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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Tuesday, October 3, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 198

                           Headlines



C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

ENERGO-PRO AS: S&P Puts 'B+' LongTerm ICR on Watch Developing


F I N L A N D

PHM GROUP: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR & Alters Outlook to Negative


F R A N C E

SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT: Fitch Affirms BB LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable


I R E L A N D

BARRYROE OFFSHORE: Larry Goodman to Inject EUR6.35MM Funding
CAPITAL FOUR VI: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-sf' Rating on Class F Notes
CAPITAL FOUR VI: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating on Class F Notes
CARLYLE GLOBAL 2015-3: Moody's Affirms B1 Rating on Class E Notes
CVC CORDATUS III: Fitch Affirms B+ Rating on Class F-R Notes

CVC CORDATUS XIV: Fitch Affirms 'Bsf' Rating on Class F Notes
OCPE CLO 2023-7: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-' Rating on Class F-2 Notes
OCPE CLO 2023-7: S&P Assigns B- Rating on Class F-2 Notes
OZLME IV DAC: Fitch Affirms B+ Rating on Class F Notes
VOYA EURO III: Fitch Hikes Rating on Class F Notes to 'B+sf'



L U X E M B O U R G

SK INVICTUS II: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable


N E T H E R L A N D S

ACCELL: Moody's Lowers CFR to 'B3' & Alters Outlook to Stable
KETER GROUP: Moody's Affirms Caa2 CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable


N O R W A Y

ADEVINTA ASA: S&P Puts 'BB-' Issuer Credit Rating on Watch Dev.


P O R T U G A L

TAP: Put Up for Sale by Portuguese Government


S P A I N

IM CAJAMAR 4: Fitch Affirms 'CCCsf' Rating on Class E Notes
PIQUE MIDCO: Moody's Assigns First Time 'B2' Corp. Family Rating
PIQUE MIDCO: S&P Assigns Prelim. 'B' LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable


S W E D E N

INTRUM AB: S&P Affirms 'BB/B' Issuer Credit Ratings, Outlook Neg.


T U R K E Y

TURKIYE: S&P Affirms 'B' LongTerm SCRs & Alters Outlook to Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

AHK DESIGNS: Bought Out of Administration in Pre-Pack Deal
BLISS HOTEL: Administrator Appoints Agents to Find Buyer
ENQUEST PLC: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable
UK WINDOWS: Enters Administration, 500+ Jobs Affected
WILKO: Owed GBP548MM to Unsecured Creditors at Time of Collapse


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C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
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ENERGO-PRO AS: S&P Puts 'B+' LongTerm ICR on Watch Developing
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings placed its 'B+' long-term issuer credit rating
on Energo-Pro a.s. (EPas) on CreditWatch with developing
implications. Ratings on senior unsecured bonds were affirmed at
'B+'.

EPas announced the acquisition of Western European-based hydro
generators. S&P Global Ratings expects the acquisition to add about
EUR60 million-EUR70 million to EPas' EBITDA, offsetting the
expected reduction in Georgian and Bulgarian EBITDA.

The developing CreditWatch indicates on one hand the increasing
liquidity pressure, given the EUR300 million new bridge loan that
will need to be refinanced in difficult market conditions. On the
other hand, S&P sees the acquisition as marginally positive for
EPas' credit standing, since it would enlarge the scope of
operations and since it expects adjusted FFO to debt will remain
above the 20% threshold for rating upside.

S&P said, "Despite being neutral to positive from a credit standing
perspective, we see the acquisition as adding liquidity risk for
EPas. The acquisition of the Hydro Power Plants (HPPs) will be
financed through a EUR300 million nine-month bridge loan. We now
assess EPas' liquidity as less than adequate compared with adequate
before the acquisition, as its sources will not cover uses over the
next 12 months by more than 1.2x, especially if the company faces
difficulties in refinancing the bridge loan. However, this risk is
mitigated by management's record of proactive refinancing.

"We see the acquisition as neutral to positive for EPas' credit
standing. HPPs, once integrated within EPas' scope would represent
about 15%-20% of EPas' EBITDA and 10%-15% of EBITDA at parent
company, DK Holding Investments (DKHI). This could improve our
assessment of the company's business risk because we assess country
risk of the acquired assets as intermediate and entering this
market would improve the diversification of EPas' generation
business. However, this acquisition also dilutes the share of
cash-flow-supportive regulated activities. Earlier this year, we
revised our assessment of country risk in Georgia to moderately
high from high previously, in line with that on Bulgaria. As a
result, the country risk associated with EPas has decreased,
because Bulgaria and Georgia represent 44% and 48% of the utility's
EBITDA, respectively. In addition, we revised our assessment of the
Georgian regulatory framework for electricity distribution system
operators (DSOs) to adequate from adequate/weak. This further
improved our view of the EPas' business risk profile within the
weak category.

"The acquisition would increase EPas' gross debt although we expect
FFO to debt to remain at about 20%. The EBITDA contribution from
the HPPs (which we consolidate with EPas starting Jan. 1, 2024)
would offset the expected reduction in EBITDA from Bulgarian
generation as well as Bulgarian and Georgian power distribution and
supply (D&S) activities that were boosted over 2022-2023 (EUR73
million, EUR74 million, and EUR80 million EBITDA respectively for
Bulgaria generation, Bulgarian D&S, and Georgian D&S in 2022). As a
result, EBITDA would remain at about EUR300 million over 2023-2025
(compared with our previous expectation of EUR240 million). The
increased gross debt by EUR300 million will have a minimal impact
on S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage: We now forecast about
3.5x-3.7x compared with 3.0x-3.2x previously. As we expect the
external financing to have an interest rate of about 8.0%-9.0%, we
believe the cash interest paid will increase toward EUR70
million-80 million, from EUR40 million-EUR50 million, resulting in
FFO of about EUR200 million-EUR250 million (from EUR175
million-EUR195 million previously) and FFO to debt at EPas' level
at about 20% over the next three years.

"However, should market conditions become volatile because of
lower-than-expected hydro levels, negative political intervention
in tariffs for DSOs, or further caps on electricity prices, we
believe FFO to debt could be below 20%.

"Strong first-half 2023 results ensure adjusted EBITDA of about
EUR290 million-EUR310 million by year-end 2023. On Sept. 18, 2023,
EPas reported its first-half results and revised upward its EBITDA
guidance for 2023 to EUR290 million-EUR310 million from EUR225
million-EUR245 million expected previously. As a result, we now
expect 2023 FFO to reach EUR230 million-EUR240 million, which would
result in FFO to debt of 21%-22% in 2023, above our 20% rating
upside threshold.

"We continue to view EPas as a core subsidiary of DKHI. EPas'
operations in power generation from hydro sources, distribution,
and supply are aligned with DKHI's core business and strategy. We
estimate EPas represented about 80% of DKHI's EBITDA as of year-end
2022 and could represent about 95% if the two Turkish assets
(Karakurt and Alpaslan 2) that currently belong to DKHI are
transferred under EPas' control, although we do not include this in
our base-case scenario over the next 12 months. Should the transfer
happen, we would re-assess our base-case scenario. In addition, we
understand that EPas' dividends to DKHI will fund debt service,
although they are restricted should EPas breach its current
covenant of 4.5x net debt to EBITDA. We therefore view EPas as a
core subsidiary of DKHI and align the rating on it with the group
credit profile (GCP) of 'b+'.

"The developing CreditWatch reflects, on one hand, mounting
liquidity pressure stemming from the nine-month revolving EUR300
million bridge loan that will need to be refinanced in difficult
market conditions. On the other hand, it also incorporates our view
that the integration of the newly acquired assets within EPas'
scope could be neutral to positive for EPas once refinancing risk
has been removed."

Downside scenario

S&P could lower the rating on EPas if it is unable to refinance the
bridge loan when due. S&P will closely monitor the refinancing of
the bridge loan in the first three months and also expect to
resolve the CreditWatch placement within that timeframe.

Upside scenario

An upgrade to EPas would hinge on:

-- Successful integration of the HPPs;

-- The consolidated FFO-to-debt ratio staying above 20% even
    in times of low hydro or back-to-normal power prices; and

-- Supportive liquidity for a 'BB-' rated company.




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F I N L A N D
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PHM GROUP: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR & Alters Outlook to Negative
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Finland-based residential
property services company PHM Group Holding Oyj (PHM) to negative
from stable and affirmed its 'B' issuer credit rating on PHM and
the issue ratings on it senior secured notes (including the
proposed EUR140 million tap). The recovery rating on the debt is
unchanged at '3'.

The negative outlook indicates that PHM's increased leverage leaves
little room for underperformance or for further material
debt-funded acquisitions that would prevent its deleveraging.

PHM is planning to raise EUR140 million additional senior secured
floating rate notes to fund the acquisition of the leading
Norwegian maintenance service provider Sefbo. In order to raise an
additional EUR140 million under its existing senior secured
floating rate notes due 2026, PHM has received written consent from
its existing lenders to upsize the framework agreement to EUR450
million from currently EUR200 million. The company has already
received underwriting commitments for the EUR140 million, subject
to certain customary conditions such as the signing of the share
purchase agreement for Sefbo, which happened on Sept. 20, 2023, as
well as receipt of equity financing and payment of fees. The
transaction, which is subject to the approval of the Norwegian
Competition Authority, is expected to close during the last quarter
of 2023 upon the issuance of the notes. The EUR172.5 million
funding of the purchase price in addition to the transaction costs
will be accompanied by EUR40 million of new equity contributed by
Norvestor and other existing shareholders, alongside Sefbo
management. Preference equity will comprise 38% of this equity
contribution, which S&P include in its S&P Global Ratings-adjusted
debt, in line with the existing preference shares, because S&P does
not believe that the common equity financing and the noncommon
equity financing are sufficiently aligned.

The Sefbo acquisition further strengthens PHM's footprint in Norway
while reducing its geographic dependency on Finland. The
acquisition complements PHM's existing footprint by enhancing its
local density and coverage of different regions. With nearly 70% of
contractual revenue and 19% of add-on sales to existing customers,
the Sefbo acquisition will support the group's revenue visibility
and stability. Sefbo's superior EBITDA margin will positively
contribute to the margin profile of the overall group, contributing
about EUR15 million of EBITDA in 2024. Furthermore, the acquisition
will allow PHM to provide its customers with cross-selling
opportunities through add-on sales, such as management services,
which contribute 5% to Sefbo's revenue base and PMH does not
currently offer.

S&P said, "Based on PHM's active mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
pipeline and its role as a consolidator, we continue to forecast
inorganic growth as a key pillar of PHM's business plan over the
next several years. For 2023, we forecast revenue growth of about
30%, mostly thanks to inorganic growth, while like-for-like growth
in the first half of 2023 was slightly negative due to unfavorable
foreign currency rates and a general slowdown in add-on sales,
particularly in Sweden and Finland, of which the latter benefitted
from more snow-related add-on services during the first half of
2022. From 2024 and thereafter, we anticipate organic growth of
around 4%, thanks to some price increases and a moderate recovery
of add-sales, which also benefit from cross-selling opportunities.
In addition, we forecast EUR110 million of acquired revenue per
year, while the full-year impact of Sefbo as well as Bredablick
(also acquired in 2023) will contribute to an estimated revenue
growth of 40% year on year during 2024. In terms of S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin, we forecast a margin compression of
50 basis points to 14.1% by year-end 2023, driven by a negative mix
effect from lower-margin acquisitions, as well as some acquisition-
and integration-related exceptional costs. For 2024, we anticipate
the EBITDA margin will remain at 14.1% as continued lower margin
acquisitions and integration-related exceptional costs offset
successful synergy realization from previously acquired businesses.
Thereafter, adjusted EBITDA margins should pick up toward 15%,
thanks to the growing share of the margin-accretive Sefbo business,
which we estimate at 20% EBITDA margin post-synergies as well as an
uplift of profitability from other previously acquired small
bolt-on acquisitions thanks to management's ability to enhance
processes and extract synergies.

"The outlook is negative because we believe that rating headroom
has diminished on the back of weaker credit metrics and continued
high leverage. We believe the increase in EBITDA through organic
growth and acquisitions will not fully offset the effects of
increased debt leverage following the transaction. We now forecast
an increase in S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA to about
10x by year-end 2023 (approximately 8.1x pro forma for all closed
acquisitions) from 8.7x at year-end 2022 (about 7.7x pro forma for
acquisitions closed during 2022). Compared with our previous
expectations, where we anticipated leverage to be at 7.0x by the
end of 2024, we now do not expect PHM to reach that level before
the end of 2025. We also forecast higher interest expenses to lead
to funds from operations (FFO) to cash interest coverage of about
2.0x over the next two years, while reducing the amount of positive
generation of free operating cash flow (FOCF) before lease payments
to about EUR18 million in 2023-2024 from our previous forecast of
EUR22 million in 2023 and EUR27 million in 2024. Despite the
worsening credit ratios, we continue to see solid liquidity over
the next 12 months, thanks to an almost fully undrawn RCF of which
EUR1 million is utilized as a guarantee facility, pro forma cash on
the balance sheet of about EUR82 million post transaction and
broadly muted working capital needs."

The negative outlook indicates that PHM's increased leverage leaves
little room for underperformance or for further material
debt-funded acquisitions that would prevent its deleveraging.

S&P said, "We could consider a negative rating action in the next
12 months if PHM failed to deleverage due to further debt-financed
acquisitions beyond our base case or operational underperformance.
We could also downgrade PHM if its FOCF turns sustainably negative
or FFO cash interest coverage declines sustainably below 2x. This
could happen if PHM experienced a material deterioration in
profitability due to unexpected operational issues or high
exceptional costs associated with integrating bolt-on
acquisitions.

"We could revise our outlook to stable if PHM demonstrates
deleveraging in the next 12 months on the back of successful
integration of its acquisitions and a moderation of debt-funded
M&A. This would also involve a sound operating performance
supporting FFO cash interest above 2x and positive FOCF.

"Governance factors are a moderately negative consideration in our
credit rating analysis of PHM. Our assessment of the company's
financial risk profile as highly leveraged reflects corporate
decision-making that prioritizes the interests of the controlling
owners, in line with our view of the majority of rated entities
owned by private-equity sponsors. Our assessment also reflects
their generally finite holding periods and focus on maximizing
shareholder returns."




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F R A N C E
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SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT: Fitch Affirms BB LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Seche Environnement S.A.'s Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at 'BB'.
The Outlook is Stable.  The Recovery Rating on the senior unsecured
notes is 'RR4'.

The ratings reflect Seche's higher business risk than most waste
management peers' owing to its smaller size, higher exposure to
industrial clients and lower revenue predictability due to its
non-contracted business.

Rating strengths include its strong position in the niche market of
hazardous waste (HW) treatment in France, and a long record of
organic and acquisitive growth at stable profit margins. It also
has a stable financial structure enshrined in a publicly stated
financial policy of maintaining net debt/EBITDA (as reported by
Seche) of below 3.0x.

The Stable Outlook reflects growth trends in Seche's main markets
and its expectation that funds from operations (FFO) net leverage
will remain close to 4.0x during 2023-2026 with ample rating
headroom.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Strong Business Expansion: Seche is following an ambitious external
growth strategy both internationally and in France. The aggregate
enterprise value of acquisitions for 2022-2023 totals EUR130
million, with an average transaction multiple close to 7.5x. The
acquisitions are slightly dilutive for Seche's EBITDA margin, but
they have strengthened its expertise and expanded its market
position. Overall, Fitch does not see a material change to the
business risk resulting from the newly incorporated businesses.

Slower Organic Growth: Seche has seen strong organic revenue growth
of 12% annually over the past two years, reflecting increasing
waste volumes and favourable prices. The performance in 2022 was
supported by the extreme energy and commodity price environment and
some one-off contracts related to emergency services.

Despite Fitch's forecast of low GDP growth for France in the next
three years, and the weakening of industrial output potentially
contracting waste volumes, Fitch expects Seche to maintain a more
moderate but stable organic growth, driven by an inflationary
environment and its pricing power. Its rating case, which includes
substantial haircuts to Seche's expected results, assumes annual
average organic revenue growth of 4% during 2023-2026.

Ample Leverage Headroom: Strong performance has allowed Seche to
reduce its FFO net leverage close to its positive rating
sensitivity of 3.7x despite acquisitions. Fitch expects a focus on
external growth with acquisitions of EUR50 million a year. Its
rating case forecasts net FFO leverage at slightly below 4.0x in
2023-2026, which is consistent with its target of reported net
debt/EBITDA of below 3.0x. Fitch sees comfortable rating headroom
versus the negative sensitivity for the 'BB' rating of 4.4x,
reflecting its expectations of stable organic growth at healthy
margins and EBITDA from acquisitions.

Resilience Against Cost Inflation: Despite being exposed to
economic conditions and industrial activity, Seche has a history of
stable profitability. This reflects scarcity for HW treatment
capacity, customer loyalty and high switching costs. The strategy
to operate under spot and short-term contracts allows Seche to
swiftly introduce above-CPI pricing updates to protect its profit
margins against cost inflation. It has maintained EBITDA margins at
16%-17% in the past two years, which Fitch expects to continue to
2026.

