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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

          Thursday, May 7, 2026, Vol. 27, No. 91

                           Headlines



F I N L A N D

MEHILAINEN YHTYMA: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable


F R A N C E

COOPER CONSUMER: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable
COOPER CONSUMER: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR, Alters Outlook to Negative
FNAC DARTY: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable
HOMEVI SAS: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B2, Alters Outlook to Stable


G E O R G I A

LIBERTY BANK: Fitch Affirms 'B+' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Now Pos.


G E R M A N Y

STEPSTONE GROUP: S&P Affirms 'B' LT ICR, Alters Outlook to Negative


I R E L A N D

AQUEDUCT EUROPEAN 17: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
BNPP AM 2018: Moody's Affirms B3 Rating on EUR12MM Class F Notes
CARLYLE EURO 2019-1: Fitch Lowers Rating on Class E Notes to 'B-sf'
CARLYLE EURO 2020-1: S&P Lowers Class D Notes Rating to 'B+ (sf)'
GS MORTGAGE-BACKED 2026-IRRP1: S&P Assigns (P)B- Rating to F Notes

HARVEST CLO XXII: S&P Affirms 'B- (sf)' Rating on Class F Notes


I T A L Y

RINO MASTROTTO: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Alters Outlook to Neg.


L I T H U A N I A

MAXIMA GRUPE: S&P Rates New EUR300MM Senior Unsecured Notes 'BB+'


N E T H E R L A N D S

ELASTIC NV: Moody's Upgrades CFR & Sr. Unsec. Debt Rating to Ba2


S P A I N

BERING III: Fitch Lowers Long-Term IDR to 'B-', Outlook Negative


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ALBERT COURT: FRP Advisory, BTG Appointed as Joint Administrators
MONTAGU STREET: BTG Begbies, FRP Advisory Named as Administrators
MONTPELIER STREET: FRP Advisory, BTG Named as Joint Administrators
NISSAN MOTOR: To Cut 900 Jobs in Europe Amid Restructuring
SMALL BUSINESS 2025-1: Fitch Affirms 'BB+sf' Rating on Cl. C Notes

SMALL BUSINESS 2026-1: Fitch Rates Class C Notes 'BB+(EXP)sf'
[] S&P Places 119 Credit Ratings From 34 U.K. RMBS on CreditWatch

                           - - - - -


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F I N L A N D
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MEHILAINEN YHTYMA: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Mehilainen Yhtyma Oy's Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' with a Stable Outlook.

Fitch has also affirmed the senior secured rating of the debt
issued by subsidiary Mehilainen Yhtiot Oy at 'B' with a Recovery
Rating of 'RR4'.

The rating affirmation reflects Mehilainen's improved
diversification following a series of transformative acquisitions,
offset by reduced leverage headroom after it used debt with a
smaller portion of equity to fund the acquisitions.

The Stable Outlook reflects its view of a steady credit profile
with tight but adequate credit metrics, and low but positive free
cash flow (FCF). It considers Mehilainen's broadened operational
footprint with healthy EBITDA margins and supportive sector
fundamentals. Its medium-term credit profile increasingly depends
on Mehilainen's rapid acquisitive growth strategy and associated
execution risk.

Soft Finnish Market: Finland, which is Mehilainen's core market
accounting for 69% of overall sales, weakened during 2025. This was
driven by cost-saving pressures on its customers in public
healthcare and social care services that have tightened budgets,
alongside economic weakness, leading to less demand from
self-funded customers and lower corporate spending. Fitch has,
therefore, revised its expectations for organic growth to the
low-single digits from mid-single digits in 2026. The quality of
Mehilainen's clinics and strong service offering support steady or
increasing market share, even in weaker operating conditions.

Strategic Transformation of Business Model: Mehilainen's
acquisitions of Regina Maria, MediGroup and InMedica in 2025 have
meaningfully increased its revenue and EBITDA with a compatible
range of service lines and broadened its geographic footprint in
new countries like Romania, Serbia and Lithuania, in addition to
its well-established operations in Finland.

Quality of Execution Drives Credit Profile: Fitch sees some risks
relating to the accelerated pace of the group's buy-and-build
strategy, with the synergistic upside yet to be proven, although
this is partly mitigated by its record of integrating previous
acquisitions, albeit more bolt-on. Given a steady and defensive
nature of Mehilainen's core Finnish operations, Fitch regards the
quality of its overseas inorganic expansion as the main source of
risk to the credit profile. Fitch currently views the execution
risk as moderate. Volatile operating performance due to less robust
execution across a geographically widened group under different
regulatory regimes and operational set-ups, alongside low rating
headroom, may put the rating under pressure.

Leverage Metrics Tight: Credit metrics remain tight with EBITDAR
leverage expected to be 6.0x-6.5x in 2026-2027, following the large
acquisitions the company made in 2025. Mehilainen's strategy of
active acquisitive international expansion increases its scale, but
acquisition economics and funding mix will likely keep leverage
consistently high, close to its negative sensitivity threshold in
the medium term. Fitch therefore does not anticipate a meaningful
deleveraging trend amid continuing acquisitions, although Fitch
acknowledges the business's organic deleveraging capabilities.

FCF Affected by Growth Capex: Its forecasts incorporate higher
capital intensity for acquired businesses that have historically
had large greenfield projects in their pipeline, leading to capex
as a share of revenue in the mid-single digits for 2026-2027. This,
alongside a large interest burden, is likely to lead to
neutral-to-marginally positive FCF margins in 2026-2027.
Consistently neutral non-discretionary FCF could put pressure on
Mehilainen's credit profile, given its active M&A policy.

PEER ANALYSIS

Unlike most Fitch-rated private healthcare service providers with a
narrow focus on either healthcare or social care services,
Mehilainen is an integrated service provider with diversified
operations across both markets. In Finland, it has a meaningful
national presence in each type of service, making its business
model more resilient to weaknesses in individual service lines.
Mehilainen also benefits from an overall stable regulatory
framework in its core market, which allows competition from private
healthcare providers, although this has been subject to tightening
operating conditions for all private sector operators in Finland.

Mehilainen's financial leverage is balanced by strong operating
profitability for the sector and reduced, but still consistently
positive, underlying cash flow generation, given its asset-light
business model with moderate capital intensity. Mehilainen is
comparable to French private hospital operator Almaviva
Developpement (B/Stable), with ratings reflecting strong national
market positions, reliance on stable regulation limiting the scope
for profitability improvement, low single-digit FCF margins, high
leverage of 6.0x-7.0x and M&A-driven growth strategies.

The ratings of Mehilainen's European sector peers such as Median
B.V. (B-/Positive) and Cidron Atrium SE (B-/Positive) reflect a
combination of slightly lower operating profitability and weaker
credit metrics under a broadly similar neutral to supportive
regulatory framework in their countries of operations.

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

- EBITDA margin declining towards 10% on a sustained basis as a
result of weakening organic performance, productivity losses with
fewer customer visits, lower occupancy rates, pressure on costs or
weak integration of acquisitions

- Adverse regulatory changes to public and private funding in the
Finnish healthcare system, including from the health and social
services reform

- EBITDAR leverage above 6.5x and cash from operations less
capex/total debt falling to the low-single digits due to operating
underperformance or aggressively funded M&A, or EBITDAR
fixed-charge cover below 1.5x

- FCF margins deteriorating towards neutral levels

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

- Successful execution of medium-term strategy leading to a further
increase in scale with EBITDA margins above 13% on a sustained
basis

- A continued supportive regulatory environment and favourable
Finnish macro-economic factors

- FCF margins remaining in the mid-single-digits

- EBITDAR leverage improving towards 5.0x and EBITDAR fixed-charge
cover trending towards 2.0x

Mehilainen's liquidity at end-2025 remained comfortable, with
EUR207 million of Fitch-calculated readily available cash,
supported by its committed undrawn EUR350 million revolving credit
facility, with neutral-to-mildly positive FCF generation.

Its debt maturity profile is long-dated, with most debt maturing in
2031-2032.

Fitch’s Key Rating-Case Assumptions

- Sales of about EUR3.3 billion in 2026, increasing towards EUR4.5
billion by 2029, supported by steady underlying organic growth of
4%-6% and various bolt-on M&A

- EBITDA margin (Fitch-defined, excluding IFRS 16 adjustments) of
14%

- Capex as a share of revenue in the mid-single digits

- Contained working capital cash outflows of up to EUR15 million a
year

- Bolt-on acquisitions averaging EUR300 million a year in
2026-2029, mostly debt-funded

- No shareholder distributions

KEY RECOVERY ASSUMPTIONS

The recovery analysis assumes that Mehilainen would be reorganised
as a going concern (GC) in bankruptcy rather than liquidated. Fitch
estimates post-restructuring GC EBITDA at about EUR300 million,
which includes full contribution from recent acquisitions of Regina
Marina, MediGroup and InMedica. Fitch views this level of EBITDA as
appropriate for the company to remain a GC, reflecting possible
corrective restructuring measures post-distress.

Fitch applies a distressed enterprise value/EBITDA multiple of
6.0x, reflecting Mehilainen's stable regulatory regime for
private-service providers in its home market in Finland and the
company's strong market positions across diversified service lines
with inherently profitable and cash-generative operations.

The allocation of value in the liability waterfall results in a
Recovery Rating of 'RR4' for its senior secured debt of about
EUR2.95 billion, indicating a 'B' instrument rating. The term loan
B and senior secured notes rank pari passu with EUR350 million RCF,
which Fitch assumes to be fully drawn prior to distress for
analysis purposes.

Corporate Rating Tool Inputs and Scores

Fitch scored the issuer as follows, using its Corporate Rating Tool
(CRT) to produce the Standalone Credit Profile (SCP):

- Business and financial profile factors (assessment, relative
importance): management (b+, moderate), sector characteristics
(bbb-, lower), market and competitive positioning (bb, moderate),
diversification and asset quality (bb-, higher), company
operational characteristics (bb+, lower), profitability (bbb-,
moderate), financial structure (b-, higher), and financial
flexibility (bb-, moderate).

- The quantitative financial subfactors are based on standard CRT
financial period parameters: 20% weight for the historical year
2025, 40% for the forecast year 2026 and 40% for the forecast year
2027.

- Assessments of the quantitative financial subfactors also include
bespoke calculations.

- B+ to CC considerations apply in its analysis and result in no
adjustment.

- The Governance assessment of 'Good' results in no adjustment.

- The Operating Environment assessment of 'a+' results in no
adjustment.

- The SCP is 'b'.

Issuer Profile

Mehilainen is an integrated provider of primary healthcare and
social care services, operating over 1,450 units across Finland,
Sweden, Germany and eastern Europe.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS AND SECTOR FORECASTS

Fitch's latest quarterly Global Corporates Sector Forecasts Monitor
data file which aggregates key data points used in its credit
analysis. Fitch's macroeconomic forecasts, commodity price
assumptions, default rate forecasts, sector key performance
indicators and sector-level forecasts are among the data items
included.

Climate Vulnerability Signals

The results of its Climate.VS screener did not indicate an elevated
risk for Mehilainen.

ESG Considerations

Mehilainen has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Exposure to Social
Impacts due to the company operating in highly regulated healthcare
and social-care markets, with a dependence on the public healthcare
funding policy. This has a negative impact on the credit profile
and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

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
   -----------                 ------          --------   -----
Mehilainen Yhtyma Oy     LT IDR B  Affirmed               B

Mehilainen Yhtiot Oy

   senior secured        LT     B  Affirmed     RR4       B



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F R A N C E
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COOPER CONSUMER: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Cooper Consumer Health's Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' with a Stable Outlook. Fitch has
also affirmed Cooper's first-lien senior secured debt at 'B+' with
a Recovery Rating of 'RR3'.

Cooper's IDR balances its high leverage and aggressive financial
policy with high profitability, strong free cash flow (FCF) and the
solid business risk profile of its enlarged operations since the
2024 acquisition of Viatris Inc.'s European over-the-counter (OTC)
portfolio.

The Stable Outlook reflects its expectation that Fitch-defined
leverage will fall to below 6.5x by 2027, despite slight
re-leveraging in 2026 from a EUR150 million one-off dividend.

Key Rating Drivers

Dividend Postpones Deleveraging: Cooper's rating is constrained by
high financial leverage, which remained marginally above its 6.5x
negative sensitivity at end-2025. Furthermore, the proposed EUR150
million dividends, to be paid by EUR100 million of term-loan B
add-on and EUR50 million of cash on the balance sheet, has delayed
its expected deleveraging trajectory. Fitch now expects a slight
increase in EBITDA leverage in 2026 to 6.7x.

