Concerns about the high debt levels Willis Group Holdings Ltd. will take on with its $2.1 billion purchase of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs insurance brokerage have led three rating firms to take negative actions against Willis.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said its concerns about Willis Group Holdings Ltd.'s addition of more than $1 billion in debt has led it to lower Willis' counterparty credit rating. S&P also said it lists the outlook on Willis as negative. The New York-based firm said it has dropped the counterparty rating to "triple-B-minus" from "triple-B."
Fitch Ratings, also in New York, said it has put Willis North America Inc. and Willis Group Holdings Ltd. on Rating Watch Negative. The firm said it expects to downgrade Willis and WNA's ratings at least one but not more than two notches following the transaction's expected closing during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