Medium-Sized Operator, Strong Capabilities: Seche's smaller size
than other Fitch-rated European waste operators' is offset by its
strong position as a HW specialist, allowing it to directly compete
in its home market with the two global leaders in the environmental
industry. Seche owns an extensive HW management infrastructure with
long-term permits and locations that offer cross-border
opportunities with neighbouring countries.

Its presence in niche markets, which are subject to strict
technical requirements, provides higher barriers to entry and
pricing power than commoditised non-HW operators. This has allowed
Seche to build a resilient customer base of blue-chip companies and
local authorities.

Diversified Offering: Seche's service offering is well-diversified.
Its higher value- and margin-added back-end activities represented
70% of 2022 revenues, while logistics services accounted for 17%.
The remaining 13% relates to comprehensive services to key clients.
Higher-margin activities provide a competitive advantage, but also
expose Seche to higher operational risks. It holds the required
long-term permits to treat every type of waste from industrial
clients and municipalities.

Merchant and Re-contracting Risks: Seche's activities with
industrial clients are either short-term contracted or merchant. As
a result, it faces re-contracting risk for existing contracts, the
renegotiation of price and volumes, and low revenue predictability
in new (or expanded) contracts and one-off services. However, Seche
shows a strong record of customer retention, reflecting scarcity in
treatment- and storage capacities in its primary waste markets, and
stringent regulatory requirements.

Exposure to Industrial Output: The majority of Seche's business
(83% of 2022 revenues) relates to industrial waste, which
translates into revenue volatility. This is due to revenue being
mostly set at an agreed price per waste ton treated (or per TWh of
energy generated), while waste treatment is capital-intensive with
large fixed costs. Seche partially mitigates the structural risk by
diversifying its customer base to less cyclical industries. The
remaining 17% is from its more stable business with municipalities
in France under longer-term contracts.

High-Risk Activities: Seche's business risk is amplified by its
exposure to emerging countries and environmental emergency
services. The latter complements Seche's offering, but also entails
higher volatility than waste treatment, as these are one-off
services. Emerging economies are more challenging operating
environments, but also offer strong growth prospects. Seche partly
mitigates this risk by typically raising debt at the operating
company level in local currency to achieve a natural
foreign-exchange (FX) hedge.

Positive Sector Trends: Public policies promoting the circular
economy provide growth opportunities for waste collection and
treatment in the EU, and drive demand for Seche's materials
recovery and energy from waste services. The pace of political
support and regulatory developments, (particularly in emerging
markets) is key to Seche's business plan delivery.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch views Paprec Holding SA (BB/Stable) as Seche's closest peer,
since both companies are medium-sized waste treatment operators
primarily in France. Seche specialises in HW management, which is
subject to strict technical requirements that provide higher
barriers to entry and greater pricing power than Paprec's
lower-margin non-HW business.

While Paprec's counterparty risk is lower than Seche's (due to a
higher share of revenues from public entities) its recycling
business is exposed to primary commodity prices and demand for
manufactured goods for which Paprec is a price taker. Overall,
Seche has a slightly higher debt capacity than Paprec, given its
value and margin-added service offering, as well as a higher share
of fee-based revenues.

Spanish waste management operators Luna III S.a r.l. (BB/Stable)
and FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente Holding, S.A.U. (FCC MA;
BBB/Stable) operate under long-terms concession contracts with
municipalities, and are largely shielded from price risk, compared
with Seche's significantly higher merchant and re-contracting risk.
Luna and FCC MA benefit from low exposure to private industrial and
commercial customers and sound geographical diversification. The
stronger business profiles of Luna and FCC MA support a materially
higher debt capacity than Seche.

Compared with the French global industry leader Veolia
Environnement S.A. (BBB/Stable), Seche is significantly smaller and
lacks geographical and sector diversification, as unlike Veolia it
is not present in low-risk municipal water activities. However,
Seche has higher profit margins and better leverage metrics than
Veolia. Overall, the rating differential reflects Seche's much
weaker business risk profile that is only partly offset by a better
financial profile.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Organic revenues growth on average at 4% to 2026, which is
slightly above Fitch's CPI forecasts for France

- External growth adding EUR60 million of revenues per year, based
on Fitch's own M&A assumptions not included in Seche's business
plan

- EBITDA margin (Fitch-defined) averaging 16% over 2023-2026

- Capex on average at 10% of revenue during 2023-2026

- Net working capital at 14% of revenue during 2023-2026

- Dividend distributions based on Seche's dividend per share
policy, with a slight annual increase (0.1 EUR/share a year) until
2026

- Acquisition of Furia and Rent-a-drum completed during 4Q23.
Additional M&A outflows of EUR50 million per year for 2024-2026
assumed by Fitch but not included in Seche's business plan

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade:

- FFO net leverage below 3.7x (or EBITDA net leverage below 3.3x)
on a sustained basis

- FFO interest coverage above 4.5x (or EBITDA interest coverage
above 5.3x) on a sustained basis

- Preservation of Fitch-defined EBITDA margin at around 16%-17%

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade:

- FFO net leverage above 4.4x (or EBITDA net leverage above 4.0x)

- FFO interest coverage below 3.5x (or EBITDA interest coverage
below 4.3x)

- Consistently negative FCF.

- Increased earnings volatility within Seche's business portfolio,
to the extent the changes are not adequately offset by lower
financial risk. This could arise from less supportive regulations
or a material increase in exposure to cyclical sectors among its
industrial clients or to emerging countries

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: Seche's liquidity as per June 2023 comprised
EUR116 million of readily available cash and EUR175 million of an
undrawn revolving credit facility (maturing in 2027), comfortably
covering its short-term debt maturities While Fitch expects neutral
FCF in its rating case for 2023-2026, Fitch assumes that the
company would fund its external growth with new debt.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating         Recovery   Prior
   -----------             ------         --------   -----
Seche
Environnement S.A.    LT IDR  BB  Affirmed            BB

   senior
   unsecured          LT      BB  Affirmed    RR4     BB




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BARRYROE OFFSHORE: Larry Goodman to Inject EUR6.35MM Funding
------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Brennan at The Irish Times reports that Barryroe Offshore
Energy (BOE) confirmed on Oct. 2 that its main shareholder,
businessman Larry Goodman, has reached a rescue investment
agreement with the oil explorer's examiner, which would see the
billionaire inject as much as EUR6.35 million of funding and take
full control of the company.

According to The Irish Times, Mr. Goodman's Lorsden (Jersey)
Limited vehicle, based in Jersey, has committed to invest EUR1.05
million of equity in BOE on condition that all existing shares are
cancelled.  It would also lend BOE a further EUR300,000 "to enable
the company to fully explore the restructuring options available to
it".

In addition, Lorsen will make a further EUR5 million available
"upon agreement of an appropriate business plan, to be supplemented
in due course by substantial additional funds as required to invest
in future business plan prospects", The Irish Times states.  Lorsen
is the parent company of Mr. Goodman's Vevan Unlimited vehicle,
which owns about 20% of BOE.

Full details of the rescue plan -- or scheme of arrangement -- will
be finalised later this week and sent to BOE shareholders and
creditors, The Irish Times discloses.  Major shareholders include
businessman Nick Furlong, who owns almost 13 per cent, mostly held
through his Pageant Holdings investment company, and UK hedge fund
Kite Lake Capital, which owns more than 10%, The Irish Times
notes.

Kieran Wallace of corporate advisory firm Interpath Ireland was
appointed as examiner of BOE in late July following an application
by Mr. Goodman's Vevan vehicle, The Irish Times relates.  The move
came just days before shareholders were due to vote on putting the
company into liquidation after Minister for the Environment Eamon
Ryan refused in May to grant a permit for its key Barryroe oil
project off the Cork coast, The Irish Times states.

The beef tycoon's bid is centred on the possibility that the oil
and gas explorer could move its focus to green energy projects,
according to an independent expert's report that was filed in
tandem with the examinership petition, The Irish Times relates.

BOE, which is insolvent, had been seeking in the wake of the
Minister's decision in May to secure fresh funds from big
shareholders to keep the company running in order to pursue a legal
case -- by way of a judicial review -- against the Government, The
Irish Times discloses.  However, this came to nothing and the
company was heading towards liquidation before  Mr. Goodman made
his move, The Irish Times relays.

BOE's shares were suspended before it succumbed to examinership.
It is expected that it will be delisted on completion of the rescue
plan, The Irish Times states.


CAPITAL FOUR VI: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-sf' Rating on Class F Notes
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Fitch Ratings has assigned Capital Four CLO VI DAC final ratings.

   Entity/Debt            Rating              Prior
   -----------            ------              -----
Capital Four
CLO VI DAC

   A-1 XS2682068502   LT  AAAsf  New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
   A-2 XS2682068767   LT  AAAsf  New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
   B XS2682068924     LT  AAsf   New Rating   AA(EXP)sf
   C XS2682069146     LT  Asf    New Rating   A(EXP)sf
   D XS2682069575     LT  BBB-sf New Rating   BBB-(EXP)sf
   E XS2682069732     LT  BB-sf  New Rating   BB-(EXP)sf
   F XS2682070078     LT  B-sf   New Rating   B-(EXP)sf
   Sub XS2682069815   LT  NRsf   New Rating   NR(EXP)sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Capital Four CLO VI DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior
secured loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, and second-lien loans. The note proceeds were used to
fund an identified portfolio with a target par of EUR350 million.
The portfolio is managed by Capital Four CLO Management II K/S and
Capital Four Management Fondsmæglerselskab A/S. The CLO envisages
a 4.5-year reinvestment period and a 7.5-year weighted average life
(WAL).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch assesses the
average credit quality of obligors at 'B'/ 'B-'. The Fitch weighted
average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio is 24.8.

Strong Recovery Expectation (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio will comprise senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is 63.1%

Diversified Portfolio (Positive): The transaction has one matrix
effective at closing corresponding to the 10 largest obligors at
20% of the portfolio balance and a fixed-rate asset limit at 10%.
It has also one forward matrix corresponding to the same top 10
obligors and fixed-rate asset limits, which will be effective
one-year post closing, provided that the collateral principal
amount (defaults at Fitch-calculated collateral value) will be at
least at the reinvestment target-par balance. Between 28 September
2024 and up to but excluding 28 September 2025, the forward matrix
may not be applied, as long as the transaction is eligible for a
WAL test extension.

The transaction also includes various concentration limits,
including exposure to the three-largest (Fitch-defined) industries
in the portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure that the asset
portfolio will not be exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The transaction has a 4.5-year
reinvestment period and includes reinvestment criteria similar to
those of other European transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on
a stressed-case portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of
the transaction structure against its covenants and portfolio
guidelines. The transaction could extend the WAL test by one year
on the date that is one year from closing, if the adjusted
collateral principal amount is at least at the reinvestment target
par and if the transaction is passing all its tests.

Cash flow Modelling (Neutral): The WAL used for the Fitch-stressed
portfolio and matrices analysis is 12 months less than the WAL
covenant to account for structural and reinvestment conditions
after the reinvestment period, including the satisfaction of the
over-collateralisation test and Fitch 'CCC' limit, together with a
consistently decreasing WAL covenant. In Fitch's opinion, these
conditions reduce the effective risk horizon of the portfolio
during the stress period.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of
the identified portfolio would result in downgrades of up to two
notches for the class B to E notes and to below 'B-sf' for the
class F notes.

Based on the identified portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the identified portfolio than
the Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class D, E and F notes display a
rating cushion of two notches and the class B and C notes of one
notch.

Should the cushion between the identified portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
across all ratings and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings
of the Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to
three notches for the class A to D notes and to below 'B-sf' for
the class E and F notes.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25%
increase in the RRR across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed
portfolio would lead to upgrades of up to two notches for the
notes, except for the 'AAAsf' rated notes.

During the reinvestment period, based on the Fitch-stressed
portfolio, upgrades may occur, except for the 'AAAsf' notes, on
better-than-expected portfolio credit quality and a shorter
remaining WAL test, meaning the notes are able to withstand
larger-than-expected losses for the transaction's remaining life.
After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur on
stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging, leading to higher
credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover losses in
the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.


CAPITAL FOUR VI: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Capital Four CLO
VI DAC's class A-1, A-2, B, C, D, E, and F notes. At closing, the
issuer also issued unrated subordinated notes.

The reinvestment period will be 4.6 years, while the non-call
period will be 2.1 years after closing.

Under the transaction documents, the rated loans and notes will pay
quarterly interest unless there is a frequency switch event.
Following this, the notes will switch to semiannual payment.

The ratings assigned to the notes reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which is in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                                          CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor       2838.65

  Default rate dispersion                                  452.63

  Weighted-average life (years)                              4.59

  Obligor diversity measure                                116.38

  Industry diversity measure                                20.74

  Regional diversity measure                                 1.34


  Transaction key metrics

                                                          CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                              350.00

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                0.00

  Number of performing obligors                               130

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                              B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                            0.00

  Actual 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                36.80

  Actual weighted-average spread (%)                         4.12

  Actual weighted-average coupon (%)                         4.81


S&P said, "Our ratings reflect our assessment of the collateral
portfolio's credit quality, which has a weighted-average rating of
'B'. We consider that the portfolio is well-diversified on the
closing date, primarily comprising broadly syndicated
speculative-grade senior secured term loans and senior secured
bonds. Therefore, we conducted our credit and cash flow analysis by
applying our criteria for corporate cash flow CDOs.

"In our cash flow analysis, we also modeled the covenanted
weighted-average spread of 4.05%, and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rates as indicated by the collateral
manager. We applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four
different default patterns, in conjunction with different interest
rate stress scenarios for each liability rating category.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

"Following the application of our structured finance sovereign risk
criteria, we consider the transaction's exposure to country risk to
be limited at the assigned ratings, as the exposure to individual
sovereigns does not exceed the diversification thresholds outlined
in our criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available
credit enhancement for the class B, C, D, and E notes could
withstand stresses commensurate with higher ratings than those we
have assigned. However, as the CLO will be in its reinvestment
phase starting from the effective date, during which the
transaction's credit risk profile could deteriorate, we have capped
our ratings assigned to the notes. The class A-1, A-2, and F notes
can withstand stresses commensurate with the assigned ratings.

"In our view, the portfolio is granular in nature, and
well-diversified across obligors, industries, and asset
characteristics when compared with other CLO transactions we have
rated recently. As such, we have not applied any additional
scenario and sensitivity analysis when assigning our ratings to any
classes of notes in this transaction.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe that our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class
A-1, A-2, B, C, D, E, and F notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, we have also included the
sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes, based on four
hypothetical scenarios.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met, we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F notes."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG)

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to the following industries:
controversial weapons, casinos, pornography or prostitution, payday
lending, tobacco, fossil fuels, weapons, hazardous chemicals,
endangered wildlife, or private prisons.

"Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, no specific adjustments have been
made in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related risks or
opportunities."

Capital Four CLO VI is a European cash flow CLO securitization of a
revolving pool, comprising euro-denominated senior secured loans
and bonds issued mainly by speculative-grade borrowers. Capital
Four CLO Management II K/S and Capital Four Management
Fondsmaglerselskab A/S will manage the transaction.

  Ratings list

  CLASS    RATING      AMOUNT     SUB (%)      INTEREST RATE*
                     (MIL. EUR)

  A-1      AAA (sf)    210.00     40.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 1.73%

  A-2      AAA (sf)      7.00     38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 2.05%

  B        AA (sf)      36.75     27.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 2.45%

  C        A (sf)       19.25     22.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 3.15%

  D        BBB- (sf)    22.75     15.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 4.90%

  E        BB- (sf)     17.50     10.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 7.30%

  F        B- (sf)      10.50      7.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 9.49%

  Sub      NR           26.58       N/A    N/A

*The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.


CARLYLE GLOBAL 2015-3: Moody's Affirms B1 Rating on Class E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the rating on the following
notes issued by Carlyle Global Market Strategies Euro CLO 2015-3
Designated Activity Company:

EUR57,600,000 Class B Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022
Affirmed A2 (sf)

Moody's has also affirmed the ratings on the following notes:

EUR344,000,000 (Current outstanding amount EUR324,508,648)
Class A1-A Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2030,
Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR10,000,000 (Current outstanding amount EUR9,433,391)
Class A1-B Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2030,
Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR52,200,000 Class A2-A Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes
due 2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022
Upgraded to Aaa (sf)

EUR15,000,000 Class A2-B Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due
2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022 Upgraded
to Aaa (sf)

EUR16,400,000 Class C-1 Senior Secured Deferrable Floating
Rate Notes due 2030, Affirmed Baa2 (sf); previously on Mar 8,
2022 Affirmed Baa2 (sf)

EUR10,000,000 Class C-2 Senior Secured Deferrable Floating
Rate Notes due 2030, Affirmed Baa2 (sf); previously on Mar 8,
2022 Affirmed Baa2 (sf)

EUR33,600,000 Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022
Affirmed Ba2 (sf)

EUR18,600,000 Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed B1 (sf); previously on Mar 8, 2022
Affirmed B1 (sf)

Carlyle Global Market Strategies Euro CLO 2015-3 Designated
Activity Company, issued in December 2015 and refinanced in January
2018, is a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) backed by a
portfolio of mostly high-yield senior secured European loans. The
portfolio is managed by CELF Advisors LLP. The transaction's
reinvestment period ended in January 2022.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrade on the Class B is primarily a result of a
shorter weighted average life of the portfolio which reduces the
time the rated notes are exposed to the credit risk of the
underlying portfolio.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortisation
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers.

