S&P Says Credit Insurer Atradius Ratings ‘Unaffected by Combination’

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its “ratings and outlook on Netherlands-based credit insurance group Atradius (main operating entities are rated A/Stable/–) and Spain-based credit insurer Compañía Española de Seguros y Reaseguros de Crédito y Caución S.A. (A/Stable/–) are unaffected by confirmation that the two insurers are to combine their activities.”

S&P noted that the “final shareholder structure of the combined organization will lead to the holding company Grupo Crédito y Caución becoming the largest shareholder of the new group with a 64.2 percent stake.

“The combination will bring together two groups of similar credit quality operating in the same business line of credit insurance, and the execution risk is therefore expected to be relatively low. On the basis of the information currently provided to Standard & Poor’s, capitalization at the two entities is also expected to be maintained at a level in line with the current ratings on the two insurers. The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approval.”