. (SoftBank), will be insufficient to stabilize Sprint's operations in the next few years. 1The companys CDS-implied rating is Ba3, down by three notches from Baa3 three months ago. The last time the CDS-implied rating was at this level was February 11 of this year.On June 25 the bond-implied rating was Ba1. It has now slipped lower ...