In its base case, Moody's used the following assumptions:

Performing par and principal proceeds balance: EUR561.4m

Defaulted Securities: EUR9.5m

Diversity Score: 50

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 3037

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 3.47 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.76%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 4.34%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 44.77%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test: none

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectation of the remaining life of
the collateral pool. The estimated average recovery rate on future
defaults is based primarily on the seniority of the assets in the
collateral pool. In each case, historical and market performance
and a collateral manager's latitude to trade collateral are also
relevant factors. Moody's incorporates these default and recovery
characteristics of the collateral pool into its cash flow model
analysis, subjecting them to stresses as a function of the target
rating of each CLO liability it is analysing.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2021.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank, using the
methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty Risks in
Structured Finance" published in June 2022. Moody's concluded the
ratings of the notes are not constrained by these risks.

Factors that would lead to an upgrade or downgrade of the ratings:

The rated notes' performance is subject to uncertainty. The notes'
performance is sensitive to the performance of the underlying
portfolio, which in turn depends on economic and credit conditions
that may change. The collateral manager's investment decisions and
management of the transaction will also affect the notes'
performance.

Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

-- Portfolio amortisation: The main source of uncertainty in this
transaction is the pace of amortisation of the underlying
portfolio, which can vary significantly depending on market
conditions and have a significant impact on the notes' ratings.
Amortisation could accelerate as a consequence of high loan
prepayment levels or collateral sales by the collateral manager or
be delayed by an increase in loan amend-and-extend restructurings.
Fast amortisation would usually benefit the ratings of the notes
beginning with the notes having the highest prepayment priority.

-- Recovery of defaulted assets: Market value fluctuations in
trustee-reported defaulted assets and those Moody's assumes have
defaulted can result in volatility in the deal's
over-collateralisation levels. Further, the timing of recoveries
and the manager's decision whether to work out or sell defaulted
assets can also result in additional uncertainty.

In addition to the quantitative factors that Moody's explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee's
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in the transaction, its recent performance given the
market environment, the legal environment, specific documentation
features, the collateral manager's track record and the potential
for selection bias in the portfolio. All information available to
rating committees, including macroeconomic forecasts, input from
other Moody's analytical groups, market factors, and judgments
regarding the nature and severity of credit stress on the
transactions, can influence the final rating decision.


CVC CORDATUS III: Fitch Affirms B+ Rating on Class F-R Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlooks on CVC Cordatus Loan Fund
III DAC's class E-R and F-R notes Outlook to Negative from Stable.

   Entity/Debt               Rating           Prior
   -----------               ------           -----
CVC Cordatus Loan
Fund III DAC

   A-1-RR XS1823354284   LT AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   A-2-RR XS1823355091   LT AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1-RR XS1823355687   LT AA+sf  Affirmed   AA+sf
   B-2-RR XS1823356222   LT AA+sf  Affirmed   AA+sf
   C-RR XS1823356909     LT A+sf   Affirmed   A+sf
   D-R XS1823357899      LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf
   E-R XS1823358608      LT BB+sf  Affirmed   BB+sf
   F-R XS1823358434      LT B+sf   Affirmed   B+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

CVC Cordatus Loan Fund III DAC is a cash-flow collateralised loan
obligation. The underlying portfolio of assets mainly consists of
leveraged loans and is managed by CVC Credit Partners Group
Limited. The deal exited its reinvestment period in November 2022.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Par Erosion; High Refinancing Risk: Since Fitch's last rating
action in November 2022, the portfolio has experienced par erosion
to 1% below par as of August 2023, from 0.2% below par in November
2022 (as calculated by the trustee). This is partly driven by
additional defaults. As of August 2023, the trustee reported
EUR5.89 million more defaults than in November 2022.

The Negative Outlook on the class E-R and F-R notes reflects a
moderate default-rate cushion against credit quality deterioration.
In Fitch's opinion, uncertain macroeconomic conditions could lead
to further deterioration of the portfolio, with an increase in
defaults in conjunction with heightened refinancing risk.

Failing WAL: The transaction is failing the weighted average life
(WAL) test, but can reinvest on the basis it will maintain or
improve the WAL test. As a result, the analysis is based on a
portfolio where Fitch stresses the transaction's covenants to their
limits. The weighted average recovery rate (WARR) has also been
reduced by 1.5% to address the inflated WARR, as the transaction
uses an old WARR definition that is not in line with Fitch's latest
criteria.

Sufficient Cushion for Senior Notes: Despite the par erosion, the
class A-1-RR to D-R notes have retained sufficient default-rate
buffers to support their ratings and should be capable of
withstanding further defaults in the portfolio. This is reflected
by their Stable Outlooks.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-calculated weighted average
rating factor of the current portfolio was 25.27 as of 16 of
September 2023. For the Fitch-stressed portfolio, for which the
agency has notched down the ratings of entities with Negative
Outlooks, it was 26.81.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise 88%
of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for these
assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated WARR of the current
portfolio as reported by the trustee was 62.7%, based on outdated
criteria. Under the current criteria, the Fitch-calculated WARR is
61.5%.

Diversified Portfolio: The top-10 obligor concentration as
calculated by the trustee is 15%, which is below the limit of
26.5%, and no obligor represents more than 2.3% of the portfolio
balance.

Deviation from MIR: The class B-1-RR and B-2-RR notes' ratings are
a notch lower than their model-implied ratings (MIR). The deviation
reflects their limited cushion in the Fitch-stressed portfolio at
their MIRs.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

An increase of the default rate (RDR) by 25% of the mean RDR and a
decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels in
the current portfolio would have no impact on the class A-1RR to
D-R notes, and would imply a downgrade of three notches for the
class E-R notes and to below 'B-sf' for the class F-R notes.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B-1-RR, B-2-RR, E-R and F-R
notes display a rating cushion of one notch, the class D-R notes of
two notches and the class A-1-RR, A-2-RR and C-RR notes display no
rating cushion.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the stressed
portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to three notches for the
notes.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean RDR
and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in the
stressed portfolio, would result in upgrades of up to three notches
for all notes, except for the 'AAAsf' notes, which are at the
highest level on Fitch's scale and cannot be upgraded, and the
class C-RR notes.

Further upgrades may occur if the portfolio's quality remains
stable and the notes start to amortise, leading to higher credit
enhancement across the structure.

DATA ADEQUACY

CVC Cordatus Loan Fund III DAC

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other Nationally
Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.

CVC CORDATUS XIV: Fitch Affirms 'Bsf' Rating on Class F Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded CVC Cordatus Loan Fund XIV DAC's class
B-1-R to D-R notes and affirmed the others.

   Entity/Debt             Rating            Prior
   -----------             ------            -----
CVC Cordatus Loan
Fund XIV DAC

   A-1-R XS2350860693   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   A-2-R XS2350861238   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   A-3-R XS2350862129   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1-R XS2350862475   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   B-2-R XS2350863366   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   C-R XS2350864174     LT  A+sf   Upgrade    Asf
   D-R XS2350864414     LT  BBB+sf Upgrade    BBBsf
   E XS1964661422       LT  BBsf   Affirmed   BBsf
   F XS1964661851       LT  Bsf    Affirmed   Bsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow CLO mostly comprising senior secured
obligations. It is actively managed by CVC Credit Partners Group
Limited and will exit its reinvestment period in November 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Stable Performance; Low Refinancing Risk: The rating actions
reflect stable asset performance. The transaction is currently 1%
below par and the portfolio has EUR4.3 million of defaulted assets.
However, it is passing all collateral-quality, portfolio-profile
and coverage tests. Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating
of 'CCC+' and below is 1.8%, according to the latest trustee
report, versus a limit of 7.5%. In addition, the notes are not
vulnerable to near- and medium-term refinancing risk, with 3.3% of
the assets in the portfolio maturing before 2024 and 7% in 2025.

The transaction's stable performance, combined with a shortened
weighted average life (WAL) covenant, has resulted in larger
break-even default-rate cushions versus the last review in November
2022. This has resulted in the upgrade of the class B-1-R to D-R
notes and affirmation of the class A-1-R to A-3-R, E and F notes.

Reinvesting Transaction: As the transaction is still in the
reinvestment period, its analysis is based on a stressed portfolio
testing the Fitch-calculated WAL, Fitch-calculated weighted average
rating factor (WARF), Fitch-calculated weighted average recovery
rate (WARR), weighted average spread, weighted average coupon and
fixed-rate asset share to their covenanted limits.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/ 'B-'. The WARF, as
calculated by Fitch under its latest criteria, is 24.1.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.1% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The WARR, as calculated by Fitch, is 62.6%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration, as calculated by Fitch, is 14.3%, and no obligor
represents more than 1.7% of the portfolio balance. The exposure to
the three largest Fitch-defined industries is 27.8% as calculated
by Fitch. The transaction includes two Fitch matrices corresponding
to top 10 obligor concentration limits at 18% and 26.5%. Fixed-rate
assets reported by the trustee are at 8.6% of the portfolio
balance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) and a 25% decrease of
the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of the current portfolio
would have no impact on the class A-1-R to D-R notes, and would
lead to downgrades of up to one notch for the class E and F notes.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B-1-R and B-2-R notes display a
rating cushion of one notch, the class D and E notes two notches
and the class F notes four notches. The class A-1-R to A-3-R notes
and the class C-R notes display no rating cushion.

Should the cushion between the portfolio current and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded, either due to manager trading
or negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean
RDR and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the
stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of three notches for
the class B-1-R to E notes, one notch for the class A-3-R notes, to
below 'B-sf' for the class F notes and would have no impact on the
class A-1-R and A-2-R notes.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR and a 25% increase in the RRR
across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to
upgrades of up to four notches for the rated notes, except for the
'AAAsf' rated notes, which are at the highest level on Fitch's
scale and cannot be upgraded.

After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur on
stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging, leading to higher
credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover losses in
the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

CVC Cordatus Loan Fund XIV DAC

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other Nationally
Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.

OCPE CLO 2023-7: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-' Rating on Class F-2 Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned OCPE CLO 2023-7 DAC final ratings.

   Entity/Debt             Rating           
   -----------             ------           
OCPE CLO 2023-7 DAC

   A XS2665463357                   LT  AAAsf   New Rating
   B XS2665463431                   LT  AAsf    New Rating
   C XS2665463787                   LT  Asf     New Rating
   D XS2665463860                   LT  BBB-sf  New Rating
   E XS2665463944                   LT  BB-sf   New Rating
   F-1 XS2665464322                 LT  B+sf    New Rating
   F-2 XS2665470212                 LT  B-sf    New Rating
   Subordinated Notes XS2665464595  LT  NRsf    New Rating
   Z XS2665583501                   LT  NRsf    New Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

OCPE CLO 2023-7 DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior secured
obligations (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, second-lien loans and high-yield bonds. Note proceeds
have been used to purchase a portfolio with a target par of EUR350
million.

The portfolio is actively managed by Onex Credit Partners Europe
LLP. The collateralised loan obligation has an approximately
4.6-year reinvestment period and an 8.6-year weighted average life
(WAL) test.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch assesses the
average credit quality of obligors to be in the 'B'/'B-' category.
The Fitch weighted average rating factor of the identified
portfolio is 24.74.

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate of the identified portfolio is 63.38%.

Diversified Portfolio (Positive): The transaction includes four
Fitch matrices. Two are effective at closing, corresponding to an
8.6-year WAL, fixed-rate asset limits at 5% and 10% and two
effective one year after closing, corresponding to a 7.6-year WAL,
fixed-rate asset limits at 5% and 10%. All matrices are based on a
top-10 obligor concentration limit at 20%.

The transaction includes various concentration limits in the
portfolio, including the top-10 obligor concentration limit at 20%
and the maximum exposure to the three largest Fitch-defined
industries in the portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure the
asset portfolio will not be exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The transaction has an
approximately 4.6-year reinvestment period and includes
reinvestment criteria similar to those of other European
transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on a stressed-case
portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of the transaction
structure against its covenants and portfolio guidelines.

Cash Flow Modelling (Positive): The WAL used for the transaction
stressed portfolio analysis is 12 months less than the WAL covenant
at the issue date. This reduction to the risk horizon accounts for
the strict reinvestment conditions envisaged by the transaction
after its reinvestment period. These include, among others, passing
the coverage tests and satisfying the Fitch ´CCC´ tests, together
with a progressively decreasing WAL covenant. In the agency's
opinion, these conditions reduce the effective risk horizon of the
portfolio during stress periods.

The Fitch 'CCC' test condition can be altered to a maintain or
improve basis, but the manager will have to switch back from the
forward to the closing matrix (subject to satisfying the collateral
quality tests), effectively unwinding the benefit from the one-year
reduction in the stressed portfolio WAL. If the manager has not
switched to the forward matrix, which includes satisfying the
target par condition, it will not be able to switch back and move
to a Fitch 'CCC' test maintain-or-improve basis. Fitch believes
strict satisfaction of the Fitch 'CCC' test is more effective at
preventing the manager from reinvesting and elongating the WAL,
than maintaining and improving the Fitch 'CCC' test.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of
the identified portfolio would have no impact on any of the notes.

Based on the actual portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the identified portfolio, the
class C notes show a rating cushion of one notch, the class B notes
two notches, the class D, E and F-1 notes three notches, the class
F-2 notes five notches and the class A notes display no rating
cushion.

Should the cushion between the identified portfolio and the stress
portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or negative
portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR across
all ratings and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the
stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to four notches
for the class A, B and C notes, up to three notches for the class D
notes and to below 'B-sf' for the class E, F-1 and F-2 notes.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25%
increase in the RRR) across all ratings of Fitch's stress portfolio
would lead to upgrades of up to three notches, except for the
'AAAsf' rated notes, which are at the highest level on Fitch's
scale and cannot be upgraded.

During the reinvestment period, based on Fitch's stress portfolio,
upgrades may occur on better-than-expected portfolio credit quality
and a shorter remaining WAL test, leading to the ability of the
notes to withstand larger than expected losses for the remaining
life of the transaction.

After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur in
case of stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging, leading
to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover
losses on the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

OCPE CLO 2023-7 DAC

The majority of the underlying assets or risk presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other Nationally
Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk presenting entities.

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.


OCPE CLO 2023-7: S&P Assigns B- Rating on Class F-2 Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned credit ratings to OCPE CLO 2023-7 DAC's
class B to F-2 European cash flow CLO notes. At closing, the issuer
also issued unrated subordinated notes.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
    broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term loans
    and bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
    cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect
    the performance of the rated notes through collateral
    selection, ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which is in line with
    S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                                      CURRENT

  S&P weighted-average rating factor                 2,865.81

  Default rate dispersion                              460.09

  Weighted-average life (years)                          4.47

  Weighted-average life (years)
  extended to cover the length
  of the reinvestment period                             4.58

  Obligor diversity measure                            126.38

  Industry diversity measure                            21.21

  Regional diversity measure                             1.28


  Transaction key metrics

                                                      CURRENT

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                          B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                        0.57

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                   37.20

  Covenanted weighted-average spread (net of floors; %)  4.34

  Covenanted weighted-average coupon (%)                 4.84


Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless a frequency switch event occurs. Following this,
the notes will switch to semiannual payments.

Asset Priming Obligations And Uptier Priming Debt

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase asset
priming (drop down) obligations and/or uptier priming debt to
address the risk, where a distressed obligor could either move
collateral outside the existing creditors' covenant group or incur
new money debt senior to the existing creditors.

In this transaction, current pay obligations are limited to 5% of
the collateral principal amount. Corporate rescue loans and uptier
priming debt are limited to 2%.

Rationale

The portfolio is well-diversified, primarily comprising broadly
syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term loans and
senior-secured bonds. Therefore, S&P has conducted its credit and
cash flow analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash flow
CDOs.

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR350 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (4.34%),
the covenanted weighted-average coupon (4.84%), and the actual
weighted-average recovery rates calculated in line with our CLO
criteria for all classes of ratings. We applied various cash flow
stress scenarios, using four different default patterns, in
conjunction with different interest rate stress scenarios for each
liability rating category.

"Until the end of the reinvestment period on April 25, 2028, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating, and it compares that with
the current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date.
As a result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the
collateral manager may through trading deteriorate the
transaction's current risk profile, as long as the initial ratings
are maintained.

"Under our structured finance sovereign risk criteria, we consider
that the transaction's exposure to country risk is sufficiently
mitigated at the assigned ratings.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class B
to F-2 notes.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available
credit enhancement for class B to F-2 notes could withstand
stresses commensurate with the same or higher ratings than those we
have assigned. However, as the CLO is still in its reinvestment
phase, during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped our ratings assigned to the notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class B to F-1 notes
based on four hypothetical scenarios.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met, we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F-2 notes."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG)

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to certain activities,
including, but not limited to the following: the production or
trade of illegal drugs or narcotics; tobacco; the manufacture of
fully completed and operational assault weapons or firearms; sale
or extraction of thermal coal or coal-based power generation; and
extraction of fossil fuels from unconventional sources.
Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, no specific adjustments have been
made in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related risks or
opportunities."

