Summary
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) announced the full repayment of its $250 million Term Loan A-2 facility on January 11, 2013. This repayment fulfills a key condition for the release of collateral previously pledged under its credit agreement. The release of this collateral is contingent upon FIS maintaining certain corporate credit ratings from Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P), alongside the absence of any ongoing defaults. This action signals a strengthening financial position for FIS. The positive outlook previously assigned by S&P, reflecting expectations of an investment-grade capital structure, becomes more relevant with this debt reduction. While an upgrade to investment grade is not guaranteed, the repayment of this significant loan brings FIS closer to potentially achieving that status, which could lead to improved borrowing costs and enhanced financial flexibility in the future.
Key Highlights
- 1FIS fully repaid $250 million in outstanding Term Loan A-2 debt on January 11, 2013.
- 2This repayment satisfies a key condition for the release of collateral under the FIS Credit Agreement.
- 3The collateral release is conditional on maintaining specific credit ratings from Moody's and S&P, and the absence of defaults.
- 4The repayment moves FIS closer to potentially meeting the requirements for collateral release, which is tied to credit ratings.
- 5S&P had previously assigned a positive outlook to FIS in April 2012, anticipating an investment-grade capital structure.
- 6The company's financial flexibility and borrowing capacity may improve if credit ratings are upgraded.