However, Fitch forecasts EBITDA leverage to fall below the negative
sensitivity in 2027 and improve towards or below 6.0x by 2028,
supported by EBITDA margin expansion and FCF generation. This
follows an improvement in Fitch-defined EBITDA leverage to 6.6x in
2025, from 6.9x pro forma following the 2024 acquisition of
selected European assets from Viatris (BBB/Stable). Fitch treats
the convertible shareholder loan as equity.

Strong Margins and FCF: Fitch expects Cooper's operating
performance to remain resilient, with a gradual improvement in the
Fitch-defined EBITDA margin towards 33% by 2029, from close to 31%
in 2025, driving strong cash generation and a mid-to-high
single-digit FCF margin. Fitch forecasts flat organic revenue in
2026, followed by average organic revenue growth of 3.5% over
2027-2029, complemented by growth from bolt-on acquisitions.

Financial Discipline Anchors Ratings: Its rating case assumes
financial discipline and conservative capital allocation, with no
additional shareholder remuneration or large debt-funded
acquisitions until 2028. Fitch assumes annual bolt-on acquisitions
of EUR100 million in 2026-and 130 million annually thereafter,
contributing to its estimated growth trajectory and strengthening
Cooper's business risk profile through increased scale and
diversification, which underpins its rating.

Acquired Asset's Integration Near Complete: Fitch believes
remaining integrating risk from the transformational acquisition of
Viatris's European OTC asset is abating. The EUR1.6 billion
acquisition improved Cooper's business profile by doubling its
scale, strengthening its market position and enhancing product and
geographic diversification within Europe. It has halved Cooper's
reliance on the French market to around 30% of group sales and
strengthened its position in countries where it previously had a
subscale presence, such as Italy and Germany.

Defensive Business Characteristics: Its rating reflects Cooper's
strong market positions in selected regional OTC consumer health
markets. Its specialist brands benefit from access to protected,
regulated pharmacy channels, which support distribution and
pricing. These strengths offset the company's modest scale compared
with peers and geographic focus on Europe.

Supportive Underlying Market: Fitch expects market growth to remain
supported by favourable sector trends, including rising healthcare
consumerism and an ageing population, in combination with rising
awareness of prevention and healthy lifestyles. Fitch projects
Cooper's organic expansion will further driven by product portfolio
investments, enhanced commercialisation capabilities and a focus on
brand development.

Protected and Regulated Market: Fitch considers Cooper's main
retail channel, the continental European pharmacy retail sector,
will likely remain highly regulated and protected, offering
barriers to entry. Markets in most core countries are fragmented
with small specialist local operators, including France (around 30%
of sales), Italy (15%), Germany, Austria and Switzerland (10%) and
Iberia (7%). Other markets are more consolidated, such as the
Netherlands (6%) and UK. Cooper's business model is subject to
regulatory risk and risks from evolving retail channels for its
products, including e-commerce, which already accounts for 10% of
sales. However, Fitch considers these risks limited.

Peer Analysis

Cooper's business profile compares well with that of Opal Holdco 4
SAS (Opella, B+/Stable), which also focuses on OTC consumer
healthcare products and has leading market positions in various
segments across several countries. Fitch also compares Cooper with
THG PLC (B+/Negative) and Galderma Group AG (BBB/Positive), which
are focused on consumer beauty and dermatology. Cooper is smaller
than Opella and Galderma, but almost twice the size of THG. Cooper
is focused on Europe, while Opella, Galderma and THG have better
geographical diversification.

Cooper has stronger EBITDA and a wider FCF margin than THG, but the
latter's steeper estimated deleveraging path support its higher
rating, albeit this deleveraging is subject to execution risks, as
reflected in the Negative Outlook.

Peers include European asset-light pharmaceutical companies focused
on off-patent branded and generic drugs, including Neopharmed
Gentili S.p.A. (B/Stable), CHEPLAPHARM Arzneimittel GmbH (B/Stable)
and ADVANZ PHARMA HoldCo Limited (B/Negative). Neopharmed has a
smaller scale than Cooper and its operations are focused on Italy.
However, it has a stronger FCF margin and lower leverage.
CHEPLAPHARM is slightly larger in scale and has a similar FCF
margin and leverage profile, while ADVANZ has a better EBITDA
margin and lower EBITDA leverage, but a smaller scale and weaker
FCF margin.

Fitch also compares Cooper with large generic drug manufacturer,
Nidda BondCo GmbH (B/Stable), which has larger, cash-generative
operations, but a more aggressive financial risk profile than
Cooper.

Fitch’s Key Rating-Case Assumptions

- Revenue growth of 1% in 2026 and an average of 7% during
2027-2029, supported by bolt-on acquisitions of EUR100 million in
2026 and EUR130 million annually over 2027-2029

- Flat organic revenue in 2026 due to the reversal of a one-off
benefit of start-up stock sales to newly set-up distributors (that
occurred in 2025), followed by organic growth of 3%-4% over
2027-2029

- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin of 31.4% in 2026, gradually improving
towards 33.0% by 2029

- Non-recurring expenses averaging EUR30 million over 2026-2029

- Small working capital outflow over 2026-2029

- Capex at 2.5%-2.7% of sales over 2026-2029

- One-off dividend payment of EUR150 million in 2026. No dividends
thereafter

Corporate Rating Tool Inputs and Scores

Fitch scored the issuer as follows, using its Corporate Rating Tool
(CRT) to produce the Standalone Credit Profile (SCP):

- Business and financial profile factors (assessment, relative
importance): Management (b+, Moderate), Sector Characteristics (bb,
Lower), Market and Competitive Positioning (bb, Moderate),
Diversification and Asset Quality (bb+, Moderate), Company
Operational Characteristics (bb-, Moderate), Profitability (a+,
Lower), Financial Structure (b-, Higher), and Financial Flexibility
(b+, Moderate).

- The quantitative financial subfactors are based on custom CRT
financial period parameters: 20% weight for the historical year
2025, 35% for the forecast year 2026, 35% for the forecast year
2027 and 10% for the forecast year 2028.

- B+ to CC considerations apply in its analysis and result in no
adjustment.

- The Governance assessment of 'Good' results in no adjustment.

- The Operating Environment assessment of 'a+' results in no
adjustment.

- The SCP is 'b'.

Recovery Analysis

The recovery analysis assumes Cooper would be considered a going
concern in bankruptcy and reorganised rather than liquidated. This
is driven by the company's diversified product portfolio and
established pan-European market position.

- Fitch assumes a 10% administrative claim.

- Fitch estimates a going concern EBITDA of EUR270 million. This
reflects a deterioration in demand, the loss of a major brand in
the product portfolio, rising competition, the negative impact of
regulations and the corrective measures taken in a reorganisation
to offset the adverse conditions that trigger a default.

- Fitch uses a 6.0x EBITDA enterprise value multiple to calculate a
post-reorganisation valuation. This multiple reflects Cooper's
premium market positions and protected business model, especially
in the French market.

- Fitch assumes the company's multi-currency revolving credit
facility (RCF) of EUR285 million is fully drawn in a restructuring,
ranking equally with the rest of the senior secured first-lien
loan.

Its principal waterfall analysis generates a ranked recovery rating
of 'RR3'. This leads to a 'B+' rating for the senior secured
first-lien loans of EUR2,760 million, comprising a EUR2,475 million
term-loan B, including the proposed add-on of EUR100 million, and
the RCF.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Deteriorating organic growth or weak integration of acquisitions
that gradually weaken the EBITDA margin and lead to a neutral to
slightly positive FCF margin

- A continued aggressive financial policy resulting in failure to
deleverage to total debt/EBITDA of below 6.5x by 2026

- EBITDA interest coverage below 2.0x for a sustained period

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

- Profitable organic growth with robust EBITDA margin of around
30%

- Solid profitability that supports strong cash conversion, with a
healthy FCF margin in the mid-single digits

- A more conservative financial policy that sustains total
debt/EBITDA at below 5.5x

- EBITDA interest coverage above 2.5x on a sustained basis

Liquidity and Debt Structure

Cooper reported Fitch-defined readily available cash of EUR163
million at end-2025, after adjustment for restricted cash of EUR50
million. It has no major upcoming debt repayment maturities and
Fitch expects positive FCF generation to support liquidity.
Short-term debt was represented by factoring use of about EUR33
million at end-2025.

The planned dividend recapitalisation of EUR150 million will be
partly financed with the planned add-on of EUR100 million and
available cash. This should result in a limited impact on the
group's liquidity position. The undrawn EUR285 million RCF due May
2028, which is planned to be extended to November 2032, provides
additional liquidity support.

Cooper's funding sources are concentrated and consist of a EUR
2,375 million first-lien term-loan B due November 2028, which is
planned to be upsized to EUR2,475 million and extended to May
2033.

Issuer Profile

Cooper is a leading European OTC self-care platform covering more
than 30 consumer health segments. It manages a diversified
portfolio of international brands and local champions mainly in
France, the Netherlands and southern Europe.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS AND SECTOR FORECASTS

Fitch's latest quarterly Global Corporates Sector Forecasts Monitor
data file which aggregates key data points used in its credit
analysis. Fitch's macroeconomic forecasts, commodity price
assumptions, default rate forecasts, sector key performance
indicators and sector-level forecasts are among the data items
included.

Climate Vulnerability Signals

The results of its Climate.VS screener did not indicate an elevated
risk for Cooper.

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
   -----------             ------         --------   -----
Cooper Consumer
Health               LT IDR B  Affirmed              B

   senior secured    LT     B+ Affirmed    RR3       B+

COOPER CONSUMER: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR, Alters Outlook to Negative
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on France-based
pharmaceutical company Cooper Consumer Health to negative from
stable and affirmed its 'B' issuer credit rating.

The negative outlook highlights the limited headroom at the 'B'
rating level, the acquisitive nature of the group, and the very
competitive nature of the OTC business.

Cooper Consumer Health is contemplating extending its EUR2,375
million term loan B by 4.5 years (to May 2033) and upsizing it by
EUR100 million to finance a EUR150 million dividend distribution.

Although full-year 2025 results, which for the first time
consolidate the former Viatris OTC brands, show improved adjusted
debt to EBITDA at 7.6x and healthy free cash flow generation, S&P
expects deleveraging will slow in 2026 and leverage will remain
above the 7.0x mark we deem commensurate with a 'B' rating.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects our view that the proposed
funding of a dividend distribution would remove capital headroom
that would otherwise absorb cash flow volatility in a difficult
trading environment in 2026. The proposed dividend distribution
would increase debt on the balance sheet and debt-servicing costs.
This would weaken cash interest coverage and deplete cash held on
the balance sheet amid volatile trading conditions in the consumer
goods industry. We believe that the over-the-counter (OTC)
medication industry is unlikely to remain immune to credit
constraints already visible in the retail pharmacy channel and to
weak consumer confidence provoked by rising costs of living.
Cooper, alongside other large European OTC players, has been able
to drive revenue and profitability growth over the past four years.
Nevertheless, we believe that opportunities for growth from price
increases will now be diminished, placing more emphasis on volume
and product mix. This growth path is reliant on innovation and
reinvestment in marketing and working capital--all of which would
benefit from greater capital headroom at the company's disposal.

"Although we acknowledge management's track record of integrating
acquisitions, the challenging trading environment has raised the
bar for all OTC players in terms of operating efficiency. The
proposed debt increase is coming just two years after the
transformational acquisition of the OTC assets of Viatris Inc.
Business consolidation has resulted in high levels of exceptional
costs in the past few years. Exceptional costs and additional
capital expenditure (capex) might still be required over the medium
term, in our view, for Cooper to meet revenue growth and
operational efficiency targets required by its enterprise value
growth strategy. This is because the entire industry is facing
limited scope for further price increases and will rely on internal
efficiencies to reinvest in marketing and working capital to drive
revenue growth.