  Ratings list

  CLASS    RATING*     AMOUNT     INTEREST RATE§     CREDIT
                     (MIL. EUR)                   ENHANCEMENT (%)

  A        NR          217.00      3mE +1.75%       38.00

  B        AA (sf)      35.00      3mE +2.40%       28.00

  C        A (sf)       19.30      3mE +3.15%       22.49

  D        BBB- (sf)    23.40      3mE +5.10%       15.80

  E        BB- (sf)     16.80      3mE +7.32%       11.00

  F-1      B+ (sf)       5.20      3mE +8.53%        9.51

  F-2      B- (sf)       5.30      3mE +9.46%        8.00

  Z        NR            1.00             N/A         N/A

  Sub      NR           28.60             N/A         N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class B notes address timely interest
and ultimate principal payments. The ratings assigned to the class
C to F-2 notes address ultimate interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.
3mE--Three-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.


OZLME IV DAC: Fitch Affirms B+ Rating on Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised OZLME IV DAC's class E and F notes
Outlook to Negative from Stable. All notes have been affirmed.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           Prior
   -----------            ------           -----
OZLME IV DAC

   A-1 XS1829320784   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   A-2 XS1829321592   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B XS1829321089     LT  AA+sf  Affirmed   AA+sf
   C-1 XS1829323291   LT  A+sf   Affirmed   A+sf
   C-2 XS1834897552   LT  A+sf   Affirmed   A+sf
   D XS1829322137     LT  BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf
   E XS1829322301     LT  BB+sf  Affirmed   BB+sf
   F XS1829323705     LT  B+sf   Affirmed   B+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow collateralised loan obligation
backed by a portfolio of mainly European leveraged loans and bonds.
The transaction is actively managed by Sculptor Europe Loan
Management Limited and has exited its reinvestment period on 27
October 2022.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Par Erosion; Heightened Refinancing Risk: Since Fitch's last rating
action in September 2022, the portfolio has seen erosion of
approximately 0.7% of target par as calculated by Fitch (ie. target
par balance at closing less note amortisation). As per the last
trustee report on 15 August 2023, the transaction was below target
par by 1.4% as calculated by Fitch, compared with 0.7% below par as
of the last review. Reported defaults stand at EUR7.7 million, or
1.9% of the target par as calculated by Fitch.

The Negative Outlook on the class E and F notes reflects a moderate
default-rate cushion against credit quality deterioration in view
of the heightened refinancing risk in the near-and-medium term,
with approximately 2% of the portfolio maturing by 2024, and 15% in
2025. In Fitch's opinion, this may lead to further deterioration of
the portfolio with an increase in defaults. The Negative Outlooks
indicate potential downgrades but Fitch expects the ratings to
remain within the current category.

Sufficient Cushion for Senior Notes: Although the par erosion has
reduced the default-rate cushion for all notes, the senior class
notes have retained sufficient buffer to support their current
ratings and should be capable of withstanding further defaults in
the portfolio. This supports the Stable Outlooks on the class A-1
to D notes.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-calculated weighted average
rating factor (WARF) of the current portfolio is 24.4. For the
portfolio including entities with Negative Outlook that are notched
down one level as per its criteria, WARF was 25.5 as of 16
September 2023.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
95.3% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated weighted average recovery
rate (WARR) of the current portfolio as reported by the trustee was
66.2%, based on outdated criteria. Under the current criteria, the
Fitch-calculated WARR is 64.4%.

Diversified Portfolio: The transaction has two top-10 obligor
concentration limits of 18% and 26.5%. Concentration as calculated
by the trustee is 17.1%, which is below both limits, and the
largest issuer represents 2.7% of the portfolio balance.

Deviation from MIR: The 'AA+sf' ratings on the class B notes are a
deviation from their model-implied ratings (MIR) of 'AAAsf'. The
deviation reflects Fitch's view that the default-rate cushion is
not commensurate with an upgrade to the MIR, given heightened
macroeconomic risk and limited deleveraging prospects due to
limited scheduled amortisation during2024.

Transaction Outside Reinvestment Period: Although the transaction
exited its reinvestment period in October 2022, the manager can
reinvest unscheduled principal proceeds and sale proceeds from
credit-risk obligations and credit-improved obligations post the
reinvestment period subject to compliance with the reinvestment
criteria. Since the end of the reinvestment period, as reported by
the trustee on 15 August 2023, the transaction has reinvested
EUR38.5 million notional.

Given the manager's ability to reinvest, Fitch's analysis is based
on a stressed portfolio using the agency's matrix specified in the
transaction documentation with a 18% limit on top-10 concentration.
Fitch analysed the matrix with a 10% fixed-rate limit, which is
currently used by the manager. Fitch also applied a haircut of 1.5%
to the WARR as the calculation of the WARR in the transaction
documentation is not in line with the agency's current CLO
Criteria.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

An increase of the default rate (RDR) at all rating levels in the
current portfolio by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the
recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels would have no
impact on the class A-1, A-2, C-1, C-2 or D notes. It would however
lead to a downgrade of no more than one notch for the class B note,
and two notches for the class E and F notes. Downgrades may occur
if the build-up of the notes' credit enhancement following
amortisation does not compensate for a larger loss expectation than
initially assumed due to unexpectedly high levels of defaults and
portfolio deterioration.

Due to the better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio
than the Fitch-stressed portfolio as well as the MIR deviation, the
class B and E notes display a rating cushion of one notch, the
class D notes of two notches and the class F notes a of three
notches. The class A-1, A-2, C-1 or C-2 notes have no rating
cushion.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the stressed
portfolio would lead to downgrades of no more than one notch for
the class B notes, two notches for the class C-1, C-2 and D notes,
four notches for the class E notes, to below 'B-sf' for the class F
notes but would have no impact on the class A-1 & A-2 notes.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels in the stressed
portfolio by 25% of the mean RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25%
at all rating levels would result in upgrades of up to three
notches for all notes, except for the class A-1, A-2, C-1 and C-2
notes. Further upgrades may occur, except for the 'AAAsf' notes, if
the portfolio's quality remains stable and the notes start to
amortise, leading to higher credit enhancement across the
structure.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third-party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.


VOYA EURO III: Fitch Hikes Rating on Class F Notes to 'B+sf'
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Voya Euro CLO III DAC's class B to F
notes and affirmed the class A notes. The Outlooks are Stable.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           Prior
   -----------            ------           -----
Voya Euro
CLO III DAC

   A XS2125180005     LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1 XS2125180344   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   B-2 XS2125180773   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   C XS2125181078     LT  A+sf   Upgrade    Asf
   D XS2125181318     LT  BBB+sf Upgrade    BBBsf
   E XS2125181664     LT  BB+sf  Upgrade    BBsf
   F XS2125181748     LT  B+sf   Upgrade    Bsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Voya Euro CLO III DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior secured
loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, and second-lien loans. The portfolio is actively managed
by Voya Alternative Asset Management LLC. The transaction will exit
its reinvestment period in October 2024.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Reinvesting Transaction: The manager can continue to reinvest
unscheduled principal proceeds and sale proceeds from
credit-impaired and credit-improved obligations after the
transaction exits its reinvestment period in October 2024, subject
to compliance with the reinvestment criteria.

Given the manager's ability to reinvest, its analysis is based on a
stressed portfolio. Fitch has applied a haircut of 1.5% to the
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) as the calculation in the
transaction documentation is not in line with the agency's current
CLO Criteria.

Good Asset Performance: The rating actions reflect a shorter WAL
and therefore shorter risk horizon, as well as good asset
performance. The transaction is currently 0.8% above par and is
passing all collateral-quality, portfolio-profile and coverage
tests. Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating of 'CCC+' and
below is 3%, according to the latest trustee report, and the
portfolio only has EUR0.3 million in defaulted assets.

In addition, the transaction has a small proportion of assets with
near-term maturities, with approximately 0.8% of the portfolio
maturing before end-2024, and 5.5% maturing in 2025, which means it
is less vulnerable to near-term refinancing risk.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-calculated WARF of the current
portfolio was 25.3. The WARF metric of the Fitch-stressed
portfolio, for which the agency has notched down entities on
Negative Outlook by one rating level was 26.7.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
100% of the portfolio as calculated by the trustee. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated
WARR of the current portfolio is 63.9%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration is 10.9%, and no obligor represents more than 1.2% of
the portfolio balance, as reported by the trustee. The exposure to
the three-largest Fitch-defined industries is 29% as calculated by
Fitch. Fixed-rate assets reported by the trustee are at 2.1% of the
portfolio balance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) and a 25% decrease of
the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of the current portfolio
would have no impact on all notes except class D notes, which would
see a downgrade of no more than one notch.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B and E notes display a rating
cushion of one notch, class D notes of two notches and the class F
notes of three notches. The class A and C notes display no rating
cushion.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded, due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the
Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to three
notches.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR and a 25% increase in the RRR
across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to
upgrades of up to three notches for the rated notes, except for the
'AAAsf' rated notes.

During the reinvestment period, based on the Fitch-stressed
portfolio, upgrades may occur on better-than-expected portfolio
credit quality and a shorter remaining WAL test, allowing the notes
to withstand larger-than-expected losses for the transaction's
remaining life. After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades
may occur on stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging,
leading to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to
cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third-party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.



===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================

SK INVICTUS II: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service revised SK Invictus Intermediate II
S.a.r.l.'s (dba Perimeter Solutions SA) outlook to stable from
positive.  Moody's has also affirmed the B2 Corporate Family
Rating, B2-PD Probability of Default Rating, B2 rating to the $675
million senior secured notes due 2029 and assigned an SGL-1
Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating (SGL).

"The outlook revision reflects the company's financial performance
that missed expectations in its Fire Safety business following a
mild fire season and destocking that impacted the company's
Specialty Products segment," said Domenick R. Fumai, Moody's Vice
President and lead analyst for SK Invictus Intermediate II S.a.r.l.
"Furthermore, despite being a public company, Perimeter's financial
policy has been more aggressive than previously expected," Fumai
added.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The outlook revision to stable from positive reflects the increase
in leverage compared to prior expectations and a financial policy
that is more aggressive than previously anticipated, thereby
preventing upward ratings momentum. Fire Safety's results were
negatively impacted by the mild fire season thus far in North
America, with acres burned down sharply from the previous two
years, while Specialty Products' profitability deteriorated due to
lower volumes because of destocking by major customers. Although
now a public company, Moody's also views Perimeter Solutions'
financial policy as more favorable towards shareholders, including
EverArc. The company has been repurchasing stock through 1H23 under
its $100 million share repurchase program at a time when financial
performance has been weaker-than-expected following a significant
stock price decline from its IPO level. Although the Board of
Directors meets the New York Stock Exchange definition of serving
as independent directors, several board members have relationships
with portfolio companies of EverArc, including TransDigm Group and
Housatonic Partners. Moody's views these relationships as negative
governance considerations.

The affirmation of the B2 CFR reflects the belief that credit
metrics will be commensurate with the current rating. Moody's now
projects financial leverage (Debt/EBITDA) to gradually decline from
slightly over 6.0x as of June 30, 2023, towards 5.0x in FY 2024.
Moody's expects EBITDA and free cash flow improvement for the 2H23
from the benefit of lower raw material prices and as the inventory
channel stabilizes. In FY 2024, assuming a more normal fire season
and resumed pricing and volume growth in both segments, Moody's
forecasts EBITDA of roughly $130-$135 million and free cash flow of
at least $20 million.

Perimeter Solutions' B2 CFR is underpinned by strong industry
positions in both of its segments. In Fire Safety, the company is
the main supplier of fire retardants to the US government and a
leading supplier to key state and municipal fire agencies, as well
as Canadian provinces and Australia. In the Specialty Products
segment, Perimeter Solutions benefits from an industry which has a
limited number of suppliers and the company's position as the only
supplier with operations in both North America and Europe. Each
segment enjoys high barriers to entry including extensive
qualification requirements and require highly specialized
formulations, which increase customers' switching costs and lead to
long-term customer relationships. The Specialty Products segment
has historically contributed to consistent EBITDA generation, which
partially mitigates the volatility associated with the Fire Safety
business. Perimeter Solutions also benefits from strong margins and
an asset-light business model that requires modest capital
expenditures.

The rating is constrained by expectations that credit metrics are
more likely to be volatile compared to similarly rated chemical
companies. Moody's also factors into the current rating that
acquisitions will be strategic tuck-ins conservatively financed
with available cash and limited use of the revolving credit
facility. The rating further incorporates the company's lack of
scale and limited product diversity, with a substantial portion of
earnings attributed to the Fire Safety segment, which is
unpredictable due to the nature of wildfires.

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that Debt/EBITDA
will remain below 5.5x over the next 12-18 months and that
liquidity of at least $90 million is maintained.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Moody's could upgrade the ratings if adjusted leverage is below
4.0x on a sustained basis in a weak wildfire season, if free cash
flow-to-debt is sustained above 10%, and the company demonstrates a
track record of conservative financial policies.

Moody's would likely consider a downgrade if adjusted leverage is
sustained above 5.5x, free cash flow remains negative for an
elevated period, or available liquidity falls below $60 million. A
downgrade could also be considered if there is a large
debt-financed acquisition or dividend to shareholders.

Perimeter Solutions is a specialty chemical producer operating in
two segments: Fire Safety and Specialty Products. The Fire Safety
business involves formulating and manufacturing fire safety
chemicals, including Phos-Chek(R) fire retardants, Class A and B
foams, and water enhancing gels for wildland, military, industrial,
and municipal fires. The Specialty Products segment produces
phosphorus pentasulfide used in the preparation of ZDDP-based
lubricant additives that possess anti-wear properties in engine
oils and prolong the useful life of engines. Perimeter Solutions
had revenue of $322 million for the last twelvemonths ending June
30, 2023.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Chemicals
published in June 2022.




=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================

ACCELL: Moody's Lowers CFR to 'B3' & Alters Outlook to Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded bike-manufacturer Sprint
BidCo B.V.'s ("Accell" or "the company") corporate family rating to
B3 from B2 and its probability of default rating to B3-PD from
B2-PD. At the same time, Moody's downgraded to B3 from B2 the
instrument rating of the EUR705 million backed senior secured term
loan B (TLB) due June 2029 and the EUR180 million backed senior
secured multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF) due December
2028, both borrowed by Sprint BidCo B.V. The outlook on all ratings
was changed to stable from negative.

"The downgrade to B3 reflects the marked drop in earnings expected
in 2023 and the company's still tight liquidity. As a result,
Accell's credit metrics will remain much weaker than previously
anticipated and for longer," says Giuliana Cirrincione, Moody's
lead analyst for Accell.

"At the same time, the prolonged negative effect that supply chain
disruptions have had on working capital management, as well as the
execution risk on the company's inventory reduction plan makes the
pace of recovery in cash flow generation uncertain," adds Mrs
Cirrincione.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Accell's operating performance in 2023 will be weak, with a
temporary but significant drop in earnings due to wide-ranging
rightsizing actions the company is taking to address the supply
chain challenges which have severely hit its profitability and cash
generation over the past two years.

As part of the inventory reduction plan, the company also had to
introduce discounts to accelerate the sale of slow moving stocks.
While discounts have so far affected a small portion of Accell's
less profitable product range, these will contribute to a lower
profitability in 2023. According to the company, rightsizing,
discounts and other one-off costs will have their full impact on
EBITDA in 2023, while the associated costs savings will only be
visible starting from 2024.

As a result, Moody's now expects Accell's financial leverage to
remain higher for longer, with an adjusted gross debt to EBITDA
ratio at around 7.5x in 2024 and then trending to below 7.0x by
2025, from above the 20x estimated for year-end 2023. Besides the
slower than anticipated EBITDA growth trajectory, the leverage
trend also reflects the sustained debt levels needed to fund the
company's ample working capital needs, in light of the
still-elevated inventory levels and the significant intra-year
swings due to typical business seasonality.

According to Moody's forecasts, free cash flow generation, albeit
improving from a deficit of EUR270 million in 2022, will remain
negative at around EUR150 million in 2023 because of
rightsizing-related costs and slow inventory destocking. Working
capital patterns should normalize by early 2024, leading to a
positive free cash flow in the range of EUR70 million- EUR80
million in 2024, which, however, remains subject to execution risk.
   

Positively, underlying fundamentals for the e-bike market continue
to support the rating, despite somewhat softer volumes in key
European countries in the first months of 2023 due to after-effects
of the supply chain bottlenecks and the generally weaker consumer
sentiment. According to the company, there were no order
cancellations from dealers, and the current order backlog through
2024 and part of 2025 from Central and Southern Europe is strong.
The company also says that its market share in the e-bikes segment
is still growing across all its main markets. This provides comfort
that Accell will weather the currently difficult market environment
in Europe in 2023 and 2024 thanks to the ongoing increasing
penetration of e-bikes compared to traditional bikes, underpinned
by strong consumer focus on sustainable mobility and improving
cycling infrastructure in urban areas.  

Besides the expectation that financial leverage will remain high
through 2025, Accell's B3 CFR is constrained by: (1) the
uncertainty over the normalized free cash flow generation capacity
of the company and its weak liquidity; (2) the high supplier
concentration and execution risk related to the company's plan to
optimize working capital management and improve operational
efficiency; (3) competitive pressures from new entrants in the
fast-growing e-bike segment; and (4) the exposure to the
discretionary nature of demand.

