By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Fidelity & Guaranty Life Holdings, Inc. and Its Senior Unsecured Notes
OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– A.M. Best Co. has assigned an issuer credit rating of “bb+” to Fidelity & Guaranty Life Holdings, Inc. (FGLH) (Delaware) and a debt rating of “bb+” to the recently announced $300 million 6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2021 to be issued by FGLH. The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable.
FGLH and its subsidiaries, which include Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company and Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company of New York, were acquired in 2011 by Harbinger Group Inc (HGI) [NYSE: HRG], a diversified holding company that is majority owned by funds associated with Harbinger Capital Partners LLC (Harbinger). The existing ratings of FGLH‘s life insurance subsidiaries are unaffected.
Proceeds of the debt issuance will be used to provide capital for growth and to fund a dividend to HGI. A.M. Best notes that FGLH‘s adjusted financial leverage is expected to remain below the 30% range, which is within A.M. Best’s guidelines to support the assigned ratings. Additionally, FGLH‘s interest coverage is expected to remain within A.M. Best’s expectations for its assigned rating level. Furthermore, A.M. Best notes that HGI‘s business model employs significant financial leverage to meet its business objectives and relies on dividend payments from FGLH to help cover its debt service.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best’s rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best’s Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
Copyright © 2013 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
A.M. Best Co.
Robert Adams, 908-439-2200, ext. 5225
Senior Financial Analyst
robert.adams@ambest.com
or
Thomas Rosendale, 908-439-2200, ext. 5201
Assistant Vice President
thomas.rosendale@ambest.com
or
Rachelle Morrow, 908-439-2200, ext. 5378
Senior Manager, Public Relations
rachelle.morrow@ambest.com
or
Jim Peavy, 908-439-2200, ext. 5644
Assistant Vice President, Public Relations
james.peavy@ambest.com
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