"Cooper's credit metrics in 2025 were overall in line with our base
case, with positive free operating cash flow (FOCF) andstill high
adjusted debt to EBITDA of 7.6x. Overall revenue was up 40.4% year
on year, slightly higher than our 39% forecast, with slightly
higher S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA of about EUR311 million
slightly below our EUR317 million expectation. The revenue increase
reflected the full-year contribution from the recently acquired
Viatris OTC portfolio. The group also benefited from good
performance across its brands and geographies as well as newly
created distributor partnerships. Profitability improvement stemmed
mostly from enhanced product mix, supported by price and mix
management initiatives, and incremental volumes. The group also
invested in marketing, mostly to support brand growth, and the
level of nonrecurring costs was still elevated in 2025 due to the
integration of Viatris' assets, but nonrecurring costs should
decline from 2026.That said, FOCF turned positive in 2025, as
expected, at about EUR118.4 million (versus negative EUR139 million
a year before), supported by a higher EBITDA base and working
capital inflows and lower taxes. However, headroom is tight for the
'B' rating, both in terms of funds from operations (FFO) cash
interest coverage, at 2.0x in 2025 and adjusted debt to EBITDA.

For 2026 and 2027, Cooper's portfolio should support about
3.0%-4.0% growth and the group will continue improving its
operating performance under its new revenue and cost savings
program. Growth will stem primarily from incremental volumes across
geographies as well as from the newly established distribution
rights for the Nicotinell brand in selected European markets. S&P
said, "Finally, we also believe that the new Vitality programme
implemented by Cooper will drive future growth thanks to revenue
growth management initiatives emphasizing pricing initiatives,
e-commerce penetration, and commercial excellence. We see the
group's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA gradually improving to
27.5%-28.5% in 2026-2027, from 26.5% in 2025, due to operating
leverage, a favorable shift of the product mix toward
higher-margin, and delivery of cost savings under group's new
program that comprises measures across operational and support
functions, sales network optimization, and stock-keeping unit
simplification. We also still expect the group to face nonrecurring
costs over the coming years, fueled by its new program and
acquisitions realized recently, which should constrain
profitability improvement."

S&P said, "After the recap and refinancing, we anticipate a slight
decrease in S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBIDTA to 7.4x at
the end of 2026, compared with 7.6x in 2025, still above our
guidance for a 'B' rating. Also, we forecast FOCF will decrease to
EUR55 million-EUR65 million in both 2026 and 2027 versus EUR118
million in 2025. This reflects higher capex at about EUR30
million-EUR35 million annually, as well as higher taxes and
absorption of additional cash flow into working capital to drive
business growth. Thereafter, we anticipate FOCF will increase above
EUR80 million, which remains supportive of the 'B' rating. However,
we estimate the ratio of FFO to cash interest will remain below
2.0x, which leaves no leeway for credit metrics to deteriorate
further within the thresholds for the 'B' rating. We consider the
cash interest coverage ratio to be an important indicator of a
consumer goods manufacturing companies' capacity to fund profitable
growth and demonstrate the ability to deleverage below 7x,
moderating future refinancing risks."

The negative outlook reflects the risk of a downgrade if Cooper's
leverage remains above 7.0x and its FOCF falls materially. This
could result from weak consumer confidence and disruption in the
pharmacy retail channel, impeding Cooper's ability to profitably
expand. Additionally, a step-up in exceptional costs (such as
business reorganization) or an acceleration in debt-financed
acquisitions might also prevent the company from reducing debt
leverage and result in a negative rating action.

S&P could lower the rating over the next 12 months if:

-- Cooper's FOCF is depleted materially or its ratio of debt to
EBITDA fails to decrease below 7.0x; or

-- S&P forecasts FFO cash interest coverage will remain
persistently below 2.0x

S&P said, "We could consider revising the outlook to stable if the
group shows steady EBITDA growth resulting in a deleveraging path
such that group's debt-to-EBITDA ratio decreases below 7.0x. This
would also depend on Cooper's ability to maintain its FOCF
generation and increase its FFO cash interest coverage above 2.0x."

FNAC DARTY: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed FNAC Darty SA's Long-Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at 'BB+'. The Outlook on
the IDR is Stable and the Recovery Rating is 'RR4'.

The affirmation reflects its expectations that, despite continuing
challenges to the demand of durable goods in its countries of
operation, FNAC is in a position to defend the stability of its
profits and maintains scope to generate modest but positive free
cash flow (FCF). This is due to a leading market position in its
core French market, and its premium focus, as well as flexibility
in managing capital expenditure and dividends.

Expected positive FCF, alongside a conservative financial policy -
to which the prospective new controlling shareholder (EP Group) has
confirmed its commitment - supports the prospects for continued
deleveraging, albeit at a slow pace. This is balanced by
geographical concentration, modest scale, low profit margins
compared with many other omnichannel non-food retailers' and weak
fixed charge cover for the rating.

Key Rating Drivers

Margin Recovery to Improve: FNAC's profitability remains low, with
an EBITDA margin that further reduced to 3.1% in 2025 (2023-2024:
3.4%-3.5%), having been weighed down by consolidation of the less
profitable Unieuro business in 2024 and a fairly weak performance
in 2025. Fitch expects a recovery to 3.5% by 2027, driven by a
continued resurgence in trading, cost-efficiency initiatives,
including synergies at Unieuro, and efforts to improve its business
mix with services and marketplace activity, plus effective use of
points of sale as pick-up locations for online orders.

Inflation has put pressure on consumers' disposable income,
especially in France and Italy, and the company's operating
expenses (mostly wages, while energy costs have smaller
incidence).

Commitment to Deleverage: Fitch projects EBITDA recovery to lead to
a gradual reduction in Fitch-defined lease-adjusted EBITDAR net
leverage to 2.4x by 2027 from 2.7x in 2025. EP Group is increasing
control of FNAC through an offer that the board has approved and
will be launched in 2Q26. EP Group has committed to respect FNAC's
financial policy, which foresees limited outflows for dividend
payments and prioritises the reduction of leverage.

EP Takeover Credit Neutral: Fitch expects the acquisition by EP
Group to be financial and does not foresee its involvement in the
day-to-day operations of FNAC. Fitch views EP Group, whose core
business has historically been in energy, more as a diversified
investment holding company. Consequently, Fitch does not apply
Fitch's Parent and Subsidiary Linkage Criteria and will continue to
rate FNAC on a standalone basis. EP Group has stated that it will
seek to gain representation on FNAC's board but will continue to
support its strategy and financial policy. Should the new
governance lead to a less conservative financial policy, Fitch may
reflect this in the rating.

Weak Coverage for Rating: Fitch expects the EBITDAR fixed-charge
cover to remain at 1.7x-1.9x over the next three years, still weak
for the rating. This is mitigated by sound liquidity, a staggered,
long-dated maturity schedule and a conservative financial policy.

Limited FCF Generation: FNAC's new strategic plan, 'Beyond
Everyday', foresees a rise in average capex target to EUR200
million a year over 2025-2030, to enhance logistics and to expand
and transform the stores' network. This, alongside its assumption
of dividend payouts at the higher of EUR30 million and 40% of net
income, will limit overall FCF generation to about EUR30 million a
year over 2027-2029. In 2026 Fitch expects FCF generation to be
neutral given the adverse impact of Nature & Découvertes on
operations. Fitch expects the company to have the flexibility to
protect FCF by reducing capex in the event of a contraction of
demand affecting profits.

Resilient Business Model: Fitch expects 2026 revenue to be
marginally higher than prior year, supported by a like-for-like
(lfl) growth in the Iberian Peninsula, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Consumer confidence is weak in core market of France, which may
weigh on revenue growth. However, Fitch sees scope for an
underlying recovery in sales of appliances and electronics in
2026-2027 as innovation, including more energy-efficient appliances
and computers benefitting from upgraded operating systems, spurs
the replacement cycle of purchases made during the pandemic. This
should translate into lfl growth, despite its expectation of
continuing French public budget austerity measures.

Geographic Concentration; Strong Position: FNAC has a presence
across Europe with operations in Iberia, Switzerland, Belgium and
France, and Italy through its 51% stake in a joint venture owning
Unieuro. However, it still has large concentration in France, which
contributes 59% of revenue. This is offset by a strong position in
consumer electronics, household appliances and editorial products
in the country, and its business model leading to barriers to
entry. Its wide product offering is complemented by a
well-established online platform, repair and care service bundles,
and an expanding product proposition.

Peer Analysis

FNAC has smaller scale than Ceconomy AG (BB/Rating Watch Positive)
and El Corte Ingles S.A. (ECI, BBB-/Positive). ECI has more
geographic concentration than FNAC, but greater product
diversification through its department store model, complemented by
its food retail formats, and a larger exposure to services
including its travel agency business. It also has exposure to
premium sectors, similarly to FNAC.

FNAC has superior profitability than Ceconomy, driven by its
stronger focus on premium sectors and a demonstrated ability to
pass on price increases, hence protecting margins. Its margins
remain lower than ECI's due to a weaker product mix. FNAC's
profitability remains weaker than that of other non-food retail
peers, like Pepco Group N.V. (BB/Stable) and Kingfisher plc
(BBB/Stable).

FNAC has a conservative financial policy and a well-managed leased
property portfolio, similar to Ceconomy and Kingfisher, but its
leverage and fixed charge cover are weaker than ECI's due to a
large proportion of leased properties.

Fitch’s Key Rating-Case Assumptions

- Revenue growth of 0.3% in 2026, before increasing to 1.1% in
2029

- Gross margin to rise 10bps a year during 2026-2029

- Annual capex at EUR185 million-190 million

- Annual working capital outflows of about EUR10 million

- Annual common dividends at the higher of EUR30 million and 40% of
net income

- Further Unieuro synergies totaling EUR15 million to be achieved
across 2026 and 2027

- Unieuro dividends to non-controlling interests of EUR5 million a
year in 2026 and 2027

- The remaining 49% of Unieuro to be acquired in 2028, with the
payment in shares

- Unieuro is fully consolidated

- Nature & Découvertes' disposal in 2H26, with a net positive cash
impact of EUR14 million

- Continued annual share buybacks of EUR9 million-10 million

Corporate Rating Tool Inputs and Scores

Fitch scored the issuer as follows, using its Corporate Rating Tool
to produce the Standalone Credit Profile:

- Business and financial profile factors (assessment, relative
importance): Management (bb+, Lower), Sector Characteristics (bb+,
Moderate), Market and Competitive Positioning (bb+, Higher),
Diversification and Asset Quality (bbb-, Moderate), Company
Operational Characteristics (bbb+, Lower), Profitability (bb-,
Moderate), Financial Structure (bbb-, Higher), and Financial
Flexibility (bb-, Moderate).

- The quantitative financial subfactors are based on standard
Corporate Rating Tool financial period parameters: 20% weight for
the latest historical year 2025, 40% for the forecast year 2026 and
40% for the forecast year 2027.

- The Governance assessment of 'Good' results in no adjustment.

- The Operating Environment assessment of 'aa-' results in no
adjustment.

- The Standalone Credit Profile is 'bb+'.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- EBITDAR fixed-charge cover below 1.6x

- EBITDAR net leverage above 2.6x on a sustained basis

- Decline in profitability and lfl sales, due to increased
competition or a weakened business product mix, with EBITDAR
(Fitch-defined) and funds from operations (FFO) margins remaining
below 5% and 2%, respectively

- Neutral to negative FCF generation eroding liquidity

- Deterioration in governance or emergence of contagion from EP
Group, with impact on FNAC's credit profile

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

- EBITDAR net leverage below 1.6x on a sustained basis, supported
by a consistently conservative financial policy

- EBITDAR fixed-charge cover above 3x

- Greatly improving scale and geographical diversification without
severely hampering profitability, with EBITDAR margin
(Fitch-defined) sustained above 9% and FFO margin above 6%

Liquidity and Debt Structure

FNAC's readily available unrestricted cash balance was EUR766
million at end-2025, after Fitch restricts EUR338 million due to
seasonal working capital swings. It has access to a delayed drawn
term loan of EUR100 million and a EUR500 million revolving credit
facility maturing March 2030, with a potential two-year extension.
Unieuro also has bilateral revolving credit facility for EUR180
million, of which EUR150 million matures in November 2027 and EUR30
million matures in November 2026, with an option to extend to
November 2027. None of these facilities were drawn in 2025.

FNAC also uses a receivable factoring service, which has a limit of
EUR70 million and covers franchise customer receivables. It had
used EUR64 million of this facility as of end-2025, which Fitch
treats as short term debt in its liquidity analysis.

Issuer Profile

FNAC is the leading retailer in consumer electronics, domestic
appliances and editorial products such as music, books and videos
on France, and has strong market positions in Benelux, Iberia,
Switzerland and Italy.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS AND SECTOR FORECASTS

Fitch's latest quarterly Global Corporates Sector Forecasts Monitor
data file which aggregates key data points used in its credit
analysis. Fitch's macroeconomic forecasts, commodity price
assumptions, default rate forecasts, sector key performance
indicators and sector-level forecasts are among the data items
included.