Accell's B3 CFR remains supported by (1) the positive market
fundamentals, underpinned by strong demand for bicycles and
continued increase in the penetration of e-bikes compared with
traditional bikes; (2) Accell's leading market position in the
fragmented European market for bicycles, especially in the e-bikes
segment; (3) a broad portfolio of well-known local brands with good
geographical diversification and strong historical heritage; (4)
its track record of passing price increases to end costumers; (5)
its long term debt maturity profile, with key debt instruments not
maturing until 2028/29, which give the company some time to improve
its operating performance and stabilize its operations ahead of a
refinancing at likely higher rates.

LIQUIDITY

Accell's liquidity is weak, as reflected by its small cash balance
of EUR10 million as of June 2023 and lack of availability under its
committed lines, which include the EUR180 million RCF maturing in
2028 and the EUR75 million ABL revolving facility expiring in
2028.

As majority shareholder, funds advised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &
Co. LP (KKR) recently extended to Accell a EUR100 million loan in
the form a temporary revolving facility with PIK margin to help
alleviate the liquidity tensions which persisted through the second
quarter of 2023. As of June 2023, the RCF and the ABL were fully
drawn, with EUR30 million still available under the shareholder
loan (which Moody's includes in its gross debt definition for
leverage calculation).

Albeit improving, free cash flow remains strained by still-elevated
inventory levels as well as typical business seasonality which
drives ample working capital swings across quarters. The business
typically absorbs most of the cash in the fourth and first quarter
of the year, mainly driven by inventory build-up as dealers' orders
are placed in Q3 and sales mostly occur in the warmer months of the
year. Moody's expects seasonality, together with the ongoing
implementation of the inventory reduction plan, will drive a
progressive release of working capital over the next quarters.

The company is subject to one springing covenant of debt to EBITDA
which is tested annually when more than 40% of the RCF is drawn.
The test level is set at 8.25x and Moody's expects the company to
remain in compliance with the covenant due to ample headroom
allowed under the debt documentation to make adjustments to debt
and EBITDA calculations.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B3 instrument ratings of the EUR705 million TLB due June 2029
and the EUR180 million RCF due December 2028 are aligned with the
CFR, reflecting that these facilities rank pari passu and represent
the vast majority of the company's debt structure. Accell also has
a EUR75 million ABL revolving line due February 2028, used to fund
its working capital swings. Given its small size relative to the
company's capital structure, the ABL does not cause any notching
down of the TLB and RCF despite its first-priority pledge against
eligible receivables and inventory in the Netherlands and Germany.
The EUR100 million PIK loan from KKR is subordinated to all senior
secured instruments and is included in the gross debt calculation.


The company's PDR of B3-PD is in line with the CFR, reflecting the
assumption of a 50% family recovery rate as customary for debt
structures with no maintenance covenants and a security package
that is limited to share pledges. Further, the rated instruments
benefit from guarantees from material subsidiaries representing at
least 80% of consolidated EBITDA.

RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that Accell's
liquidity strains will ease in line with a normalization in its
working capital requirements, while earnings will progressively
recover on the back of resilient consumer demand and successful
implementation of rightsizing initiatives, leading to a Moody's
adjusted leverage below 7.0x by 2025. The stable outlook also
assumes timely financial support from shareholders should liquidity
tensions related to working capital management continue over the
next quarters.  

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Upward pressure on the rating could develop if (1) the company's
Moody's-adjusted gross debt to EBITDA ratio declines to below 6.0x;
(2) free cash flow generation improves and becomes positive; and
(3) the company's liquidity profile improves, including adequate
availability on external committed lines to fund the company's
large working capital fluctuations.

Downward pressure on the rating could develop if (1) liquidity
deteriorates further as a result of weakening earnings or inability
of the company to reduce its working capital needs; or (2) the
company fails to reduce its Moody's-adjusted leverage ratio to well
below 8.0x over the next 12-18 months.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Durables published in September 2021.

CORPORATE PROFILE

Headquartered in Heerenveen, The Netherlands, Accell is the largest
bicycle manufacturer in Europe and holds the market leader position
in e-bikes which represented around 57% of its revenues in 2022.
The other market segments in which it operates are: (i) parts and
accessories (P&A, ca. 30% of revenues), (ii) traditional bikes
(T-bikes, 12%) and (iii) cargo (4%). The company generates
approximately 70% of its revenues in Central Europe and Benelux
(42% and 27% respectively), with Germany being its largest market
(c. 40% of revenues). Other markets include the UK and Ireland,
South Europe and the Nordics and account for around 30% of total
turnover. The company owns 12 of the most well-known national and
international brands including Haibike, Batavus and Lapierre.

Since 2022, Accell is owned by a consortium of investors led by
private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (KKR).


KETER GROUP: Moody's Affirms Caa2 CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Caa2 corporate family rating
of Keter Group B.V. and upgraded the company's probability of
default rating to Caa2-PD /LD from Caa3-PD /LD. Concurrently,
Moody's affirmed the Caa2 ratings of the existing senior secured
bank credit facilities borrowed by Keter and assigned a new Caa2
rating to the company's EUR1.2 billion senior secured term loan Bs
(TLBs, split into two tranches) due March 2025 and on the EUR102
million senior secured term loan B4 due December 2024. At the same
time, Moody's has assigned a B1 rating to the company's new EUR50
million super senior secured bank credit facility due December
2024. The outlook has been changed to stable from negative.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The affirmation of the Caa2 CFR and the upgrade of the PDR to
Caa2-PD /LD from Caa3-PD /LD reflect Keter's improved liquidity
position following the closing of the amend and extend (A&E)
transaction on September 21, 2023. The company has extended the
maturities of its EUR1.2 billion and EUR102 million TLB tranches to
March 2025 and December 2024, respectively. At the same time, the
company has issued a new EUR50 million super senior secured bank
credit facility due December 2024. While the interest rates for the
new facilities have increased, the incremental component will not
be paid in cash and the related portion of interest costs will be
capitalized. The company has also replaced the springing first lien
leverage test included in its revolving credit facility with a new
minimum liquidity test.

Furthermore, Keter's parent company will start an M&A process aimed
at the sale of the company, with proceeds to be used to repay the
outstanding senior debt. The sale process will be monitored by an
independent M&A committee with closing expected before mid-2024.
The amend and extend transaction constitutes a distressed debt
exchange, i.e. an event of default under Moody's definition, given
it entails both default avoidance and loss for creditors. At the
same time, however, the transaction resolves Keter's near-term
refinancing risk because the maturities of the TLBs are now
extended by 17 months, thereby improving the company's liquidity
position in 2023 and 2024.

On August 4, 2023, Moody's appended the LD indicator to the
probability of default rating following the missed repayment of the
RCF at maturity. The "/LD" designation will be removed within three
business days.

The affirmation of the Caa2 CFR takes into account the highly
levered capital structure with a Moody's adjusted gross debt to
EBITDA close to 10x in 2022, which the rating agency expects will
decline to around 8x by the end of 2023 and to around 7x in 2024.
The A&E transaction will not reduce the group's overall debt amount
and the very high leverage is a key rating constraint because
Keter's capital structure could remain unsustainable over the
medium  term without any material improvement in EBITDA. A recovery
of credit metrics towards more sustainable levels over the next
12-18 months is uncertain because of the challenging macroeconomic
environment and still-high inflation which will continue to
constrain consumer spending. YTD June 2023 revenue declined 22%,
while EBITDA growth of 9.6% was supported by lower costs for raw
materials, logistics and electricity as well as by the successful
execution of the company's cost savings plan.

Moody's forecasts moderately negative free cash flow (FCF) in 2023
but expects that the company's cost-saving measures and disciplined
working capital management will support an improvement in FCF
towards EUR10 million - EUR20 million in 2024, while its interest
coverage ratio will remain below 1x.

Keter's Caa2 CFR continues to reflect (1) its leading market
positions in the global resin-based products industry including
consumer furniture, tool storage and home storage; (2) good
geographic diversification of sales across a number of countries in
Europe, North America and Israel; and (3) its strong product
diversification and a broad distribution channel mix, underpinned
by long-standing relationships with major retail chains.

Besides the very high leverage, the rating is also constrained by
Keter's (1) exposure to discretionary spending that is likely to
contract at times of macroeconomic recession; (2) the weak Moody's
adjusted EBIT-to-interest cover ratio below 1.0x, which raises
questions on the sustainability of the current capital structure;
(3) the significant exposure to polypropylene prices, despite the
progressively higher use of recycled resin, which creates earnings
volatility; (4) Moody's expectation that FCF will be negative in
2023 and will only improve in 2024.

LIQUIDITY

Following the closing of the A&E transaction, Keter's liquidity is
adequate in the near-term but remains constrained by the debt
maturity wall the company faces in December 2024 and March 2025.
The company had EUR146 million of cash and cash equivalents as of
June 2023, and access to a EUR31 million credit facility secured by
trade receivables and inventory, of which EUR18 million was drawn
as at June 2023. The company also typically uses short-term
bilateral lines, which were undrawn as at June 2023.

The company's cash requirements include significant intra-year
working capital swings due to business seasonality, and
approximately EUR45-55 million of annual capex (excl. the portion
related to the lease adjustment).

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The senior secured bank credit facilities, i.e. the EUR1,205
million TLBs due March 2025 and the EUR102.1 million TLB due
December 2024, are rated in line with the Caa2 CFR, as they
represent the vast majority of the group's debt. The new EUR50
million super senior secured bank credit facility is rated B1,
reflecting its priority ranking to the TLBs. The new facility also
benefits from the same security and guarantees as the TLBs, but it
does not cause any notching down of the ratings on the existing
instruments because of its small size.

While Moody's notes the presence of a PIK instrument outside of the
restricted group (the immediate parent of the top company within
the restricted group capitalises its ownership of Keter via common
equity), Moody's does not include this instrument in its debt and
leverage calculations.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that earnings will
moderately improve on the back of a rebound in consumer demand and
continued focus on costs controls, leading to a Moody's adjusted
leverage at around 7.0x by 2024.The stable outlook also assumes
that creditors' recovery prospects will not deteriorate and that
the company will maintain an adequate liquidity profile over the
next 12-18 months, by repaying or refinancing its debt well ahead
of the new maturities.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Keter's ratings could be upgraded if the company addresses the
refinancing of its December 2024 and March 2025 maturities with a
manageable cost of debt that makes its capital structure more
sustainable, and it maintains an overall adequate liquidity,
including an improving free cash flow and adequate capacity under
its financial covenants.

Keter's ratings could be downgraded if the company fails to repay
or refinance its 2024 and 2025 debt maturities well in advance of
these becoming due, or if the company pursues another debt
restructuring resulting in higher losses for creditors than those
currently assumed in the current Caa2 rating.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Durables published in September 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Based in the Netherlands, Keter is a producer of a variety of
resin-based consumer goods, including garden furniture and home
storage solutions. Keter is majority owned by BC Partners since
2016, while minority shareholders include funds advised by Private
Equity firm PSP Investments and the original founders, the Sagol
family. In 2022, Keter Group B.V. generated EUR1.6 billion of
revenues and EUR167 million of (company-reported) EBITDA.




===========
N O R W A Y
===========

ADEVINTA ASA: S&P Puts 'BB-' Issuer Credit Rating on Watch Dev.
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings placed its 'BB-' issuer credit rating on
Norway-based classifieds operator Adevinta ASA and its issue credit
rating on the company's debt on CreditWatch with developing
implications.

S&P expects to resolve the CreditWatch placement once S&P has more
clarity on the company's shareholder structure and financial
policy.

On Sept. 21, 2023, Adevinta confirmed that it had received a
non-binding indicative takeover proposal from a private equity-led
consortium.

S&P said, "The CreditWatch placement indicates that we could raise,
affirm, or lower our ratings on Adevinta, depending on potential
changes in its shareholder structure and financial policy. On Sept.
21, 2023, Adevinta publicly confirmed that it had received a
non-binding indicative proposal for all its shares from a private
equity-led consortium. eBay and Schibsted, which hold 33% and 28%,
respectively, of the company's equity and are Adevinta's largest
shareholders, publicly indicated that they are supportive of the
proposal and would likely retain reduced stakes in the company. We
also note that a lock-up agreement between eBay and Schibsted that
prevents both companies from reducing their stakes in Adevinta
below 25% will expire in mid-October 2023. Schibsted publicly
announced that it is reviewing options to reduce its stake in
Adevinta. We expect it will announce its plans at the end of
October 2023, when it will report its results for the third quarter
of 2023. We therefore assume that Adevinta's shareholder structure
will likely change over the next 12 months and that its current
shareholders eBay and Schibsted will likely reduce their stakes in
the business. This will potentially lead to a change in the
company's financial policy.

"We expect to get more clarity on the main shareholders' intentions
over the coming months and will evaluate potential implications on
Adevinta's financial policy and leverage.Adevinta indicated that a
formal offer from a private equity-led consortium is not certain.
We think a privatization would likely imply a more aggressive
financial policy and higher leverage than in our base case. If,
however, Adevinta's shareholder structure did not change materially
or if its financial policy continued to prioritize deleveraging and
the company performed in line with our forecast, this could still
result in a decline of S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage below
4.0x and support a higher rating.

"We improved our forecast for Adevinta and now expect higher
revenue growth, EBITDA, cash flows, and improved deleveraging
ability. We expect that Adevinta will increase its revenue in 2023
and thereafter by about 10% per year. In the first half of 2023,
the company's online classifieds business performed strongly,
despite the weaker macroeconomic environment. The strong
performance resulted from a combination of product innovation,
price increases, and an increase in listing volumes. In our view,
the expansion of these operations will more than offset the decline
in online advertising in 2023, which stems from weaker economic
growth across the group's main markets. From 2024 onward, we expect
the group's advertising revenue will recover as macroeconomic
conditions improve. We expect Adevinta's EBITDA, profitability, and
free operating cash flow (FOCF) will benefit from materially
declining restructuring costs. We anticipate Adevinta will complete
the integration of the eBay Classifieds Group in 2023 and we do not
expect any material integration costs from 2024 onward. We
therefore forecast that the S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA
margin will expand to 26.5% in 2023 and 32.0% in 2024, from 23.2%
in 2022. This will increase FOCF to EUR270 million-EUR440 million
per year in 2023 and 2024, from about EUR260 million in 2022, and
provide Adevinta with more flexibility to fund M&As and shareholder
returns and to repay debt.

"We have relaxed rating thresholds for Adevinta based on its
improved operating performance and successful integration of eBay
Classifieds Group.We acknowledge the company's sustained organic
revenue growth of above 10% and its ability to increase the
monetization of its platforms and services and raise prices,
despite a weak macroeconomic environment. Adevinta is on track to
successfully complete the integration of eBay Classifieds Group in
2023, which will materially reduce execution risks that we
previously incorporated in our view. We have therefore increased
the adjusted leverage range commensurate with a 'BB-' rating for
Adevinta to 4.0x-5.0x, compared with the previous range of
3.5x-4.5x.

"Adevinta has proactively paid down debt in 2022 and 2023 and has
capacity to deleverage further. In 2022 and the first half of 2023,
Adevinta repaid almost EUR520 million of senior secured debt
(mostly floating-rate term loans). Thus, the company achieved its
publicly stated company-adjusted net leverage target of 3.0x six
months earlier than intended and publicly committed to further
reduce its net leverage to 2.0x in the medium term. This would
correspond to an S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage of about
2.5x. We expect Adevinta will generate enough positive FOCF to fund
further debt repayments and assume it could repay more than EUR100
million by the end of 2023. This should reduce S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage to 4.0x in 2023, from 5.8x in 2022, and
potentially below 3.0x in 2024. However, any further deleveraging
beyond 2023 will depend on the company's financial policy and
consistent net leverage targets."

CreditWatch

S&P said, "We expect to resolve the CreditWatch placement in the
next 90 days once we have more clarity on the company's shareholder
structure and financial policy.

"We could raise the ratings if Adevinta's shareholder and
governance structure does not change materially and if the
company's financial policy continues to focus on deleveraging. In
this case and provided that Adevinta performs in line with our base
case, we could raise the ratings if the company's S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage declines below 4.0x and FOCF to debt
increases above 15%.

"We could lower the ratings if Adevinta's financial policy turns
more aggressive, for example in the case of a privatization or if
the company prioritizes shareholder returns and M&As, which would
increase its S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage to above 5.0x."




===============
P O R T U G A L
===============

TAP: Put Up for Sale by Portuguese Government
---------------------------------------------
Barney Jopson, Sergio Anibal in Lisbon and Philip Georgiadis at The
Financial Times report that Portugal's national carrier TAP has
been put up for sale by the government in a move that opens the way
for more airline consolidation and a potential bidding war
involving British Airways owner IAG and Air France-KLM.

According to the FT, Fernando Medina, Portugal's finance minister,
said on Sept. 28 that the cabinet had approved the privatisation of
the airline -- which is wholly owned by the government -- and that
at least 51% of its shares would be sold.

TAP, which is estimated to be worth around EUR1 billion and swung
back into profit last year, is emerging from years of trouble that
have included near bankruptcy, a government bailout and scandals,
the FT discloses.

The region's three major airline groups, IAG, Air France-KLM and
Lufthansa, have each said they are looking for acquisitions and
expressed interest in TAP, which would open up the increasingly
lucrative South American market, the FT relates.

