Fitch Downgrades Shell, Citing Asset Sales Concerns
Credit rating agency Fitch on Thursday downgraded Royal Dutch Shell following its acquisition of BG Group, citing risks to its asset sales goals to finance the $53 billion deal. Fitch downgraded Shell's Long-term Issuer Default Rating to 'AA-' from 'AA' and put it on negative outlook. Rival rating agency Standard and Poors announced a similar downgrade earlier this month, warning of a further possible lowering. Shell completed on Feb. 15 the acquisition of its smaller British rival, making its the world's top liquefied natural gas trader and a major deep water oil producer.
What You & Your CFO Should Know
Richard J. Paine, Sr. is the President of Marine-Finance.Com, a maritime consulting firm specializing in the financing and leasing of commercial marine vessels and other equipment. He can be reached at [email protected] or 516-431-9285. That glimmer on the horizon that you see is the first indication of a return to some normalcy in the marine lending marketplace. But don’t confuse it with a full-fledged sunrise, it is far from that. It is merely a tease, a harbinger of things to come.