Climate Vulnerability Signals

The results of its Climate.VS screener did not indicate an elevated
risk for FNAC.

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
   -----------               ------           --------   -----
FNAC Darty SA          LT IDR BB+  Affirmed              BB+

   senior unsecured    LT     BB+  Affirmed    RR4       BB+

HOMEVI SAS: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B2, Alters Outlook to Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Ratings has upgraded the corporate family rating to B2 from
B3 and the probability of default rating (to B2-PD from B3-PD of
HomeVi S.a.S. (DomusVi or the company). At the same time, Moody's
have assigned B2 instrument ratings to the proposed EUR1,500
million senior secured term loan B, the EUR289 million senior
secured revolving credit facility (RCF), and the EUR500 million
senior secured fixed-rate notes (FRNs), all due in 2031, borrowed
by the company. Consequently, Moody's have upgraded the instrument
ratings to B2 from B3 of the senior secured bank credit facilities
due in 2026 and 2029. The outlook has been changed to stable from
positive.

DomusVi intends to use the proceeds of the new debt facilities to
refinance its current debt, fund the transaction costs along with
some cash on balance sheet. Moody's will withdraw the instrument
ratings of the senior secured bank credit facilities due in 2026
and 2029 at closing of the transaction. Moody's views positively
the proactive management of DomusVi's debt maturities.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrade is mainly driven by Moody's expectations that
DomusVi's will continue to have a good operating performance that
will lead to a continued improvement in key credit metrics, over
the next 12-18 months. Over this period of time, Moody's forecasts
that the company's Moody's-adjusted gross leverage will improve
below 6.5x, with a Moody's-adjusted EBITA to interest expense
moving towards 1.5x and Moody's-adjusted free cash flow (FCF)
turning positive. Nevertheless, the rating will be weakly
positioned until its FCF generation improves materially.

Over the next 12-18 months, Moody's expects DomusVi's top line
revenue growth to be in the low-to-mid single-digit range in
percentage terms, mainly driven by a combination of more beds, and
modest improvements in occupancy and pricing. Over the same period,
Moody's expects DomusVi's Moody's-adjusted EBITDA to grow towards
EUR650 million from EUR593 million in 2025, with a modest
improvement in profitability.

The B2 rating reflects the company's strong market positions in the
French and Spanish elderly care sectors. Demand for dependent care
remains elevated and continues to grow due to demographic trends
such as an ageing population. Additionally, the sector is
characterised by substantial barriers to entry and regulatory
restrictions on the establishment of new care facilities. Quality
of care indicators further enhance the company's creditworthiness.

However, the rating is constrained due to the company's high
leverage, modest interest coverage, and limited FCF. The business
also faces high operational leverage because of significant fixed
costs, primarily related to staff expenses and rent. Additionally,
increasing care demands are leading to heightened competition for
skilled healthcare workers, which may drive up wages and intensify
cost pressures in this already labor-intensive sector.

OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that DomusVi's
operating performance will remain solid over the next 12-18 months,
driving further earnings growth and a decrease in Moody's-adjusted
leverage below 6.5x, with positive Moody's-adjusted FCF generation.
The outlook assumes that the company will not engage in any
significant debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder distributions.

LIQUIDITY

DomusVi's liquidity is adequate, supported by cash balances of
EUR79 million at the end of 2025 and access to its new EUR289
million senior secured RCF, of which EUR90 million are expected to
be drawn at closing. Moody's expects around EUR70 million of RCF
drawings to be repaid by year-end. Over the next 12-18 months
Moody's expects the company's Moody's-adjusted FCF to become
positive and assume working capital requirements of about 0.5% of
revenue and capex, pre-IFRS-16, at about 5% of revenue.

The new senior secured RCF is subject to a springing maintenance
covenant, tested quarterly if the senior secured RCF is drawn by
40% or more, which limits consolidated net senior secured leverage
to 9.75x. The company also owns real estate assets worth up to
EUR766 million as of December 2025, of which around 40% correspond
to freehold properties, which could be sold and leased back to
support liquidity if needed.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B2 rating of proposed senior secured bank credit facilities and
FRNs, is in line with the CFR and reflects their pari passu ranking
in the capital structure and the upstream guarantees from material
subsidiaries of the group. The B2-PD probability of default rating
incorporates Moody's assumptions of a 50% recovery rate.

COVENANTS

Moody's have reviewed the marketing draft terms for the new credit
facilities. Notable terms include the following:

Guarantor coverage will be at least 80% of consolidated EBITDA
(determined in accordance with the agreement) and include all
material companies being companies with 5% or more of consolidated
EBITDA, excluding companies incorporated in Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico.

Security will be granted over key shares, bank accounts and
intra-group receivables, over material companies.

Incremental facilities are permitted up to 100% of EBITDA.
Unlimited pari passu debt is permitted if the consolidated senior
secured net leverage ratio (SSNLR) less than 5.6x. Unlimited total
debt is permitted subject to a 2x fixed charge coverage ratio.

Unlimited restricted payments are permitted if the consolidated net
leverage ratio (CNLR) is less than 4x; or 4.25x where funded from
acceptable funding sources.

Change of control events include Kervita ceases to directly or
indirectly own 100% of the capital stock of the company, except for
directors' qualifying shares or other shares that are required by
applicable law to be held by a Person other than Kervita or a
successor Person thereof and provided further that up to 2% of such
capital stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by a permitted
holder, without triggering a change of control.

Adjustments to consolidated EBITDA include the full run rate of
cost savings and synergies arising from actions expected to be
taken, capped at 25% of consolidated EBITDA and believed to be
realisable within 24 months of the relevant step being taken.

The proposed terms, and the final terms may be materially
different.

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

The ratings could be upgraded if growth in earnings leads to
Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA well below 6.0x on a sustained basis;
Moody's-adjusted EBITA/interest rises towards 2.5x; and the company
maintains a solid liquidity profile including its Moody's-adjusted
FCF/debt growing towards the mid-single digit range in percentage
terms.

The ratings could be downgraded if the company's operating
performance weakens, illustrated, for instance, by a reduction in
its profitability. Quantitatively, this could be evidenced by
Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA increasing above 7.0x on a sustained
basis; Moody's-adjusted EBITA/interest remaining well below 1.5x;
or if its Moody's-adjusted FCF remains negative for a prolonged
period of time. Major debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder
distributions could also lead to a downgrade of the ratings.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Business and
Consumer Services published in February 2026.

The net effect of any adjustments applied to rating factor scores
or scorecard outputs under the primary methodology(ies), if any,
was not material to the ratings addressed in this announcement.

COMPANY PROFILE

DomusVi is the second-largest elderly housing, services and care
operator in France and the largest elderly housing, services and
care operator and mental care facility in Spain. It also has a
presence in other jurisdictions, including Germany, Portugal,
Ireland, the Netherlands and Latin America. The company generated
revenue of EUR2.7 billion and company-adjusted EBITDA of EUR303
million in 2025. It is majority owned by funds advised by ICG plc,
alongside Sagesse Retraite Sante (SRS, the investment vehicle of
founder Yves Journel).



=============
G E O R G I A
=============

LIBERTY BANK: Fitch Affirms 'B+' Long-Term IDR, Outlook Now Pos.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised JSC Liberty Bank's (LB) Outlook to
Positive from Stable and affirmed its Long-Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. Fitch has also affirmed the bank's Viability
Rating at 'b+' and assigned a Shareholder Support Rating (SSR) of
'b+'.

The rating action follows the acquisition of 95.99% of LB by JSC
Basisbank (B+/Positive) on 16 April 2026, following regulatory
approvals. Both banks are going to be operating independently in
the near term while Basis aims to fully integrate LB within a
single group by end-2026.

Fitch has withdrawn LB's Government Support Rating (GSR) of 'no
support' as it is no longer relevant to the rating agency's
coverage following the ownership change. Fitch expects potential
extraordinary support for the bank to come from its new controlling
shareholder.

Key Rating Drivers

LB's Long-Term IDR is driven by potential support from the bank's
new majority shareholder Basis. The 'b+' VR reflects good asset
quality, strong profitability and a reasonable funding profile
through the cycle. This is counterbalanced by the bank's modest
franchise in the concentrated Georgian banking sector and currently
limited capital ratios.

Significant Role in Group: Its view on Basis's ability and
propensity to support the subsidiary is primarily based on the
significant role within Basis, as LB has become the core part of
the group, particularly in retail lending. Its support view also
considers its near-full ownership by and high reputational risks
for the parent in case of LB's default.

Strong Economy Supports Banks: Strong domestic economic conditions
continue to support banks' metrics, which have remained resilient
to political tensions. A significant inflow of migrants, strong
information and communication technology and tourism sectors, and a
greater role in transit trade have boosted the Georgian economy's
dynamism, with real GDP growth averaging 9.5% in 2022-2024. Fitch
estimates 7.5% GDP growth in 2025, and projects an average of 5% in
2026-2027.

Modest Franchise, Good Retail Footprint: LB is the third-largest
bank in Georgia (6% of assets, loans, and deposits at end-2025). LB
remains primarily focused on retail lending and has the largest
branch network in Georgia, given its longstanding role as the
government's exclusive agent for distributing state pensions and
other welfare payments.

Below-Sector Dollarisation, Stable Loan Growth: The high exposure
to retail means LB has one of the lowest loan dollarisation levels
among Fitch-rated Georgian banks (end-2025: 24%; sector average:
43%). Fitch expects loan growth (2025: 17%) to be within 15%-20% in
2026, slightly above the sector average.

Stable Loan Quality: The impaired (Stage 3) loans ratio has
remained stable over the past two years, at a low 3.8% at end-2025
(end-2023: 4.1%). Problem exposures were almost fully reserved.
Fitch expects LB to maintain stable asset quality in 2026 given
reasonably conservative underwriting standards and a broadly
favourable operating environment.

Performance to Weaken Short Term: Fitch expects LB's operating
profit/risk-weighted assets ratio (2025E: 3.3%) to reduce
temporarily to below 2% in 2026, due primarily to additional
operating expenses related to integration with Basis, alongside
slightly higher risk costs and gradually narrowing margins.

Lower Capital Ratios, NBG Forbearance: LB paid out large dividends
(GEL128 million) to the previous shareholders shortly prior to the
completion of the acquisition. As a result, Fitch expects its
regulatory CET1 ratio (end-2025: 14.2%) to fall to about 10% by
end-2026. National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has provided a temporary
waiver on the capital conservation buffer, and Fitch expects the
bank's capital ratios to be modestly above the reduced regulatory
requirements this year, supported by internal capital generation
and full profit retention.

Mainly Customer-Funded: LB is predominantly funded by customer
deposits (0.8x total liabilities at end-2025), mostly retail
depositors. Wholesale debt is limited and mostly comprises
short-term borrowings from NBG. Fitch assesses the bank's liquidity
position as reasonable, with total liquid assets covering 30% of
total deposits at end-2025.

Rating Sensitivities

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

The Outlook on the IDR may be revised to Stable if the planned
integration of the two banks does not go through and its assessment
of the bank's role in the group or the parent's ability to support
weakens.

The VR could be downgraded if LB's buffer over the regulatory
minimums (with waivers) falls below 50bp, unless it is promptly
compensated by capital support from the new shareholder. A
significant deterioration in asset quality could also result in a
downgrade.

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

LB's IDR and SSR would be upgraded following an upgrade of Basis's
IDR. Fitch also expects to withdraw LB's ratings on completion of
the merger into Basis as the bank will cease to exist as a separate
legal entity.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The asset quality score of 'b+' is below the 'bb' category implied
score due to the following adjustment reason(s): underwriting
standards and growth (negative).

The capitalisation and leverage score of 'b+' is below the 'bb'
category implied score due to the following adjustment reason(s):
regulatory capitalisation (negative).

Public Ratings with Credit Linkage to other ratings

LB's IDR is based on potential support from Basis.

Climate Vulnerability Signals

LB's Climate.VS for 2035 is 31, which indicates that climate risk
factors are not expected to materially affect the credit profile,
but some adaptation may be needed. This reflects a transition risk
(VSt) component signal of 22 and a physical risk (VSp) component
signal of 23. Any potential effect on the rating may differ from
the illustrative rating impact in the Climate.VS framework. For
more information on Climate.VS, see Fitch's Financial Institutions
Climate Vulnerability Rating Criteria.