On TAP, Mr. Medina, as cited by the FT, said: "There are interested
airlines and their interest is public, which we welcome as a
positive sign for the success of this operation."

He also noted TAP's "privileged connections" to the
Portuguese-speaking countries Brazil, Angola and Mozambique.

TAP ended a protracted run of losses and returned to the black in
2022 with a profit of EUR66 million, the FT recounts.

The Portuguese government left open the option of selling 100% of
its TAP shares, but also said up to 5% would be reserved for
employees of the company, the FT states.

According to the FT, it said it was looking for "an investor of
scale" from the airline sector that would ensure the company's
growth, the development of Lisbon as a hub, and make the most of
underutilised airports, notably Porto.

TAP was last privatised in 2015 but the collapse of air travel
during the pandemic brought it to the brink of failure, the FT
recounts.  The government chose to save it in June 2020 via a
nationalisation plan approved by the European Commission, the FT
notes.  The rescue aid totalled EUR3.2 billion of loans and loan
guarantees and led to a forced restructuring, the FT discloses.




=========
S P A I N
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IM CAJAMAR 4: Fitch Affirms 'CCCsf' Rating on Class E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded three tranches of IM Cajamar 4, FTA and
one tranche of IM Cajamar 3, FTA. The remaining tranches have been
affirmed.

   Entity/Debt                 Rating            Prior
   -----------                 ------            -----
IM Cajamar 4, FTA

   A ES0349044000          LT   AA+sf  Affirmed   AA+sf
   B ES0349044018          LT   AAsf   Upgrade    AA-sf
   C ES0349044026          LT   A+sf   Upgrade    Asf
   D ES0349044034          LT   Asf    Upgrade    A-sf
   E ES0349044042          LT   CCCsf  Affirmed   CCCsf

IM Cajamar 3, FTA

   Series A ES0347783005   LT   AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   Series B ES0347783013   LT   AAAsf  Upgrade    AA+sf
   Series C ES0347783021   LT   AA-sf  Affirmed   AA-sf
   Series D ES0347783039   LT   A+sf   Affirmed   A+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The static Spanish RMBS transactions comprise fully amortising
residential mortgages originated and serviced by Cajamar Caja
Rural, Sociedad Cooperativa de Credito (not rated).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Mild Weakening in Asset Performance: The rating actions factor in
its expectation of mild deterioration of asset performance,
consistent with a weaker macroeconomic outlook, linked to
inflationary pressures that negatively affect real household wages
and disposable income. The transactions are protected by
substantial portfolio seasoning (more than 17 years), low current
loan-to-value ratios (ranging between 28.3% and 31.3%), and a low
share of loans in arrears over 90 days (less than 0.2% for both
deals) as of the latest reporting dates.

However, downside performance risk has increased as the recent
spike in inflation may put pressure on household financing,
especially for more vulnerable borrowers.

Sufficient CE: The upgrades and affirmations reflect Fitch's view
that the notes are sufficiently protected by credit enhancement
(CE) to absorb the projected losses commensurate with the
corresponding rating scenarios. As both deals continue to amortise
pro-rata, Fitch expects CE ratios to slowly increase in the short
to medium term due to the reserve funds being stable at its floor.

Fitch expects CE to increase more quickly when the mandatory switch
to sequential amortisation of the notes is activated after the
portfolio balances fall below 10% of the initial amounts (currently
12.1% and 15.6% for IM Cajamar 3 and 4, respectively) or the switch
to sequential trigger is breached.

Excessive Counterparty Risk: The ratings of the class D notes in
both transactions and Cajamar 3's class C notes are capped at the
transaction account bank (TAB) provider's deposit rating (BNP
Paribas S.A.; AA-/F1+). This is because the main source of
structural CE for these classes is the reserve fund held at the
TAB. The rating cap reflects the excessive counterparty dependence,
in accordance with Fitch's Structured Finance and Covered Bonds
Counterparty Rating Criteria. This counterparty cap is currently
applicable to Cajamar 3 class C notes but not the class D notes, as
the latter's ratings are below the cap level.

Regional Concentration Risk: Both portfolios are exposed to
geographical concentration in the regions of Murcia (around 35% in
volume terms) and Andalucía (around 47% in volume terms). In line
with Fitch's European RMBS Rating Criteria, higher rating multiples
are applied to the base foreclosure frequency assumption to the
portion of the portfolios that exceeds 2.5x the population share of
these regions relative to the national count.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- For notes rated 'AAAsf', a downgrade of Spain's Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) that could decrease the maximum achievable
rating for Spanish structured finance transactions. This is because
these notes are rated at the maximum achievable rating, six notches
above the sovereign IDR.

- For both transactions' class D notes and Cajamar 3's class C
notes, a downgrade of the TAB's long-term deposit rating could
trigger a downgrade. This is because the notes' ratings are capped
at the TAB's rating given the excessive counterparty risk
exposure.

- Long-term asset performance deterioration, such as increased
delinquencies or larger defaults, which could be driven by changes
to macroeconomic conditions, interest rate increases or borrower
behaviour.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- For Cajamar 3's class C and D notes, an upgrade of the TAB's
long-term deposit rating could trigger a downgrade. This is because
the notes' ratings are capped at the TAB's rating given the
excessive counterparty risk exposure.

- CE ratios increase as the transactions deleverage able to fully
compensate the credit losses and cash flow stresses commensurate
with higher rating scenarios, in addition to adequate counterparty
arrangements.

DATA ADEQUACY

IM Cajamar 3, FTA, IM Cajamar 4, FTA

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset
pools and the transactions. Fitch has not reviewed the results of
any third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

Fitch did not undertake a review of the information provided about
the underlying asset pools ahead of the transactions' initial
closing. The subsequent performance of the transactions over the
years is consistent with the agency's expectations given the
operating environment and Fitch is therefore satisfied that the
asset pool information relied upon for its initial rating analysis
was adequately reliable.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Cajamar 3's class C notes' rating is linked to and capped by the
TAB provider deposit rating because of excessive counterparty
risk.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.


PIQUE MIDCO: Moody's Assigns First Time 'B2' Corp. Family Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a first-time B2 corporate
family rating and a B2-PD probability of default rating to Pique
Midco 2 S.a r.l. (Palex or the company).  Concurrently, Moody's has
assigned B2 ratings to Pique Bidco, S.L.U.'s proposed EUR350
million senior secured term loan B1 and the proposed EUR70 million
senior secured revolving credit facility.  The outlook is stable
for Pique Midco 2 S.a r.l. and Pique Bidco, S.L.U. Proceeds will be
used to finance the acquisition of Palex by funds advised by Apax
Partners and Fremman Capital.      

RATINGS RATIONALE

The ratings are supported by the company's leading position in the
fragmented market for the distribution of medical products and
devices in Spain (Government of Spain, Baa1 stable), in addition to
strong market presence in Italy (Government of Italy, Baa3
negative) and Portugal (Government of Portugal, Baa2 positive); its
well-established relationships with medical product manufacturers
and end users; positive industry trends supporting demand and
market growth; and its good profitability.

Conversely, the ratings are constrained by the company's limited
scale and geographic concentration mainly in Spain and Italy, with
smaller presence in Portugal; the fierce market competition where
product innovation provides a competitive edge; the leveraged
financial profile, with forecasted 2023 pro forma Moody's-adjusted
gross debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.1x and Moody's-adjusted EBITA to
interest expense ratio of 1.8x, although these ratios are in line
with the assigned rating.

The company's business profile is supported by strong product,
supplier, and customer diversification. In terms of products, the
company distributes around 150,000 references used for various
therapeutic areas at hospitals, hospital analysis, in vitro
diagnostics, oncology, or laboratory. In 2022, 72% of revenue was
derived from consumable products, which are regularly ordered on a
weekly to monthly basis for regular medical procedures. This
revenue stream offers a level of stability and recurring income.

The company distributes its products to a diversified customer base
of more than 2,000 clients. Clients comprise both public (70% of
revenue) and private (30% of revenue) hospitals. The company's
competitive advantage lies in offering value-added products,
distinguishing itself from distributors who primarily sell basic
commodity products like face masks and gloves. Palex's focus on
value-added products typically yield double-digit EBITDA margins.
Its product range is comprehensive and encompasses complex items
that demand specialized knowledge and a sales approach driven by
clinical expertise. The company collaborates closely with customers
to anticipate future innovations, address their specific product
requirements, which in turn leads to high customer loyalty. This
supports the company's business profile because demand for its
service is likely to be maintained over time, considering the risk
of technology that may affect demand. Palex has a large number of
long-term partnerships with suppliers which enables it to maintain
its competitiveness in the market.

Moody's forecasts good EBITDA margins and limited capital
expenditures to generate positive free cash flow generation in the
next three years. Moody's believe the positive free cash flow
generation could be reinvested to finance further external growth.
Many distribution and supply chain services companies have
historically used acquisitions to spur revenue growth, expand
business lines, consolidate market positions, advance cost
synergies or seek to access new technology. Since 2016, Palex has
actively engaged in market consolidation through 19 acquisitions.

Overall, in 2023, Moody's expects a pro forma adjusted gross debt
to EBITDA ratio of 5.1x and a pro forma adjusted EBITA to interest
expense ratio of 1.8x. These ratios are presented on a pro forma
basis, incorporating the acquisitions completed in 2023 and
assuming a full 12 months of EBITDA contribution from these
acquisitions. In 2024 and 2025, Moody's expects these ratios to
remain around 5.0x and 2.0x, respectively, considering bolt-on
acquisitions in line with the company's historical strategy.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Palex's CIS-4 indicates that the rating is lower than it would have
been if ESG risk exposures did not exist. This mostly reflects
exposure to governance risks stemming from the company's tolerance
for financial risk, in line with that of similar private
equity-owned issuers.

LIQUIDITY

Palex's liquidity is adequate. Cash of EUR15 million is expected at
closing of the transaction and Moody's forecasts funds from
operations of EUR67 million in the next 18 months are sufficient to
cover working capital requirements of EUR9 million and capex
outflows of EUR21 million. Provided the term loan is successfully
placed as planned, the company will have long-dated maturities,
with the EUR350 million senior secured term loan B1 maturing in
September 2030 and the EUR70 million senior secured revolving
credit facility maturing in March 2030. The debt structure includes
a springing senior secured net leverage covenant set at 8.5x,
tested if the RCF is drawn by more than 40%.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The EUR350 million senior secured term loan B1 and the EUR70
million senior secured revolving credit facility are rated B2, in
line with the B2 corporate family rating, reflecting their pari
passu ranking and the absence of any significant liabilities
ranking ahead or behind them. The debt instruments share the same
security package and are guaranteed by a group of companies
representing at least 80% of the consolidated group's EBITDA. The
security package consists of shares, bank accounts and intragroup
receivables.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable rating outlook reflects Moody's assumption that the
company will successfully integrate recent acquisitions as well as
maintain its operating margins. In addition, Moody's expect
Moody's-adjusted free cash flow to gross debt ratio to trend
towards 5% in the next 12-18 months.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Positive pressure could build up if Palex continues to uphold its
leading market position, grow its size and expand its geographical
footprint; Moody's-adjusted gross debt to EBITDA ratio remains
below 4.5x on a sustained basis; Moody's-adjusted EBITA to interest
expense ratio exceeds 2.5x on a sustained basis; the company
generates stronger free cash flow.

Downward rating pressure can materialise if Palex experiences a
decline in its market share, leading to lower operating margins;
Moody's-adjusted gross debt to EBITDA ratio exceeds 5.5x on a
sustained basis; Moody's-adjusted EBITA to interest expense ratio
remains below 1.5x on a sustained basis; free cash flow generation
or liquidity deteriorates. Negative rating pressure could also
develop in the event of large debt-financed acquisitions or
distributions to shareholders.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Distribution
and Supply Chain Services published in February 2023.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Barcelona, Palex is a leading distributor of
medical equipment solutions. It provides marketing, sales and
logistics of high value-added medical equipment to a fragmented
customer base of public and private hospitals and laboratories
across Spain, Portugal and Italy. On July 31, 2023, funds advised
by Apax Partners and Fremman Capital agreed to jointly acquire
co-controlling stakes in Palex. Equity stakes are split equally
between Apax and Fremman (45% each), with management retaining a
10% stake.


PIQUE MIDCO: S&P Assigns Prelim. 'B' LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary 'B' long-term issuer
credit rating to Spain-based medtech distributor Pique Midco 2 and
preliminary 'B' issue rating to the proposed first-lien term loan,
with a '3' recovery rating, indicating its expectation of
meaningful recovery (50%-70%; rounded estimate: 55%) in the event
of a default.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Pique Midco will
continue to increase its sales and EBITDA, as well as generate
positive free operating cash flow (FOCF) over the next two years.

In July 2023, funds advised by Apax Partners and Fremman Capital
announced they had reached a definitive agreement to acquire
co-controlling (45% each) stakes in Pique Midco 2 S.a.r.l., in a
transaction financed through equity and a EUR350 million seven-year
secured first-lien term loan and a EUR70 million 6.5-year revolving
credit facility (RCF).

Pique Midco is a leading medical technology (MedTech) distributor
in Southern Europe with proven track record of fast growth in sales
and EBITDA. The company is focused on the marketing, sales, and
logistics of high-value-added MedTech equipment to a fragmented
customer base of public and private hospitals and laboratories
across Spain, Portugal, and Italy. The company has more than
quadrupled its revenue since 2016 with the help of about 7%
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from the historical organic
perimeter, and further supported by acquisitions.

The company has positioned itself as a major player actively
consolidating the Southern European MedTech distribution market
with a positive record of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), including
in-house sourcing of transactions, deal execution, and post-deal
integration. The group has successfully and fully integrated all
its past acquisitions in a 12-month timeframe and on average the
acquired businesses have grown at an approximate 16% CAGR from
their respective acquisition year.

One example, the recent successful acquisition of Gada to achieve a
stronghold in the Italian market in March in 2022, resulted in
increased revenue to EUR402 million in 2022 (including Gada,
full-year) from EUR275 million in 2021. By the end of 2023 S&P
expects the group's reported revenue will have increased to EUR405
million and EBITDA to EUR51.9 million, excluding three additional
smaller bolt-on acquisitions, which it expects to close by year-end
(adding approximately EUR80 million of pro forma sales).

Regulatory complexity and market fragmentation are important
barriers to entry and local know-how forms the basis for Pique
Midco's competitive position. Growth in terms of sales and margins
is built around offering end customers high-value-added MedTech
products and services, whereby the group benefits from diversified
therapeutic exposure and strong relationships with manufacturers
and customers.

S&P said, "We see the group's unique regional expertise and network
of professionals as a key factor contributing to the company's
overall success. Pique Midco employs a workforce of around 800
full-time employees, most of whom are health care professionals
with an average of nine years of experience. Through the presence
of its sales network Pique Midco is well positioned in both public
and private hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, mirroring the
split of the health care market in Spain and Italy (approximately
70%-75% public versus about 25%-30% private). We understand Pique
Midco wins approximately 50% of the tenders it participates in,
which demonstrates the group's expertise in the decentralized
medical procurement markets of Spain, Italy, and Portugal. We
further positively note high customer retention with 94%
exclusivity contracts and average customer relationships of 10
years or longer."

Pique Midco's business model is based on the value added to
manufacturers and customers, focusing on non-commodity MedTech
products. The group's product portfolio is focused on specialty,
high-value-added MedTech products with the revenue split between
consumables (about 72%) and small, compact medical equipment (about
16%). The group offers a diversified portfolio of products with
over 150,000 product references from a diverse set of more than 600
world-leading tier-1 manufacturers. Pique Midco operates as the
exclusive distributor for its partner OEMs in its chosen markets.

A further important factor supporting the group's performance to
date has been its fast inclusion of innovative MedTech products
sourced through the network of partner OEMS and flexibility to
focus on the fastest-growing therapeutic niches and customer needs
identified through its sales network. In S&P's view the group's
added value as a specialized intermediary between the medical
equipment manufacturers seeking market access and representation in
Southern Europe and regional health care customers sourcing
non-commodity equipment and materials is demonstrated through its
higher EBITDA margins (forecast at around 14%) than is typical for
the medical distribution business model (5%-10%).

S&P Global Ratings forecasts moderate organic growth and margin
accretion with leverage of around 6x over the next two years. S&P
forecasts revenue growth of about 3%-4% over the next two years
excluding bolt-on acquisitions with S&P Global Ratings-adjusted
EBITDA margin at about 14% and FOCF in excess of EUR10 million per
year. This should result in adjusted leverage of 6.2x in 2024 and
5.9x in 2025.

S&P said, "Our assessment of the financial risk profile as highly
leveraged reflects that Pique Midco is majority owned (90%) by
financial sponsors Apax Partners and Fremman Capital, with
management retaining a 10% stake, as well as the group's
acquisitive strategy. Whereas our base-case forecast excludes
bolt-on acquisitions, we expect the group will continue to acquire
and integrate smaller distributors in its chosen markets of Spain,
Italy, and Portugal. We expect these acquisitions to be financed
through the group's cash flow generation
and--potentially--additional financial debt. In our view, this
constrains future deleveraging prospects. However, we view the risk
of significant leverage increase through acquisitions as limited,
thanks to typically acquisition of smaller distributors, which we
understand to be the group's focus in terms of future M&A.

