DBRS Morningstar Confirms Rating on Topco Holdings Ltd. Class A Notes at AA (low) (sf)

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed its rating on the $100,000,000 Class A Notes (the Notes) issued by Topco Holdings Ltd. (Topco) pursuant to the Indenture dated as of July 10, 2014, and further amended as of November 22, 2016 (Amendment No. 1 to the Indenture), at AA (low) (sf).

The rating reflects the principal risk of UBS AG, London Branch’s insolvency to Noteholders and Topco’s ability to make ultimate payments of principal on or before the stated Maturity Date of June 25, 2021 (as defined in the Indenture). DBRS Morningstar rates the Notes on a principal-only basis, and the rating does not reflect DBRS Morningstar’s opinion on the likelihood of repayment of interest.

As the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) spread around the world, certain countries imposed quarantines and lockdowns, including the U.S., which alone accounts for over one-fourth of confirmed cases worldwide. The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected not only the economies of the countries with the highest infection rates, but also the overall global economy with diminished demand for goods and services as well as disrupted supply chains. This may result in deteriorated financial conditions for many companies and obligors, some of which will experience the effects of such negative economic trends more intensely than others. At the same time, governments and central banks in multiple regions, including the U.S. and Europe, have taken significant measures to mitigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

In conjunction with DBRS Morningstar’s commentary “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: Implications for Credit Ratings,” published on April 16, 2020, and updated in its “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: June Update” commentary on June 1, 2020; “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: July Update” commentary on July 22, 2020; and “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: September Update” commentary on September 10, 2020, DBRS Morningstar further considers additional adjustments to assumptions for the collateralized loan obligation (CLO) asset class in the moderate economic scenario outlined in the commentaries. The adjustments include a higher default assumption for the weighted-average credit quality of the current collateral obligation portfolio. To derive the higher default assumption, DBRS Morningstar notches ratings for obligors in certain industries and obligors at various rating levels based on their perceived exposure to the adverse disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Considering a higher default assumption would result in losses that exceed the original default expectations for the affected classes of notes. DBRS Morningstar may adjust the default expectations further if the duration or severity of the adverse disruptions caused by the coronavirus change.

For more information regarding DBRS Morningstar’s simplified set of macroeconomic scenarios for select economies related to the coronavirus, please see its April 16, 2020, commentary, “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: Implications for Credit Ratings” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359679; its April 22, 2020, commentary “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: Application to Credit Ratings” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359903; its June 1, 2020, updated commentary, “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: June Update” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/361867; its July 22, 2020, updated commentary, “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: July Update” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/364318; and its September 10, 2020, updated commentary “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: September Update” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/366543.

For more information regarding DBRS Morningstar’s additional adjustment for select industries related to the coronavirus, please see its May 18, 2020, commentary “CLO Risk Exposure to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/361112.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is North American Structured Finance Flow-Through Ratings (January 2, 2020), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

DBRS, Inc.
140 Broadway, 43rd Floor
New York, NY 10005 USA
Tel. +1 212 806-3277