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            Prior
   -----------                        ------            -----
JSC Liberty Bank    LT IDR              B+ Affirmed     B+
                    ST IDR              B  Affirmed     B
                    Viability           b+ Affirmed     b+
                    Government Support  WD Withdrawn    ns
                    Shareholder Support b+ New Rating



=============
G E R M A N Y
=============

STEPSTONE GROUP: S&P Affirms 'B' LT ICR, Alters Outlook to Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to negative from stable to
Germany-based operator of online job classifieds platforms The
Stepstone Group Midco 1 GmbH (Stepstone). At the same time, S&P
affirmed its 'B' long-term issuer credit rating on Stepstone and
its 'B' issue rating on the company's term loans. The recovery
rating on the debt remains unchanged at '3', indicating its
expectation of about 60% recovery in a payment default.

The negative outlook indicates the risk that over the next several
quarters Stepstone's operating performance might fail to recover,
leading to adjusted leverage persisting above 7.5x and weak FOCF.

Stepstone's revenue declined by 16% in 2025 because of weak
recruiting and hiring activity in Europe, the Middle East, and
Africa (EMEA), particularly in its main market, Germany.

S&P said, "We expect hiring activity in EMEA will remain subdued
until 2027, amid macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility and
cautious recruiting behavior by firms. We therefore anticipate that
Stepstone's operating performance will stay flat throughout 2026
and start growing from 2027, leading to weaker credit metrics than
we previously forecasted.

"We estimate that the group's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage
will remain high at 8.6x in 2026, potentially falling below 7.5x in
2027, and that the company will continue to generate positive but
weak FOCF."

The negative outlook indicates the risk that The Stepstone Group
Midco 1 GmbH's (Stepstone's) operating performance might not
recover in the next several quarters, leading to leverage remaining
persistently above 7.5x and weak FOCF. S&P said, "The group revenue
and S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA declined more than we
expected in 2025, mainly because of reduced hiring demand in
Germany. Gains in market share and strong U.S. programmatic
advertising performance were insufficient to offset this decline.
We now anticipate stable hiring activity in 2026, and we therefore
expect stable revenue and earnings in 2026, with a recovery
expected from fourth-quarter 2026 and ramping up in 2027. This will
be contingent on economic growth continuing in line with our base
case, and no further worsening of the geopolitical environment,
which should boost client recruiting activity. Stepstone's adjusted
leverage was above our initial expectations in 2025 at 8.6x and we
expect it will remain at a similarly high level in 2026, but should
reduce to less than 7.5x from 2027. Although we expect the company
to continue generating positive FOCF, it will be lower than our
previous expectation, with FOCF to debt approximately 2%. If the
company's operating performance fails to improve over the next
several quarters--because there is no hiring uptick in its main
markets, or it is unable to successfully transform its revenue
model or control operating costs, leading to leverage staying above
our downgrade thresholds for longer--we could lower the ratings. At
the same time, Stepstone's positive FOCF generation, solid EBITDA
interest coverage above 1.6x, and adequate liquidity support the
rating."

S&P said, "We expect Stepstone's revenue and earnings to remain
flat in 2026, reflecting weak hiring activity in its main markets,
and to return to growth in 2027. The group's revenue and adjusted
EBITDA contracted by 16% (or 15% in constant currencies) and 13% in
2025 respectively. This was mainly because of reduced hiring demand
in Germany and Stepstone's clients delaying spending on online job
listings, reflecting subdued economic growth and elevated
geopolitical concerns. Market share gains in Germany and strong
performance of Stepstone's programmatic advertising operations in
the U.S. (Appcast)--which grew by 10% in 2025 year on year--did not
fully offset this decline. We now anticipate broadly stable hiring
activity in 2026. Despite our expectations that economic growth
will improve in Germany in 2026 compared with 2025, business
sentiment remains weak, so hiring behavior remains cautious. We
therefore forecast stable revenue for Stepstone, with solid
performance in Appcast to be offset by still-subdued
job-advertising operations, and broadly flat adjusted EBITDA in
2026. We expect hiring to recover in 2027, although this will
depend on economic growth, the geopolitical environment, and the
recruiting behavior of Stepstone's clients. We don't consider
either the U.S. or German jobs markets to be vulnerable to AI
disruption at present. In our view, Stepstone's business model
cannot be easily replicated by AI native solutions because of its
long-term relationships with clients, proprietary data, and
consumer data. However, we will continue monitoring any changes and
assessing whether there are signs of structural headwinds to the
company's business model in the short to medium term."

Stepstone's ongoing shift to a subscription-based revenue model
could reduce earnings volatility. In October 2025, Stepstone
launched Stepstone All Jobs in Germany: a new subscription-based
product designed to capture all open positions for a customer,
regardless of the company size and number of its job listings, and
intended to maximize revenue per customer rather than per listing.
S&P said, "We understand that company's clients feedback is
positive, with Stepstone scaling this offering and transitioning
clients in Germany. We think the product's adoption could improve
the quality of Stepstone's earnings by making them more recurring,
less volatile, and more predictable."

S&P said, "We forecast that Stepstone will maintain positive, but
relatively thin, FOCF in 2026 -2027. We expect the company to
control its operating costs and maintain a broadly stable EBITDA
margin in 2026, and that the EBITDA margin will grow in 2027 thanks
to Stepstone's flexible cost structure and expected recovery in
revenue growth. In 2025, Stepstone generated an S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted margin of 28.3%, despite a material revenue
decline, thanks to cost controls and the flexibility of its cost
structure, and despite material development costs in its platforms
and products, and ongoing restructuring charges. That said, we
forecast that absolute EBITDA in 2026 and 2027 will remain below
our previous expectations because of a materially weaker revenue
trajectory than we had initially anticipated. For 2026, we expect
FOCF of about €45 million, which could expand to about €75
million on higher earnings in 2027. We view Stepstone's annual
working capital needs as moderate because a large portion of the
company's contracts are prepaid. We therefore expect adjusted FOCF
to debt of approximately 2% in 2026, and 4% in 2027.

"Group credit considerations do not limit our view of Stepstone's
credit quality. The company operates as a separate and independent
entity after it was spun off, alongside real estate online
classifieds platform operator Aviv, from Axel Springer SE in April
2025. Since the spin-off, KKR and CPPI own about 90% of Stepstone
and Aviv through holding company Traviata. We view Traviata as the
holding company whose primary purpose is to control these operating
companies and that generally relies on these companies' cash flow
to service its financial obligations. In April 2026 Traviata repaid
the payment-in-kind financing that it had outstanding with the
proceeds from the sale of one of Aviv's businesses. We expect both
Traviata and Stepstone to have highly leveraged capital structure,
and its group creditworthiness will remain broadly aligned with
that of Stepstone. Stepstonerepresents a significant part of the
group's revenue and cash flow, compared with the smaller
contribution of Aviv. Therefore, in our view, Traviata's current
group credit profile does not constrain Stepstone's credit
quality.

"The negative outlook reflects weak hiring trends and the volatile
macroeconomic environment in EMEA, and Germany in particular, and
it indicates the risk that over the next several quarters
Stepstone's operating performance might fail to recover, leading to
adjusted leverage remaining persistently above 7.5x and weak FOCF
generation.

"We could lower the rating if demand for recruiting services
remains low because of weaker hiring needs stemming from
persistently reduced economic growth in Stepstone's main markets;
or if we observed Stepstone's business performance facing
structural headwinds and being decoupled from economic growth
recovery. This could lead to Stepstone's weaker revenue growth,
EBITDA, and cash flows, with adjusted leverage remaining above 7.5x
and FOCF to debt materially below 5%.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if Stepstone's revenues and
EBITDA recover in line with our base case on the back of stronger
economic growth, improving business confidence, and a growing
demand for recruiting thanks to pick-up in hiring activity in
Germany and EMEA, and if the U.S. programmatic performance also
remained robust. This would translate to adjusted leverage reducing
below 7.5x and improving FOCF, with FOCF to debt at about 5%. A
revision of the outlook to stable would also hinge on the company's
liquidity remaining adequate."



=============
I R E L A N D
=============

AQUEDUCT EUROPEAN 17: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Aqueduct European
CLO 17 DAC's class A, B, C, D, E, and F notes and A Loan. The
issuer also issued EUR32.700 million unrated subordinated notes and
class Z notes.

The reinvestment period will be approximately 4.5 years, while the
non call period will be 1.5 years after closing.

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

The ratings assigned to the notes and loan 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 and loan through collateral
selection, ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

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

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

  Portfolio benchmarks

  S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor     2,745.86
  Default rate dispersion                                  504.68
  Weighted-average life (years)                              4.84
  Obligor diversity measure                                162.16
  Industry diversity measure                                23.18
  Regional diversity measure                                 1.26
  Country concentration in sovereigns rated below 'AA-' (%) 30.07

  Transaction key metrics

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                                 500
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                   0
  Number of performing obligors                               179
  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                              B
  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                            0.00
  Target 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                36.44%
  Target weighted-average spread net of floors (%)           3.51
  Target weighted-average coupon (%)                         4.97

Rating rationale

S&P said, "Our ratings reflect our assessment of the collateral
portfolio's credit quality, which has a weighted-average rating of
'B'.

"The portfolio is well-diversified, primarily comprising broadly
syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and 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 used the EUR500.00 million target
par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread of 3.42%, the
covenanted weighted-average coupon of 4.50%, and the target
weighted-average recovery rates. 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.

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

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

"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 to D notes could withstand
stresses commensurate with higher ratings than those 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 capped our ratings assigned to the
notes."

The class A Loan and class A and E notes can withstand stresses
commensurate with the assigned ratings.

S&P said, "The class F notes' current break-even default rate
cushion is negative at the assigned rating. Nevertheless, based on
the portfolio's actual characteristics and additional overlaying
factors, including our long-term corporate default rates and recent
economic outlook, we believe this class can sustain a steady-state
scenario, in accordance with our criteria." S&P's analysis further
reflects several factors, including:

-- The class F notes' available credit enhancement, which is in
the same range as that of other CLOs S&P has rated and that has
recently been issued in Europe.

-- S&P's model-generated portfolio default risk, which is at the
'B-' rating level at 24.01% (for a portfolio with a
weighted-average life of 4.84 years) versus 15.48% if it was to
consider a long-term sustainable default rate of 3.2% for 4.84
years.
Whether the tranche is vulnerable to nonpayment in the near
future.

-- If there is a one-in-two chance of this tranche defaulting.

-- If S&P envisions this tranche defaulting in the next 12-18
months.

Following this analysis, S&P considers that the available credit
enhancement for this tranche is commensurate with the assigned 'B-
(sf)' rating.

S&P said, "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 all
rated classes of notes and the class A Loan.

"In addition to our standard analysis, we also included the
sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes and A Loan,
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

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to environmental, social, and
governance (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. 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."

Aqueduct European CLO 17 DAC 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. It is managed by HPS Investment Partners CLO (UK) LLP.

  Ratings
                   Amount     Credit
  Class  Rating*  (mil. EUR)  enhancement (%)   Interest rate§

  A      AAA (sf)   196.00    38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 1.27%

  A Loan AAA (sf)   114.00    38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 1.27%

  B      AA (sf)     55.00 27.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 1.95%

  C      A (sf)      30.00 21.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 2.50%

  D      BBB- (sf)   35.00 14.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 3.15%

  E      BB- (sf)    22.50  9.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 5.95%

  F      B- (sf)     15.00  6.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                       plus 8.58%

  Z      NR           2.00     N/A N/A

  Sub notes   NR     32.70     N/A N/A

*The ratings assigned to the A Loan, and class A and B notes
address timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The
ratings assigned to the class C, D, E and F 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.

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


BNPP AM 2018: Moody's Affirms B3 Rating on EUR12MM Class F Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Ratings has upgraded the ratings on the following notes
issued by BNPP AM EURO CLO 2018 DAC:

EUR36,500,000 Class B-R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2031, Upgraded to Aaa (sf); previously on Jun 30, 2025 Affirmed Aa1
(sf)

EUR29,500,000 Class C-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2031, Upgraded to Aa2 (sf); previously on Jun 30, 2025
Affirmed A1 (sf)

EUR24,250,000 Class D-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2031, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Jun 30, 2025
Affirmed Baa2 (sf)

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

EUR248,000,000 (Current outstanding amount EUR153,089,038) Class
A-R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2031, Affirmed Aaa (sf);
previously on Jun 30, 2025 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR21,750,000 Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2031, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Jun 30, 2025
Affirmed Ba2 (sf)

EUR12,000,000 Class F Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2031, Affirmed B3 (sf); previously on Jun 30, 2025
Downgraded to B3 (sf)

BNPP AM EURO CLO 2018 DAC, issued in September 2018 and partially
refinanced in March 2021, is a collateralised loan obligation (CLO)
backed by a portfolio of mostly high-yield senior secured European
loans. The portfolio is managed by BNP Paribas Asset Management
France SAS. The transaction's reinvestment period ended in October
2022.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class B-R, Class C-R and Class D-R notes
are primarily a result of the deleveraging of the senior notes
following amortisation of the underlying portfolio since the last
rating action in June 2025.