"Our adjusted debt calculation includes EUR49 million factoring,
EUR12.9 million earn-outs relating to acquisitions carried out in
2023, leases of EUR13.1 million, EUR5.6 million of tax liabilities,
in addition to EUR350 million of term debt.

"The final ratings will depend on our receipt and satisfactory
review of all final documentation and final terms of the
transaction. If S&P Global Ratings does not receive final
documentation within a reasonable time frame, or if final
documentation materially departs from materials reviewed, it
reserves the right to withdraw or revise the ratings.

"The stable outlook reflects our view that Pique Midco will
successfully continue to grow its sales and EBITDA, as well as
generate positive FOCF over the next two years. In our base-case
forecast we foresee the S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin
at around 14%, leverage at 6.2x in 2024 and 5.9x in 2025, and funds
from operations (FFO) cash interest coverage above 2.0x."

S&P could take a negative rating action if it saw:

-- A series of debt-funded acquisitions leading to a material
increase in leverage, higher-than-anticipated extraordinary
expense, or investment needs as a result of integrating
acquisitions.

-- Weaker sales and margins development, due to pricing pressure
and loss of key relationships with customers and OEMs.

-- The above factors combined leading to S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage of above 7x and FFO cash interest
coverage of below 2x on a sustained basis, or negative FOCF.

S&P said, "Although we consider an upgrade unlikely in the coming
12 months, we could raise the rating if the group demonstrated
continuous strong growth in sales, as well as EBTDA and FOCF
generation, combined with a prudent financial policy maintaining
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA below 5x including a
commitment to keep leverage at this level.

"Governance factors are a moderately negative consideration in our
credit rating analysis of Pique Midco, because of the controlling
financial sponsor ownership. We view financial sponsor-owned
companies with aggressive or highly leveraged financial risk
profiles as demonstrating corporate decision-making that
prioritizes the interests of the controlling owners. This also
reflects the generally finite holding periods and a focus on
maximizing shareholder returns."




===========
S W E D E N
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INTRUM AB: S&P Affirms 'BB/B' Issuer Credit Ratings, Outlook Neg.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB/B' issuer credit ratings on
Sweden-based debt collector Intrum AB, and its 'BB' issue rating on
Intrum's senior unsecured notes. The recovery rating is unchanged
at '4', indicating its expectation of average recovery (30%-50%;
rounded estimate: 40%) in the event of a payment default.

The negative outlook indicates that S&P could downgrade Intrum if
the company is unable to successively deliver progress toward its
revised targets.

A financial leverage target tied to dividend payments denotes a
shift in focus. Intrum's management team released newly revised
financial targets at a capital markets day on Sept. 19. The
company's management had communicated earlier at the release of the
second quarter results that it intended to suspend dividends from
2024 onward. However, more details on the company's growth strategy
for the next three years emerged at the capital markets day event.
Intrum's revised targets are:

-- External servicing revenue growth of about 10%
    annually (compounded).

-- Total adjusted servicing margins (EBIT margin) higher
    than 25% versus 17.8% as of second-quarter 2023.

-- Leverage of 3.5x by year-end 2025 (as measured by net
    interest bearing debt to cash EBITDA) compared with
    4.6x as of second-quarter 2023.

-- Dividends subject to a leverage ratio of 3.5x or
    lower.

Intrum forecasts external servicing will sustain revenue despite a
reducing balance sheet. Through increased focus and strategic
deals, Intrum is looking to expand its market position in
collection management services (CMS) where it does not lead the
market, and develop its product offerings. Also, in addition to
improving profitability from its customer base, citing that EBIT
margins are set to expand to 25% from 17.8% as of second-quarter
2023, Intrum has committed to a cost-savings program of about
Swedish krona (SEK) 0.8 billion (about EUR68 million) for 2023. As
such, Intrum's revenue mix is anticipated to shift toward servicing
over the next three years, as NPL purchases are expected to lessen
to about one-quarter of historical volumes (about SEK2 billion per
year). The book value of NPLs will be about 37% lower at about
SEK30 billion (about EUR2.6 billion) by 2026.

Divestments seem to be going ahead as anticipated but there are
execution risks associated with the revised strategy. Management
has stated that previously announced exits, in addition to
forthcoming divestments, should lead to approximately SEK6 billion
in capital, which will be used to reduce its net debt over the
coming quarters. Completion of these transactions, in addition to
attaining the revenue growth forecast for servicing, are still to
be achieved. S&P continues to monitor the company's performance to
see if certain key milestones are being met, particularly in light
of missteps such as the now abandoned One Intrum strategy and the
joint-venture agreement set up in 2018 for an Italian special
purpose vehicle. Nevertheless, S&P's forecasts of gross debt to
cash EBITDA and cash EBITDA coverage for 2023-2024 remain stable
following the updated strategy, at 4.0x-4.5x and 3.0x-3.5x,
respectively.

S&P said, "We expect Intrum will tap wholesale funding markets less
over the coming 12-18 months.Management re-iterated during Intrum's
capital markets day that discretionary cash flow will be used to
reduce debt. A departure from the base-case scenario the company
outlined on Sept. 13, such that debt may not decrease as expected
or what appears to be a less disciplined approach to CMS revenue
growth, could hinder Intrum from delivering on its targets. That
said, liquidity as a result of internal cash flow generation and
divestments, in addition to bank lines and a commercial paper
program, are expected to ensure that Intrum can cover debt maturing
over the next 12 months.

"The negative outlook reflects our view that Intrum's earnings
generation will be challenged as the company seeks to hone its
strategy over the next 12 months. The revised strategy carries some
execution risk in terms of divestments and margin improvements,
which could weigh on profitability. Furthermore, operating
conditions may also prove to be a headwind over the next 12 months.
As a result, we consider that Intrum may not be able to reduce
leverage according to its management's targets.

"We could lower the rating if we see deleveraging as unlikely to
materialize over the next 12 months. This would be indicated by S&P
Global Ratings' debt to cash EBITDA staying higher than 4.5x or
interest coverage falling and remaining below 3.0x over that
period, indicating Intrum's inability to deliver on its
deleveraging strategy.

"We could also lower the rating if Intrum's market position
appeared diluted, such that its superior scale relative to peers'
no longer provides a competitive advantage. The company's currently
sound liquidity buffer could also deteriorate, due to excessive or
close-to-full utilization of its revolving credit facility (RCF),
which could also lead to a negative rating action.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if we saw a higher
likelihood that the company will achieve its strategic deleveraging
plan without eroding its liquidity, which we see as coinciding with
improved margins as outlined by management."




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T U R K E Y
===========

TURKIYE: S&P Affirms 'B' LongTerm SCRs & Alters Outlook to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings, on Sept. 29, 2023, revised its outlook on its
'B' unsolicited long-term sovereign credit ratings on Turkiye to
stable from negative, while affirming all ratings, including its
unsolicited national scale rating of 'trA/trA-1', on Turkiye. S&P's
transfer and convertibility assessment remains 'B', signifying that
the risk the sovereign prevents private sector debtors from
servicing foreign currency denominated debt is about the same as
the risk of a sovereign default.

Outlook

The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to Turkiye's
creditworthiness from the reimposition of orthodox monetary policy
settings, as the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye (CBRT),
under new leadership, raises interest rates in an effort to reverse
the deposit base's dollarization and bring down elevated inflation,
which we believe is eroding the country's competitiveness. Fiscal
policies, including wage and pension eligibility increases,
continue to be expansionary. The recent decision to transfer the
cost of providing protection on foreign exchange (FX)-linked
deposits to the CBRT represents a large additional encumberment on
the monetary authority's already-limited usable reserves. S&P said,
"From end-July to the middle of September, we estimate that gross
reserves excluding FX borrowed from domestic banks declined by
another $10 billion to an estimated $22 billion. This drawdown in
FX reserves provided about half of the financing for Turkiye's
January-July current account deficit, which we estimate at 6% of
GDP on a 12-month rolling basis. Other sources of external debt
financing--including deposit and swap inflows to the CBRT and the
commercial banking system--are, in our view, unreliable and costly
against a backdrop of rising global interest rates." Less
rate-sensitive sources of external financing such as foreign direct
investment and equity financing have, in contrast, declined
considerably since the global financial crisis.

Downside scenario

S&P could revise the outlook to negative if pressure on Turkiye's
financial stability or wider public finances were to intensify,
potentially in connection with unabated currency depreciation
alongside a reversal of anti-inflationary policies. This could also
occur via a rapid rise in financing costs for the government,
larger recurrent budgetary deficits, or the crystallization of
contingent liabilities from the banking system. Political
interference with the monetary authority's independence could
hamper the economic adjustment, worsen exchange rate and inflation
outcomes, and drag on public finances and the ratings.

Upside scenario

S&P could revise the outlook to positive if the effectiveness and
independence of monetary and financial sector policies improved
while Turkiye's balance-of-payments position strengthened,
particularly the CBRT's net foreign currency reserves. Under this
scenario, the sovereign's overall external position might improve,
benefiting the rating.

Rationale

Turkiye's new economic team is enacting measures aimed at cooling
the overheated economy and stabilizing the exchange rate without
undermining financial and fiscal stability. Most importantly, the
CBRT, under new leadership, has raised its key one-week policy rate
by 21.5 percentage points (ppts) since June. Monetary tightening is
aimed at fighting inflation and curbing demand by increasing
borrowing costs, particularly for consumers. A tapering of bank
lending to the corporate sector was already underway before last
May's general elections.

The situation is challenging. The past several years of elevated
inflation, cheap consumer credit, and a volatile exchange rate have
hardened the private sector's preference for gold, foreign
currency, and fixed assets. This in turn has increased the cost of
the planned adjustment, including the interest rate premium to be
paid on local currency assets. Given aggressive rate hikes,
tightening consumer credit, and a volatile exchange rate, which we
project to close 2024 at Turkish lira (TRY) 40 to the U.S. dollar,
the risk of an abrupt economic landing is growing. A second recent
drag on growth is the recent increase in oil prices, as well as
softening demand in Turkiye's largest export market, Europe.

Despite these pressures, S&P thinks the shift toward a more
orthodox monetary policy, if uninterrupted, could rebalance
Turkiye's resilient and open economy away from its previous high
reliance on externally financed consumption by 2025 or 2026.
Turkish general government debt, projected to end 2023 at 33% of
GDP, remains manageable. Household and corporate debt are below
emerging market (excluding China) averages and are likely to fall
further. Bank for International Settlements data indicate that as
of first-quarter-end 2023, the stock of credit to the nonfinancial
private sector was 28 ppts of GDP below where it would be under
past historical trends (although inflation and exchange rate
effects have been powerful).

Institutional and economic profile: New economic team, old
challenges

-- New leadership at the CBRT and the Ministry of Treasury and
Finance are taking steps to curb domestic demand, lower inflation,
and gradually adjust elevated twin deficits.

-- The economy is at risk of a hard landing.

-- In S&P's view, Turkiye's institutional arrangements remain
weak, with limited checks and balances.

The genesis of Turkiye's imbalances is expansionary monetary,
credit, and fiscal policies. These have eroded the country's
competitiveness and undermined confidence in the Turkish lira.
Negative real borrowing rates have distorted economic behavior,
leading to a surge in import-rich consumption, a deterioration in
Turkiye's balance of payments, a drain on reserves, and
persistently high inflation. The new economic team acknowledges
these challenges in the Medium-Term Program (published Sept. 6,
2023), which explicitly aims to increase the predictability of
policy settings and establish a road map for what will be a
complicated adjustment.

The heart of the challenge for Turkish policymakers is how to
restore confidence in lira (local currency) assets. Since June
2023, the CBRT has raised its key reference rate (the one-week
repo) by a cumulative 21.5 percentage points, helping to stabilize
the currency. At the same time, authorities have started to slowly
dismantle reserve, collateral, and minimum interest rate
requirements, which had been distorting credit flows into the
economy, as well as savings patterns. Over the past several months,
deposit rates on local currency have risen, a trend that, should it
continue, could gradually reverse the financial sector's
dollarization, which has been accelerating since 2022.

The Turkish economy's overall state continues to be complicated to
assess in light of unrestrained inflation, elevated GDP deflators,
and large swings in the inventory component of GDP, which, as
estimated by Turkstat, subtracted 8.5 ppts from headline GDP growth
last year (the highest absolute value for inventories' contribution
to GDP in several decades). Turkstat compiles national account data
via surveys focused on the economy's production or supply side.
These are later converted into estimates of expenditure components
of GDP. This partly explains the inventory figures' volatility
(which reflect statistical discrepancies). Unrestrained inflation
also makes it difficult to distinguish between the nominal and the
real. At 96%, the increase in the 2022 GDP deflator (an alternative
measurement of inflation) was 3.3x the change in the 2021 deflator,
and 11.8x the 2018 pace of inflation.

Despite these data complexities, there is no doubting the recent
exuberance of domestic demand. In the first six months of 2023,
private consumption growth averaged over 16%, with import growth
accelerating to over 20% year over year in the second quarter even
as exports contracted in real terms.

Going forward, consumption should decelerate, with household
savings buffers eroded and export markets weakening amid further
exchange rate volatility. Overall, for 2023, S&P forecasts GDP
growth to decelerate to 3.5%, before weakening to 2.3% in 2024.

In S&P's opinion, potential growth rate remains high. The Turkish
economy benefits from positive demographics and a well-managed
banking sector. The private sector is sophisticated,
outward-looking, and resilient; it benefits from the country's
customs union with the EU, the destination for over 40% of
merchandise exports and one quarter of services exports. The U.N.
World Tourism Organization ranks Turkiye as the sixth-most visited
nation globally, ahead of Mexico, the U.K., and Japan.

There is considerable storage, pipeline, and liquefied natural gas
capacity within Turkiye's energy sector, so the risk of outright
energy shortages appears to be low. This does not, however,
immunize the economy from the terms-of-trade shock of elevated
hydrocarbon prices, given its dependency on oil and gas imports to
generate three-quarters of total gross energy supply (compared with
about 50% in 1990).

Turkiye's broader institutional arrangements are weak and constrain
the sovereign ratings. Following the 2017 constitutional
referendum, the office of the Prime Minister was abolished and
decision-making (including control of the CBRT and the Supreme
Electoral Council) is concentrated within the executive branch.
Ahead of March 2024's municipal elections, key decision-makers
could interrupt or reverse recent steps to tighten monetary policy
in particular. The benefits of party control of Istanbul, which
accounts for an estimated 30% of total Turkish GDP, include
financial ones, given the size of its budget and the concentration
of large public infrastructure projects in the region.

Flexibility and performance profile: It will take time to tame
inflation and balance of payment imbalances

-- Under new leadership, the CBRT is tightening monetary policy
settings to bring down elevated inflation and restore confidence in
the lira.

-- The transfer of the FX-protected deposit liability of $123
billion (12.7% of GDP) to the CBRT further encumbers its reserves
while pushing up already rapid money growth.

While the budgetary position deteriorated considerably in
first-half 2023 (reflecting, among other factors, the tragic
February 2023 earthquake), supplementary tax measures and spending
reviews introduced in July imply that the Treasury can probably
contain the full-year general government deficit at TRY1.2 trillion
(5.1% of GDP, versus the Treasury's recently revised 6.4% of GDP
target).

S&P said, "We forecast that supplementary tax measures introduced
in July 2023 alongside new ministerial spending controls will
deliver a full-year 2023 general government deficit of close to
5.1% of GDP (compared with the Treasury's 6.5% of GDP forecast),
although interest costs are rising (and remain very sensitive to
exchange-rate developments given that two thirds of sovereign debt
is now FX-denominated, compared with less than half five years
ago). Turkiye's underlying fiscal stance remains expansionary
(partly reflecting earthquake-related re-building costs) and
inflationary. The end-2022 waiver of the minimum retirement age
requirement for workers that entered the labor force before
September 1999 represents a notable fiscal cost, on top of recent
minimum wage hikes and other generous income policies. At the same
time, S&P projects that interest expenditure as a share of revenue
will more than double by 2025 from 8.5% in 2022, as FX effects and
the rising cost of domestic debt both impinge.

Like interest expenditure, the government debt-to-GDP ratio is
increasingly sensitive to exchange rate developments. From end-2023
to end-2026, S&P projects relatively stable levels of net general
government debt as a share of GDP, largely reflecting its forecasts
that the real effective exchange rate (and hence the U.S. dollar
value of GDP) will stabilize after 2024. The margin of uncertainty
on these forecasts is high: alternative scenarios of a weaker
GDP-deflator-based real effective exchange rate would lead to
rising debt to GDP (current Producer Price Index-based measurements
of Turkiye's indicate that it remains overvalued).

Another symptom of the scale of present economic imbalances is
Turkiye's current account deficit, which we project to end 2023 at
an estimated 6.3% of GDP, one of highest external deficits in all
rated emerging markets. Nearly half the sovereign's external
deficit reflects imports of nonmonetary gold, with another third
consisting of imports of motor vehicles--both categories of imports
reflecting households' preference for non-lira assets as a hedge
against inflation and currency depreciation. In theory, restoring
confidence in the lira could lead to a rapid drop in these
hedging-related imports and therefore the overall deficit. In this
respect our current account deficit forecast is highly uncertain,
and subject to downward revisions.