The Class A-R notes have paid down by approximately EUR94.5 million
(38.1%) since the last rating action in June 2025. As a result of
the deleveraging, over-collateralisation (OC) has increased across
the capital structure. The Moody's calculated OC levels for the
Class A/B, Class C and Class D notes as of April 2026—taking into
account the April 2026 principal payments—stand at 153.6%, 132.9%
and 119.7%, respectively, compared with Moody's-calculated OC
levels of 137.5%, 124.6% and 115.7% in June 2025. These OC levels
are calculated before the application of any OC haircuts.

The affirmations on the ratings on the Class A-R, Class E and Class
F notes are primarily a result of the expected losses on the notes
remaining consistent with their current rating levels, after taking
into account the CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant structural
features and its actual over-collateralisation ratios.

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

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

Performing par and principal proceeds balance: EUR291.0 million

Defaulted Securities: EUR3.8 million

Diversity Score: 44

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 3381

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 2.8 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.6%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 3.4%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 44.8%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test: 0%

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectations 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 Moody's 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 "Collateralized
Loan Obligations" published in April 2026.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank, using the
methodology "Structured Finance Counterparty Risks" published in
May 2025. 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. Moody's analysed
defaulted recoveries assuming the lower of the market price or the
recovery rate to account for potential volatility in market prices.
Recoveries higher than Moody's expectations would have a positive
impact on the notes' ratings.

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
Moody's other analytical groups, market factors, and judgments
regarding the nature and severity of credit stress on the
transactions, can influence the final rating decision.

CARLYLE EURO 2019-1: Fitch Lowers Rating on Class E Notes to 'B-sf'
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded four tranches of Carlyle Euro CLO 2019-1
DAC and affirmed the others. Fitch has also revised the Outlook on
the class B-R notes to Positive from Stable and downgraded the
class E notes.

   Entity/Debt               Rating              Prior
   -----------               ------              -----
Carlyle Euro
CLO 2019-1 DAC

   A-1-R XS2320696433     LT AAAsf  Affirmed     AAAsf
   A-2A-R XS2320697084    LT AAAsf  Upgrade      AA+sf
   A-2B-R XS2320697753    LT AAAsf  Upgrade      AA+sf
   B-R XS2320698058       LT AA+sf  Upgrade      A+sf
   C-R XS2320698728       LT Asf    Upgrade      BBB+sf
   D XS1936199758         LT BBsf   Affirmed     BBsf
   E XS1936199675         LT B-sf   Downgrade    Bsf

Transaction Summary

Carlyle Euro CLO 2019-1 DAC is a cash flow collateralised loan
obligation (CLO) comprising mostly senior secured obligations. The
transaction is actively managed by CELF Advisors LLP and exited its
reinvestment period in September 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Deleveraging Increases Senior Notes Buffer: The class A-1-R notes
have repaid EUR162.3 million, resulting in an increase in credit
enhancement of 20.6% for the class A-2A-R/A-2B-R notes, to 48.6%
from 28.0% at the May 2025 review. The transaction's deleveraging
has resulted in an increased default-rate cushion for the senior
notes, which can absorb further defaults in the portfolio. This
supports the upgrade of classes A-2A-R/A-2B-R and C-R, and the
upgrade and Positive Outlook on the class B-R notes.

Credit Migration Affects Junior Notes: The transaction is 8.6%
below par (calculated as the current par difference over the
original target par). It has incurred par losses on sales since the
May 2025 review, which have reduced the default-rate cushion for
the junior notes. The transaction has breached its Fitch weighted
average rating factor (WARF) test, according to the last trustee
report dated 10 April 2026.

Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating of 'CCC+' and below
is 8.0% (according to the trustee report), above the limit of 7.5%.
The Negative Outlook on the class E notes reflects the par losses
and the resulting thin cushion under their par value test, which
continue to weigh on the notes' credit profile.

Sufficient Cushion for Senior Notes: The class A-1-R and C-R notes
have retained sufficient buffers to support their current ratings
and should be capable of absorbing further defaults and par erosion
in the portfolio.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the underlying obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch WARF is 35.8 for the
current portfolio, according to the latest trustee report.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
100% of the portfolio. 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
current portfolio is 63.5%, according to the trustee report.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is moderately diversified
across obligors, countries and industries, although the
concentration limits of the top 10 obligors and the largest obligor
are 16.5% and 2.5%, respectively, according to the trustee report.
The exposure to the three largest Fitch-defined industries is
27.5%. The fixed-rate assets constitute 9.7% of the portfolio,
below the maximum of 10%.

Transaction Outside Reinvestment Period: The transaction exited its
reinvestment period in September 2023, and the senior notes are
deleveraging. However, the transaction is not reinvesting, due to
failure to comply with the Fitch 'CCC' limit and WARF test. The
manager's barriers to reinvesting mean Fitch's downgrade analysis
are based on the current portfolio, and the upgrade analysis is
based on a stressed portfolio in which Fitch has notched down
assets on Negative Outlook and floored the weighted average life at
four years.

Model-Implied Rating Deviation: The class B-R notes' rating is one
notch below the model-implied rating to avoid rating volatility,
reflecting Fitch's view that the default-rate cushion is not yet
sufficiently robust to support the model-implied rating due to
heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. Further amortisation with
stable performance can support an upgrade.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Downgrades based on the current portfolio may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration.

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

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.

USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

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

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
Recognized 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.

ESG Considerations

Fitch does not provide ESG relevance scores for Carlyle Euro CLO
2019-1 DAC.

In cases where Fitch does not provide ESG relevance scores in
connection with the credit rating of a transaction, programme,
instrument or issuer, Fitch will disclose any ESG factor that is a
key rating driver in the key rating drivers section of the relevant
rating action commentary.

CARLYLE EURO 2020-1: S&P Lowers Class D Notes Rating to 'B+ (sf)'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its credit ratings on Carlyle Euro CLO
2020-1 DAC's class A-2A and A-2B notes to 'AAA (sf)' from 'AA
(sf)', class B notes to 'AA (sf)' from 'A (sf)', and class C notes
to 'BBB+ (sf)' from 'BBB- (sf)'. At the same time, S&P affirmed its
'AAA (sf)' rating on the class A-1 notes, and 'B- (sf)' rating on
the class E notes. S&P also lowered its rating on the class D notes
to 'B+ (sf)' from 'BB- (sf)'.

Carlyle Euro CLO 2020-1 DAC is a cash flow CLO transaction that
securitizes leverage loans and is managed by CELF Advisors LLP.

The rating actions follow the application of our relevant criteria,
and S&P's credit and cash flow analysis of the transaction based on
the March 2026 trustee report.

Since closing in April 2020:

-- The pool's credit quality has deteriorated in terms of default
and recovery assumptions.

-- The portfolio's weighted-average life has decreased to 3.19
years from 5.44 years.

-- The percentage of 'CCC'-rated assets has increased to 6.94%
from 5.25%.

-- Following the deleveraging of the class A-1 notes, the class
A-2A to C notes' credit enhancement has increased since closing.

  Table 1

  Credit enhancement

          Current amount Current credit    Credit enhancement
  Class     (mil. EUR)   enhancement (%)*  at closing (%)*

  A-1         146.53        51.35            38.00
  A-2A         22.00        35.66            27.50
  A-2B         25.25        35.66            27.50
  B            29.25        25.95            21.00
  C            27.00        16.99            15.00
  D            25.88         8.40             9.25
  E            11.25         4.66             6.75

Credit enhancement = [Performing balance + cash balance + recovery
on defaulted obligations (if any) – tranche balance (including
tranche balance of all senior tranches)] / [Performing balance +
cash balance + recovery on defaulted obligations (if any)]. *Based
on the portfolio composition as reported by the trustee in March
2026.

  Table 2

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                    Current     At closing

  SPWARF                           2,925.93     2,918.57
  Default rate dispersion            603.00       545.02
  Weighted-average life (years)        3.19         5.44
  Obligor diversity measure            83.71      100.77
  Industry diversity measure           13.88       17.30
  Regional diversity measure            1.30        1.33

SPWARF--S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor.

On the cash flow side:

-- The reinvestment period ended in October 2024.

-- The class A-1 notes have deleveraged by almost EUR132.48
million since then, equivalent to an outstanding note factor of
53.00%.

-- No tranches are currently deferring interest.

All coverage tests are passing as of the March 2026 trustee
report.

  Table 3

  Transaction key metrics

                                        Current    At closing

  Total collateral amount (mil. EUR)*    245.07      450.00
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)              0.00        0.00
  Number of performing obligors              94         122
  Portfolio weighted-average rating           B           B
  'CCC' assets (%)                         6.94        5.25
  'AAA' SDR (%)                           58.75       67.46
  'AAA' WARR (%)                          36.20       37.44

*Performing assets plus cash and expected recoveries on defaulted
assets.
SDR--Scenario default rate.
WARR--Weighted-average recovery rate.

S&P said, "In our view, the portfolio is diversified across
obligors, industries, and asset characteristics. Nevertheless, due
to the CLO entering its amortization phase, it has become more
concentrated than at closing. Hence, we have performed an
additional scenario analysis by applying a spread and recovery
compression analysis.

"In our credit and cash flow analysis, we considered the
transaction to amortize on the following payment date with the
available current cash balance of approximately EUR56.13 million,
as per the March 2026 trustee report.

"Additionally, we considered scenarios in which the full principal
cash is reinvested, with outstanding classes categorized as
non-deferrable.

"Considering the senior notes' continued deleveraging--which has
increased available credit enhancement for most classes--we raised
our ratings on the class A-2A, A-2B, B, and C notes. The available
credit enhancement for these tranches is now commensurate with
higher stress levels. Our cashflow analysis shows that the class B
notes could withstand an even higher rating stress than the rating
assigned. However, we have capped the rating due to the note's
sensitivity to potential spread and recovery rate compression
scenarios. At the same time, we affirmed our 'AAA (sf)' rating on
the class A-1 notes.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available
credit enhancement for the class D notes could not withstand
stresses commensurate with the current rating level. Despite the
transaction's increased deleveraging pace on recent payment dates,
we believe this tranche's credit enhancement will further suffer
from the current par loss as the transaction further amortizes.

"We also considered the level of cushion between our break-even
default rate (BDR) and SDR for these notes at their passing rating
levels (currently and in three to six months' time), as well as the
current macroeconomic conditions and these tranches' relative
seniority. Considering these factors, we lowered to 'B+ (sf)' from
'BB- (sf)' our rating on the class D notes.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates the available credit
enhancement for the class E notes could withstand stresses
commensurate with a lower rating. However, we applied our 'CCC'
rating criteria, resulting in a 'B- (sf)' rating on this class of
notes."

The ratings uplift for the class E notes reflects several key
factors, including:

-- Their available credit enhancement, which is in the same range
as that of other CLOs S&P has rated and that has recently been
issued in Europe.

-- The portfolio's average credit quality, which is similar to
other recent CLOs.

-- S&P said, "Our model generated BDR at the 'B-' rating level of
20.21% (for a portfolio with a weighted-average life of 3.19
years), versus if we were to consider a long-term sustainable
default rate of 3.2% for 3.19 years, which would result in a target
default rate of 10.21%."

-- S&P does not believe that there is a one-in-two chance of this
tranche defaulting.

-- S&P does not envision this tranche defaulting in the next 12-18
months.

Following this analysis, S&P considers the available credit
enhancement for the class E notes to be commensurate with the
affirmed 'B- (sf)' rating.

Counterparty, operational, and legal risks are adequately mitigated
in line with S&P's criteria.

Following the application of S&P's structured finance sovereign
risk criteria, the transaction's exposure to country risk is
limited at the assigned ratings, as the exposure to individual
sovereigns does not exceed the diversification thresholds outlined
in its criteria.

GS MORTGAGE-BACKED 2026-IRRP1: S&P Assigns (P)B- Rating to F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary credit ratings to GS
Mortgage-Backed Securities Trust 2026-IRRP1's class A, B-Dfrd,
C-Dfrd, D-Dfrd, E-Dfrd, and F-Dfrd notes. At closing, the issuer
will also issue unrated class RFN, Z, X notes, VRR loan, and yield
supplement overcollateralization.

The assets are first-ranking owner-occupied and BTL mortgage loans
secured against properties in Ireland. The asset pool comprises
EUR459.72 million of first-lien reperforming residential mortgage
loans in the Republic of Ireland. The loans were originated by
multiple lenders, with Ulster Bank accounting for 76.76% of the
pool, followed by KBC Bank (10.96%), Bank of Ireland (6.58%), and
Bank of Scotland (5.71%).

Approximately 45.74% of the pool was previously securitized in a
nonperforming-loan transaction, which was not rated by S&P Global
Ratings. The pool comprises 93% owner-occupied loans and 7% BTL
loans. Nearly 70.3% of the loans in the portfolio have been
restructured in the past, and a significant level of arrears
persists in the portfolio, with 22.96% greater than 90 days in
arrears.

The capital structure provides 24.17% of available credit
enhancement for the class A notes through subordination, the
non-liquidity reserve fund, and YSO. A fully funded liquidity
reserve fund is available to meet revenue shortfalls on the class A
notes, and the non-liquidity reserve fund is available to meet
revenue shortfalls and provide credit enhancement to all rated
notes.

Mars and Pepper are administrators handling daily operations.
Pepper manages 92.51% of the portfolio, while Mars handles 7.49% of
loans from Bank of Ireland. Both are experienced, fully integrated
Irish servicers.

Borrowers pay into collection accounts held with Bank of Ireland
and Barclays in the legal titleholder's name. The transaction
documents will establish a declaration of trust in the issuer's
favor, over any amounts in the collection account attributable to
the mortgage loans in the portfolio. S&P considers commingling risk
to be adequately mitigated under our counterparty criteria and have
not applied any additional adjustments in its cash flow modelling.

The issuer is an Irish special-purpose entity, which we consider to
be bankruptcy remote.

  Preliminary ratings

  Class   Prelim. Rating    Prelim. class size (%)

  A          AAA (sf)          77.76
  B-Dfrd     AA (sf)            3.76
  C-Dfrd     A (sf)             1.99
  D-Dfrd     BBB (sf)           2.75
  E-Dfrd     BB (sf)            2.24
  F-Dfrd     B- (sf)            3.25
  Z          NR                 4.74
  RFN        NR                 1.93
  VRR        NR                  N/A
  X          NR                  N/A
  YSO        NR                 3.51

Note: S&P said, "Our ratings address timely receipt of interest and
ultimate repayment of principal on the class A notes and the
ultimate payment of interest and principal on the other rated
notes. Our ratings on the class D-Dfrd, E-Dfrd, and F-Dfrd notes
also address the payment of interest based on the lower of the
stated coupon and the net weighted-average coupon."
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.
YSO--Yield supplement overcollateralization.


HARVEST CLO XXII: S&P Affirms 'B- (sf)' Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its credit ratings on Harvest CLO XII
DAC's class B notes to 'AA+ (sf)' from 'AA (sf)', class C-R notes
to 'A+ (sf)' from 'A (sf)', and class D-R notes to 'BBB+ (sf)' from
'BBB- (sf)'. S&P affirmed its 'AAA (sf)' rating on the class A-R
notes, 'B+ (sf)' rating on the class E notes, and 'B- (sf)' rating
on the class F notes.

The rating actions follow the application of its global corporate
CLO criteria, and its credit and cash flow analysis of the
transaction based on the February 2026 trustee report.

Since the transaction's refinance date in November 2021:

-- The weighted-average rating of the portfolio remains unchanged
at 'B'.

-- The portfolio has become more concentrated, and the number of
performing obligors has decreased to 123 from 161.

-- The portfolio's weighted-average life has decreased to 3.57
years from 4.79 years.

-- The percentage of 'CCC'-rated assets has increased to 4.12%
from 3.24%.

-- The percentage of defaulted assets remained steady at 0%.

The liabilities decreased by EUR103.44 million, while the assets
declined by EUR103.78 million, resulting in a EUR0.04 million loss,
equivalent to 0.08% of the aggregate collateral balance since
closing.

Following the ongoing repayment of the class A-R notes, all the
classes except class F benefit from higher levels of credit
enhancement compared to the levels in S&P's last review.

  Table 1

  Credit enhancement
                        
        Current amount  Credit enhancement   Credit enhancement
  Class  (mil. EUR) as of Sep 2021 (%)*  at closing (%)

  A-R       175.74           38.77           48.44
  B          54.50           26.52           32.46
  C-R        31.00           19.55           23.36
  D-R        26.25           13.64           15.66
  E          24.00            8.25            8.62
  F           9.50            6.11            5.84

Credit enhancement = [Performing balance + cash balance + recovery
on defaulted obligations (if any) – tranche balance (including
tranche balance of all senior tranches)] / [Performing balance +
cash balance + recovery on defaulted obligations (if any)].
*Based on the portfolio composition as reported by the trustee in
September 2021.

The scenario default rates (SDRs) have decreased for all rating
scenarios primarily due to a reduction in the weighted-average life
since the closing date (3.57 years from 4.79 years).

  Table 2

  Portfolio benchmarks

  SPWARF                           2,941.13
  Default rate dispersion            522.69
  Weighted-average life (years)        3.57
  Obligor diversity measure           97.16
  Industry diversity measure          16.07
  Regional diversity measure           1.29

SPWARF--S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor.

On the cash flow side:

-- The reinvestment period for the transaction ended in April
2024.

-- The class A-R and class Z notes are currently getting repaid
with a note factor of 65% and 39% respectively.

-- The C-R to F notes are deferring interest.

All coverage tests are passing as of the February 2026 trustee
report.

  Table 3

  Transaction key metrics

  Total collateral amount (mil. EUR)*    340.89
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)              0.00
  Number of performing obligors             123
  Portfolio weighted-average rating           B
  'AAA' SDR (%)                           59.86
  'AAA' WARR (%)                          35.80

*Performing assets plus cash and expected recoveries on defaulted
assets.
SDR--Scenario default rate.
WARR--Weighted-average recovery rate.

In S&P's view, the portfolio is concentrated across obligors,
industries, and asset characteristics.

S&P said, "In our credit and cash flow analysis, we considered the
transaction's current cash balance of approximately EUR18.07
million, as reported in the February 2026 trustee report. We also
considered the level of available principal proceeds from the last
four payment date reports and the amount of principal proceeds used
to deleverage the notes (EUR85.86 mil.). We therefore considered a
base-case cash flow scenario where the full amount of principal
cash will be used to redeem the rated notes.

"As the manager could reinvest unscheduled proceeds and sale
proceeds from credit-risk and credit-improved assets, we also
analysed scenarios that incorporated the full amount of principal
cash to be reinvested.

"Our base case credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the
available credit enhancement for the class A-R and E is sufficient
to withstand the stresses that we apply at their current rating, we
therefore affirmed our 'AAA (sf)' rating on class A-R notes and our
'B+ (sf)' rating on class E notes.

"Our base case credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the
available credit enhancement for the class B and D-R is
commensurate with higher ratings than those we have assigned. We
therefore raised our ratings on the class B notes to 'AA+ (sf)'
from 'AA (sf)', and on the class D-R notes to 'BBB+ (sf)' from
'BBB- (sf)'.

"For the class C-R notes, our base case credit and cash flow
analysis indicates that the available credit enhancement is
sufficient to withstand the stresses that we apply on 'AA- (sf)'
rating category. However, we have considered that the level of
cushion between our break-even default rates (BDRs) and SDRs,
alongside a portfolio concentration in both industries and
countries, current macroeconomic conditions, and the tranche
relative seniority are not sufficient to be in line with a 'AA-
(sf)' rating. As a result, we raised our rating on the class C-R
notes to 'A+ (sf)' from 'A (sf)'

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the class F
notes' available credit enhancement could withstand stresses
commensurate with a lower rating. However, we applied our 'CCC'
rating criteria, resulting in a 'B- (sf)' rating on this class of
notes." The ratings uplift for this tranche reflects several key
factors, including:

-- The notes' available credit enhancement, which is in the same
range as that of other CLOs S&P has rated and that has recently
been issued in Europe.

-- The portfolio's average credit quality is similar to other
recent CLOs.

-- S&P's model generated BDR at the 'B-' rating level of 19.46%
(for a portfolio with a weighted-average life of 3.570 years),
versus if it was to consider a long-term sustainable default rate
of 3.2% for 3.570 years, which would result in a target default
rate of 11.42%.

-- S&P does not believe that there is a one-in-two chance of this
tranche defaulting.

-- S&P does not envision this tranche defaulting in the next 12-18
months.

The transaction's exposure to country risk is limited at the
assigned ratings, as the exposure to individual sovereigns does not
exceed the diversification thresholds outlined in our structured
finance sovereign risk criteria.

Counterparty, operational, and legal risks are adequately mitigated
in line with S&P's criteria.

Harvest CLO XXII DAC is a European cash flow CLO transaction that
securitizes loans granted to primarily speculative-grade corporate
firms. The transaction is managed by Investcorp Credit Management
EU Ltd.



=========
I T A L Y
=========

RINO MASTROTTO: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Alters Outlook to Neg.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Ratings has changed the outlook to negative from stable on
Rino Mastrotto Group S.p.A. (RM or the company), a leading supplier
of high-quality leather and textiles for the luxury fashion,
automotive and interior design industries, based in Italy.
Concurrently, Moody's affirmed the company's B2 long-term corporate
family rating and B2-PD probability of default rating. Moody's also
affirmed the B2 rating on the EUR320 million backed senior secured
floating rate notes due 2031, issued by the group.

"The outlook change to negative from stable reflects Moody's
expectations that RM's operating performance will recover in 2026,
but it will remain under pressure, as the fragile consumer spending
and volatile macroeconomic environment increases the uncertainty
over the company's ability to materially improve financial leverage
and free cash flow from the low levels achieved in 2025", says
Giuliana Cirrincione, Moody's Ratings lead analyst for RM.

RATINGS RATIONALE

RM's operating performance in 2025 was weak across all business
divisions, including Luxury Creations, the group's largest and most
profitable segment. Luxury Creations, which is specialized in the
production of premium quality natural leather and textile materials
for bags, shoes and other accessories for luxury fashion houses,
had historically been more resilient during economic slowdowns
thanks to RM's established position as leather supplier to the
high-end and luxury fashion industry.

Excluding the revenue contribution from the two tanneries, Conceria
Superior and Tannerie Limoges, acquired in June 2025 when Prada
Group entered RM's ownership with a minority stake, sales in Luxury
Creations dropped by 4% year on year, adding to the revenue
declines reported in Automotive & Mobility (-11%) and Interior
Design (-6.5%). Although the two tanneries supported a total sales
growth of 2%, RM's topline declined by 7% on an organic basis.

While performance in the Automotive & Mobility segment was broadly
in line with the company's expectations, reflecting primarily the
anticipated phase out of certain contracts, weaker volumes in
Interior Design and Luxury Creations were driven by a slowdown in
the order book as US tariff-related market upheaval and a volatile
macroeconomic environment further weighted on already weak consumer
sentiment in Europe.

Moody's-adjusted EBITDA and margins in 2025 declined sharply to
EUR40 million and 12%, respectively, from EUR59 million and 18% in
the prior year. While product mix benefited from a stronger
contribution of Luxury Creations in relative terms compared to
other divisions, higher wages and new staffing costs to strengthen
sales force teams added to the lower volumes and cost absorption
capacity. Moody's adjusted leverage increased to a high 8.4x, from
5.4x in 2024, which is well above the 4.5x–5.5x leverage range
that Moody's views as adequate for RM to maintain its credit
profile consistent with a B2 rating. Free cash flow (FCF) turned
negative by around EUR20 million – compared to a positive FCF of
EUR7 million in 2024 excluding the extraordinary dividend paid amid
the LBO transaction. The 2025 negative FCF, however, included EUR11
million acquisition spending for the two tanneries from Prada, as
well as around EUR4 million extraordinary capex for the group's
headquarters, which the company funded mainly with internal cash.
Positively, this resulted in a modest increase in debt levels,
while RM's liquidity position has remained adequate.