Over the past decade, the composition of current account funding
has shifted away from equity toward debt. Specifically, since 2022,
there has been an increasing dependency on errors and omissions,
and deposit inflows (including foreign bank deposits with the CBRT)
as a source of external financing. In 2023, we expect swap lines to
the CBRT, nonresident deposit inflows to the commercial banking
sector, a slight increase in portfolio inflows (including via the
recent IPOs in the equity market), and a drawdown on FX reserves
will finance the external financing gap. The potential for a
step-up in the Gulf Cooperative Council portfolio and other
investment inflows, including Abu Dhabi's commitment to purchase as
much as $8 billion in earthquake bonds and provide $5 billion in
credit lines for trade financing could take some of the pressure
off reserves now that tourism receipts are entering a seasonally
weaker period.

As growth decelerates, the current account deficit should narrow to
below 4% of GDP in 2024 and under 3% by 2025. This external
rebalancing could occur even faster should households' willingness
to hold local currency assets improve, and consumer credit tighten.
This is because about half of this year's current account deficit
reflects nonmonetary gold imports (which should start to ease as
the credibility of monetary policy improves), while another third
represents auto imports, which cold unwind quickly as authorities
clamp down on consumer lending (during the first seven months of
2023, imports of autos and other motor vehicles increased by 102%
to $17.8 billion, or nearly 2% of full-year GDP).

External debt maturing over the next 12 months remains significant,
at $166 billion (11% of 2022 GDP) or 7.5x usable reserves as of
July 2023, according to S&P Global Ratings' estimates. This figure
includes trade financing, nonresident deposits, and swap lines from
foreign central banks (which we do not net out when calculating
useable reserves).

These large gross and net external financing needs have dragged on
Turkish foreign currency reserve levels, which are considerably
lower compared with those of emerging market peers. From
July-September 2023, the CBRT's usable reserves (gross reserves
excluding foreign currency borrowed from domestic residents)
declined an estimated $10 billion to $22 billion (gross reserves
excluding foreign currency borrowed from residents), due to retail
U.S.-dollar demand and external financing requirements. Turkiye's
reserves are further encumbered by the likelihood that a portion of
the $123 billion (12.7% of GDP) in FX-protected deposits maturing
each month will migrate into foreign currency deposits, requiring
dollar sales by the CBRT. The cost to the CBRT of payouts on the
imputed FX losses on the deposits is being monetized, and this,
plus recently expansive fiscal policy, is pushing up money growth,
with inflationary implications. As of Sept. 9, the annual growth of
CBRT money was 199%, and M2 (money in circulation plus checkable
deposits in banks, savings deposits, and money market funds) growth
was at 64% (unadjusted for FX-rate valuations).

Including these FX-protected deposits, the overall dollarization of
Turkey's deposit base is far higher than 10 years ago, when FX and
gold made up 31% of total system deposits (versus 69% at present).
This high level of foreign currency liabilities impairs the
monetary transmission channel.

In an effort to de-dollarize and disinflate the economy, the CBRT,
under new leadership, has raised the key one-week repo rate 21.5
ppts to 30% since June. We expect further rate increases in 2023,
albeit at a more cautious pace. We estimate that current local
currency deposit rates are converging toward our projection of
average 2024 inflation of 48%.

S&P said, "Financial stability risks are elevated, in our view. The
financial sector as a whole continues to be subject to notable
liquidity risks via the provision of foreign currency swaps with
the CBRT and via high short-term external debt. Public banks could
face capital shortfalls and require additional financial support
from the state, particularly should the lira depreciate further.
These could, in turn, present a contingent liability risk to the
government if it had to rescue a bank, either because of domestic
depositor confidence loss or if foreign creditors' appetite for
rolling over Turkish banks' foreign debt were to decrease. The
government has already contributed capital to public banks several
times. We think that in a loss in banking sector confidence, the
government could be called upon to contribute equity and loans to
banks in significantly higher amounts.

"Bank asset quality could also face further pressure because about
33% of loans were denominated in foreign currency (as of end-July
2023), effectively making this debt more expensive to service as
the lira depreciates. The majority of these exposures are to
corporates with large FX earnings; FX lending to small and midsize
enterprises and households is virtually nonexistent. Loan book
quality risks are particularly pertinent for public banks, in our
view, given that they have been heavily involved in episodes of
rapid credit expansion at low rates, as well as lending to state
agencies and enterprises for quasifiscal purposes, raising
questions about the borrowers' ability to repay these lines. We
consider the shift back to tighter monetary policy will likely drag
on asset quality in Turkiye's financial system."

In accordance with S&P's relevant policies and procedures, the
Rating Committee was composed of analysts that are qualified to
vote in the committee, with sufficient experience to convey the
appropriate level of knowledge and understanding of the methodology
applicable. At the onset of the committee, the chair confirmed that
the information provided to the Rating Committee by the primary
analyst had been distributed in a timely manner and was sufficient
for Committee members to make an informed decision.

After the primary analyst gave opening remarks and explained the
recommendation, the Committee discussed key rating factors and
critical issues in accordance with the relevant criteria.
Qualitative and quantitative risk factors were considered and
discussed, looking at track-record and forecasts.

The committee's assessment of the key rating factors is reflected
in the Ratings Score Snapshot above.

The chair ensured every voting member was given the opportunity to
articulate his/her opinion. The chair or designee reviewed the
draft report to ensure consistency with the Committee decision. The
views and the decision of the rating committee are summarized in
the above rationale and outlook. The weighting of all rating
factors is described in the methodology used in this rating
action.

  Ratings List

  RATINGS AFFIRMED; OUTLOOK ACTION  

                                  TO            FROM
  TURKIYE

  Sovereign Credit Rating |U^  B/Stable/B   B/Negative/B

  RATINGS AFFIRMED  

  TURKIYE

  Sovereign Credit Rating

  Turkey National Scale |U^    trA/--/trA-1

  Transfer & Convertibility Assessment |U^       B

|U^ Unsolicited ratings with issuer participation, access to
internal documents and access to management.




===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

AHK DESIGNS: Bought Out of Administration in Pre-Pack Deal
----------------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that bathroom retailer Victoria Plum has been
acquired by e-commerce retailer AHK Designs Ltd in a pre-pack deal.


The company was sold by its former owner, private equity firm
Endless, after administrators from Ernst & Young LLP were appointed
at the end of September, Business Sale recounts.

Victoria Plum, which is headquartered in Doncaster, employs more
than 300 staff and reported turnover of GBP113.6 million in the
year ending February 28, 2022, on which it generated pre-tax
profits of GBP736,000.

The firm was acquired by Endless in 2019 and subsequently saw three
years of profitable growth, Business Sale notes.  However, in
recent months, the company had been hit by the impact of the
cost-of-living crisis on UK consumers, as well as significant
inflation in global freight costs, Business Sale relates.

This resulted in the company encountering issues with cash flow and
profitability, ultimately leading to the decision to place the
business into administration and seek a sale to a larger group that
operated complementary businesses, in order to enable its continued
development, Business Sale discloses.

According to Business Sale, Ernst & Young LLP partners Samuel James
Woodward and Timothy Graham Vance were appointed as joint
administrators on September 29, 2023, and subsequently secured a
sale of the business and certain assets to AHK Designs.  The deal
includes the company's head office, nationwide distribution network
and entire workforce, Business Sale notes.


BLISS HOTEL: Administrator Appoints Agents to Find Buyer
--------------------------------------------------------
Liverpool Business News reports that administrator of the former
Bliss Hotel on Southport waterfront have appointed agents to find a
buyer for the 131-bedroom property which includes a 50,000 sq ft
development site.

Now called the Waterfront Southport Hotel, its owner collapsed into
administration in October 2022, LBN recounts.  Waterfront Southport
Properties Ltd owed GBP18.2 million to its creditors when it
entered administration, LBN discloses.

Paul Davies and Sandra Mundy of James Cowper Kreston were appointed
as administrators, LBN relates.

According to LBN, now they are seeking a buyer for the hotel which
is located next to the site of the GBP73 million Southport Marine
Lake and Event Centre on which work has started.  They have
appointed agents at Savills and Christie & Co., LBN discloses.

Southport Waterfront Hotel has recently undergone a GBP20 million
refurbishment.  It now offers 131 bedrooms, a reception, lounge,
bar and restaurant and function suites, as well as including a
120-space basement car park.

The sale also includes a fully built 50,000 sq ft development
opportunity adjacent to the hotel with potential for a variety of
alternative uses -- subject to the necessary consents, LBN states.
In total, the hotel and development site extends to two acres, LBN
notes.

As Bliss Hotel, it was owned and operated by Bliss Investment
Partners (BIP).  The business was founded by Robert Agsteribbe and
Daniel Broch.


ENQUEST PLC: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed EnQuest plc's corporate
family rating of B3, along with the company's probability of
default rating of B3-PD and the Caa1 instrument rating assigned to
the $305 million backed senior unsecured notes due November 2027.
The outlook has changed to stable from negative.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The stabilisation of EnQuest's rating outlook reflects the
company's strengthened liquidity position. This is primarily
attributable to a more manageable debt maturity profile following
the planned settlement of GBP111.3 million of retail bond on
October 15, 2023 with proceeds from a new five-year term loan
facility of up to $150 million. Announced in late August[1], the
term loan originates from the conversion of a portion of
commitments under the company's reserve-based lending facility
(RBL) into a separate facility that is secured on a second lien
basis, ranks below the RBL and is not subject to periodic borrowing
base redeterminations.

The rating affirmation reflects the expectation that EnQuest's key
credit metrics will remain within the guidance for the current
rating under Moody's base case. Notwithstanding the improved
liquidity position and its good operational capabilities, EnQuest
remains subject to more challenging operating conditions in the UK
following the introduction of the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) in
2022. According to the company and echoed by other UK producers,
the EPL has significantly reduced producers' profits, borrowing
capacity and ability to efficiently reinvest in the asset base, so
as to sustain current production levels in the context of the
mature UK Continental Shelf basin (UKCS). Importantly, these
effects are likely to protract until the EPL falls away in March
2028. In Moody's view, the overall more difficult UKCS operating
environment pose a key constrain to EnQuest's credit quality. The
company's current scale of production is small; the existing asset
base is unlikely to deliver significant sustained organic growth
absent a material ramp-up in investments; and the risk of sustained
deferrals or cancellation of investments (like those announced in
early 2023) could further adversely impact EnQuest's reserve base,
in turn reducing its borrowing capacity longer-term. More
positively, Moody's acknowledges that EnQuest's geographic focus,
along with its track record of acquiring, optimizing, operating and
decommissioning mid-life oilfields position the company well to
pursue accretive M&A as larger and more geographically diversified
operators exit the UKCS. That said, the rating agency's base case
excludes pursuit of inorganic growth opportunities due to the
currently low visibility on this front.

Moody's base case assumes: an average Brent oil price of $70/barrel
in 2023 and $65/barrel in 2024; stable, but lower than historical
production at around 42-43 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (boe)
per day; and unit operating cost of $25/boe in each of 2023 and
2024. Accordingly, EnQuest should generate Moody's-adjusted EBITDA
of $550-650 million annually in 2023 and 2024. Projected post-tax
operating cash flows of approximately $400 million in 2023 and $300
million in 2024 shall be sufficient to cover Moody's-adjusted
annual capital expenditure (including lease repayments) of around
$250 million. While positive, free cash flow (FCF) generation under
Moody's base case is projected to be substantially below historic
levels but sufficient to allow modest debt reduction (including
Magnus-related payments). Moody's projects cash positions of $230
million and $195 million at year-end 2023 and 2024 respectively:
this should suffice to cover operational need noting that
restricted funds and cash in ring-fenced funds held in joint
venture operational accounts totaled $124.1 million as at June 30,
2023 and $174.3 million as at December 31, 2022.

LIQUIDITY

EnQuest's liquidity profile is adequate. Moody's assessment mainly
reflects the refinancing of near-term retail bond maturities, along
with the expectation of positive FCF generation in a $65-$70/barrel
oil price environment, with some likely upside potential given
current commodity market conditions. Availability of external
liquidity under the company's remaining RBL facility remains
subject to periodic redetermination of the borrowing base. Absent
significant additions or revaluations of EnQuest's reserve base or
favourable amendments to the current EPL regime, Moody's expects
the RBL's borrowing base to reduce further in the next 12-18
months. Nevertheless, Moody's projects EnQuest to generate enough
FCF to remain ahead of RBL-related amortisation requirements whilst
maintaining year-end cash balance commensurate with the
requirements of the business.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

EnQuest's ESG Credit Impact Score of CIS-4 remains unchanged and
indicates that the company's rating is lower than it would have
been if ESG risk exposures did not exist. Main driver is high
social risk exposure, prompted by a substantial and lasting
increase in domestic increased of upstream taxation with adverse
effects on both EnQuest's borrowing and reinvestment capacity.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Caa1 rating of the $305 million backed senior unsecured notes
is one notch below EnQuest's B3 corporate family rating, reflecting
the substantial amount of secured liabilities ranking ahead of the
senior notes represented by drawings under the RBL, the new $150
million term loan facility secured on a second lien basis and trade
payables.

OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations of key operating
and financial credit metrics being maintained at levels
commensurate with the current rating guidance, within the context
of a conservative commodity price scenario and under less
favourable domestic operating conditions. It also reflects the
expected retention of an adequate liquidity position, notably
through the ability to withstand potential further reductions in
the RBL's borrowing base.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

EnQuest's ratings could be upgraded if the company:

-- Sustainably grows its production and reserves

-- Maintains RCF/Debt above 25%

-- Generates positive free cash flow and establishes a track
record of ensuring good liquidity through the cycle

Conversely, the ratings could be downgraded should EnQuest:

-- Production decline from current levels of around 40-45 kboepd

-- RCF/Debt drop to below 15%

-- EBITDA/Interest expense drop below 3.0x

-- Fail to maintain an adequate liquidity position

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Independent
Exploration and Production published in December 2022.


UK WINDOWS: Enters Administration, 500+ Jobs Affected
-----------------------------------------------------
Antonia Matthews and Andy Gourlay at BBC News report that a window
and door manufacturer has been placed into administration,
resulting in more than 500 job losses.

According to BBC, administrators for UK Windows and Doors said 496
jobs would go at sites in Treorchy, Llwynypia, Williamstown and
Taff's Well, all in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

A further 67 jobs will go at sites in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire,
and Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, BBC discloses.

The firm's chief executive said a decline in sales meant the
business had become financially unsustainable, BBC relates.

The Welsh government said it stood ready to offer support to those
impacted by any job losses, BBC notes.

Administrators Teneo said the firm's "sevenday" business had been
sold off, preserving 91 jobs, according to BBC.

It also said 73 employees would be retained during the
administration process, BBC relays.

Teneo, as cited by BBC, said UK Windows and Doors lost a major
customer last year.

"Recent economic uncertainty due to high consumer price inflation,
rising interest costs and the associated reduction in consumer
confidence has led to house builders slowing down their build
programmes and retail window companies experiencing a fall in
demand," BBC quotes the administrators as saying.

"This has resulted in a further large reduction in demand for the
company's products, leading to losses and associated funding
requirements at an unsustainable level," it added.


WILKO: Owed GBP548MM to Unsecured Creditors at Time of Collapse
---------------------------------------------------------------
Laura Onita at The Financial Times reports that Wilko collapsed
owing an estimated GBP548 million to unsecured creditors, including
its own pension scheme and suppliers such as Unilever, Procter &
Gamble and Akzo Nobel, who face being left almost entirely out of
pocket.

Hundreds of unsecured creditors are expected to recover between 4%
and 8% of their debts, or as little as 4p in the pound, the FT
relays, citing the administrators' proposals finalised last week.

According to the FT, the documents also showed that the Pension
Protection Fund, the pensions lifeboat, is owed GBP50 million as an
unsecured creditor although it should be repaid a separate GBP20
million as a secured creditor from property assets at the discount
retailer.

When a company enters administration, the pension deficit is
recalculated as it no longer receives contributions and Wilko's
stands at GBP70.2 million.  Before the chain collapsed into
administration in August, however, the pension deficit had narrowed
to GBP12.2 million in 2022 from GBP38.2 million in 2019, the FT
notes.

Trade creditors were owed GBP174 million when the discount chain
collapsed, with Dove soap maker Unilever owed GBP3.2 million; Head
& Shoulders shampoo owner Procter & Gamble, GBP8.8 million;
logistics firm GXO, GBP4.3 million; and Dulux owner Akzo Nobel,
GBP5.4 million, the FT states.

Secured creditors such as Hilco, the specialist retail lender that
has separately been handling Wilko's liquidation of stock in
stores, have already been paid, the FT discloses.  Hilco, the FT
says, has received the almost GBP40 million it was owed, as has
Barclays bank, which was owed GBP2.4 million.

PwC calculated that the taxman was owed GBP15.9 million, but it is
expected that this debt will be paid almost in full, the FT
discloses.

Wilko's family owners paid themselves GBP9 million in dividends
since 2019, according to administrators, the FT notes.

Before PwC was formally appointed as administrator, it was already
owed GBP571,000 in fees, with the final bill expected to be higher,
the FT states.

The total sum owed to unsecured creditors includes three Wilko
subsidiaries -- Wilkinson Hardware Stores Limited, wilko.com
Limited and Wilko Limited -- as well as lease liabilities,
according to the FT.



                           *********


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Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2023.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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