Moody's believes the magnitude of the deviation from Moody's
expectations was driven by a temporary, but broad based,
uncertainty in consumer spending that peaked between the second and
third quarters of 2025. Moody's base case assumes that the volume
shortfall experienced in 2025 was transitory, while the impact on
RM's leverage metrics could be more long-lasting, with its
Moody's-adjusted EBITDA only improving to above EUR60 million over
the next 12-18 months, and its Moody's-adjusted gross debt to
EBITDA ratio unlikely to go below 5.5x  earlier than end-2027. The
volume recovery reported in the Luxury Creations division in the
fourth quarter of 2025, together with continued momentum in the
first quarter of 2026, supports Moody's views that RM is not facing
a structural decline in demand for premium leather from its key
customers, nor across the luxury fashion industry more broadly.
Nevertheless, according to Moody's forecasts, recovery in operating
performance will take time and Moody's sees the risk that over the
next 12-18 months RM's financial leverage, interest coverage and
FCF may remain outside of the boundaries Moody's have defined for
its B2 rating.

RM's B2 rating remains supported by its leading market position as
a premium leather supplier for globally recognised luxury fashion
brands; its good profitability and FCF potential, underpinned by
vertical integration, a flexible cost structure and ability to
manage raw material price fluctuations; its strong track record of
margin-accretive inorganic growth; and Moody's expectations of a
prudent liquidity management and M&A strategy.

LIQUIDITY

RM's liquidity is adequate, supported by EUR44 million of cash
balance as of December 2025 and access to its fully available EUR50
million revolving credit facility (RCF). Moody's also forecasts
that operating cash flow will average EUR15 million annually in
2026-27, covering all basic cash needs over the next 12-18 months.
These include annual working capital needs of up to EUR4 million on
average, and EUR14 million of capital spending per year, which
comprises both maintenance and expansionary capital spending. As a
result, FCF will be moderately negative in 2026 and will
progressively improve to EUR5 million - EUR10 million annually
thereafter.

Moody's expects the RCF to remain largely undrawn, given that
swings in working capital because of business seasonality, mainly
related to the purchase of leather hides in Q1, can be met with the
company's internal cash generation. The company also makes use of
an uncommitted receivable factoring facility to manage its working
capital needs. The RCF contains a springing covenant of super
senior net leverage below 1.1x, which is to be tested when the
drawings of the RCF exceed 40% of the committed amounts. Moody's
expects the company to maintain ample capacity under the covenant.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B2 rating of the EUR320 million senior secured floating rate
notes is in line with the CFR, to reflect that they represent the
majority of the company's new debt structure. According to Moody's
Loss Given Default for Speculative-Grade Companies (LGD)
methodology, the B2 CFR is aligned with the B2-PD probability of
default rating, based on an assumed recovery rate of 50%, as is
customary for transactions that include both senior secured bonds
and bank debt.

The EUR50 million super senior RCF ranks at the top of Moody's LGD
waterfall, followed by the EUR320 million backed senior secured
notes and trade payables. The size of the RCF is not significant
enough to warrant a notching of the bonds below the CFR according
to Moody's LGD methodology.

Both the notes and the super senior RCF are secured against share
pledges of the main companies of the group. Moody's typically view
debt with this type of security package to be akin to unsecured
debt. Guarantor subsidiaries account for at least 80% of
consolidated adjusted EBITDA.

RATIONALE FOR NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects the uncertainty around RM's ability
to improve its credit metrics to a level commensurate with the B2
rating category over the next 12-18 months, i.e. Moody's-adjusted
gross debt/EBITDA below 5.5x, Moody's-adjusted EBIT interest
coverage above 1.5x, and positive FCF.

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

Moody's could upgrade RM's ratings if its Moody's-adjusted gross
debt/EBITDA moves sustainably below 4.5x; its Moody's-adjusted EBIT
margins improve to the mid-to high-teens; and its Moody's-adjusted
EBIT interest cover ratio is sustainably above 2.5x.

Moody's could downgrade RM's ratings if its Moody's-adjusted gross
debt/EBITDA remains above 5.5x on a sustained basis; its
Moody's-adjusted EBIT margins decline towards the mid- to
high-single digits; its Moody's-adjusted EBIT interest cover ratio
is consistently below 1.5x; and liquidity weakens as a result of
persistently negative FCF or an aggressive M&A strategy.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Durables published in December 2025.

RM's B2 rating is two notches higher than the scorecard-indicated
outcome of Caa1. The difference mainly reflects the marked
deterioration in the company's credit metrics in 2025, which
Moody's views as exceptional in scale and likely to take time to be
fully reversed.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Vicenza, Italy, RM is a leading supplier of
premium leather, high-quality textiles and value-added services for
the luxury fashion, automotive and interior design industries.

The company has three business divisions: Luxury Creations (56% of
sales in 2025), specialized in the production of calf and bovine
natural leather and textile materials for bags, shoes and other
accessories for luxury fashion houses; Automotive and Mobility (28%
of sales), which is focused primarily on full grain leather
production for steering wheels; and Interior Design (16% of sales),
specialized in leather and other premium textile production for the
high-end upholstery market. In 2025, RM generated sales of EUR349
million (2024: EUR335 million) and company-adjusted EBITDA, that
is, before non-recurring items, of EUR55 million (2024: EUR73
million).

RM is majority owned by private equity firm Renaissance Partners,
which acquired a 70% stake in 2019. In June 2025, Prada Group
entered the share capital with a 10% minority stake, while the
founding family and management retain a combined interest of around
27%.



=================
L I T H U A N I A
=================

MAXIMA GRUPE: S&P Rates New EUR300MM Senior Unsecured Notes 'BB+'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB+' issue rating to the proposed
EUR300 million senior unsecured notes that Maxima Grupe UAB
(BB+/Stable/--) intends to issue under its new EUR1 billion Euro
Medium-Term Note program. Maxima will use the proceeds to redeem
the EUR260 million bridge financing due October 2027 and for
general corporate purposes.

S&P said, "On Dec. 12, 2025, we affirmed our issuer credit rating
on Maxima following the announced spin-off of its operations in
Poland and Bulgaria to related parties in the wider Metodika group,
Maxima's ultimate parent. We assessed Metodika's group credit
profile at 'bb+', which is in line with Maxima's stand-alone credit
profile, and Maxima's status in the Metodika group as highly
strategic. We forecast Metodika's debt to EBITDA at 2.3x-2.5x and
Maxima's debt to EBITDA at 1.8x-2.0x, with positive free operating
cash flow (FOCF) after leases over 2026-2027."

The disposal of the operations in Poland and Bulgaria resulted in a
33% year-over-year reported revenue decline to EUR4.1 billion in
2025 from EUR6.1 billion in 2024. On a continued operations basis:

-- The group's revenue grew by about 4%, driven by positive
like-for-like sales growth of about 3.5% at the group level, of
which 5.5% was in Lithuania, 2.1% in Latvia, and 0.7% in Estonia.

-- The online platform Barbora contributed positively to the
group's retail operations, expanding by about 3.1% in 2025.

-- The group's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA was about EUR374
million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 9.2%, slightly
higher than its previous forecast of EUR355 million for the same
year. Improvements in sales margins and operational efficiency
helped offset higher logistics costs, especially in Lithuania where
the company transitioned to a new logistics center during 2025.

-- The group's reported FOCF after leases totaled about EUR76
million in 2025, in line with our previous forecasts, supported by
slightly positive working capital dynamics and lower capital
expenditure than in 2024.

-- Maxima's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage was 1.6x in 2025,
compared to our previous forecast of 1.9x for that year.

S&P said, "We expect Maxima's leading position in the Baltics and
its focus on consolidating its market share against competition
from other supermarkets, such as IKI and RIMI, as well as
discounters like Lidl, to support revenue growth of about 2.7% in
2026 and 3.5% in 2027. At the same time, we forecast the group's
adjusted margins to improve to about 9% over the next two years,
supported by continued efforts to secure cost efficiency and
improvements in the e-commerce segments. Higher profitability,
lower lease payments and limited growth investments will support
visibility on FOCF after leases, which we forecast at EUR100
million-EUR120 million in 2026-2027.

"We expect the group to continue to adhere to its financial policy
of company-defined debt to EBITDA below 2.0x, despite sizeable
dividend payments. The group distributed about EUR106 million of
ordinary dividends in 2025 and we expect it to pay about EUR200
million in 2026. In the future, we expect Maxima to distribute the
majority of its FOCF after leases to support the wider Metodika
group, as long as its debt to EBITDA remains at about 2.0x, in line
with its financial policy."

Issue Ratings--Subordination Risk Analysis

Capital structure

Pro forma issuance of the proposed senior unsecured notes, Maxima's
capital structure comprises about EUR577 million of financial debt,
of which about EUR300 million consists of the senior unsecured
notes due 2031 to be issued by the parent holding company, Maxima
Grupe. About EUR94 million of the EUR577 million of debt comprises
unsecured bank loans that rank pari passu with the notes and there
is about EUR180 million secured and unsecured debt at Maxima's
operating subsidiaries.

Analytical conclusions

S&P said, "The 'BB+' issue rating on the proposed EUR300 million
senior unsecured notes due 2031 is in line with our long-term
issuer credit rating on Maxima. Our priority debt ratio is about
32% of total debt pro forma the bond issuance, comfortably below
the 50% threshold that would result in an issue rating that is one
notch below the issuer credit rating."



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

ELASTIC NV: Moody's Upgrades CFR & Sr. Unsec. Debt Rating to Ba2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Ratings upgraded Elastic N.V.'s (Elastic) ratings including
its corporate family rating to Ba2 from Ba3. The upgrade was driven
by Moody's expectations of continued strong double digit growth,
growing adoption of its AI architected capabilities and maintaining
conservative financial policies. Moody's also upgraded the senior
unsecured rating to Ba2 from Ba3 and the probability of default
rating to Ba1-PD from Ba2-PD. The outlook is stable.

Elastic continues to grow bookings, RPO and revenues across nearly
all categories at double digit rates including AI attach rates.
While there continues to be concerns of AI disruption across
search, observability and security markets, Elastic has the
potential to sustain growth rates as AI becomes a critical
architectural component of those sectors. The company continues to
maintain a very strong balance sheet with cash and marketable
securities over 200% of funded debt. Though buybacks have increased
recently, Moody's expects the company will continue to maintain
cash levels well in excess of debt.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Elastic's Ba2 CFR is supported by the company's strong revenue
growth prospects, improving profitability and strong free cash flow
generation. Elastic benefits from its leading enterprise search
platform, rapidly growing presence in the observability and
security markets, and generative AI use cases (particularly
retrieval-augmented generation architectures). Elastic's extensive
developer and user base and the broad applicability of solutions
for different use cases suggest a large total addressable market
and strong growth opportunity for the company.

Moody's expects the company will grow revenues at mid-teens
percentage levels over the next two years. As Elastic continues to
balance investments with profitability, Moody's expects further
expansion of non-GAAP operating margins. Though traditional GAAP
based EBITDA margins are nominal, on a cash adjusted basis (not
expensing non-cash stock compensation and not including interest
income) EBITDA margins are around 17% with cash based leverage
around 2x as of January 31, 2026 and free cash flow to debt of over
40%. Moody's Adjusted debt to EBITDA without those modifications is
around 12x, however, primarily highlighting the magnitude and
impact of stock based compensation.

The credit profile is constrained by the highly competitive and
rapidly evolving technology landscape with many large and
established competitors. The security and observability markets are
highly fragmented and rapidly evolving as customer needs are
shifting in response to increasing threats of cyber breaches and
changing IT infrastructure. While Elastic has a well-established
position in the search industry, and promising role in semantic
search and related AI use cases, the technology landscape is
changing rapidly.

The Speculative Grade Liquidity (SGL) rating of SGL-1 reflects very
good liquidity supported by unrestricted cash and cash equivalents
of around $1.2 billion as of January 31, 2026 and solidly positive
free cash flow. As the company's operating leverage and
profitability improve, Moody's expects free cash flow to exceed
$300 million in the fiscal year ending April 2027. The company's
annual cash interest expense is around $25 million with small
capital investment requirements of about $4 million a year (on a
GAAP basis). If share buybacks were to remain at recent elevated
levels, they could exceed free cash flow however. Elastic does not
have an external revolving credit facility.

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that Elastic's
credit metrics will continue to improve supported by strong organic
revenue and cash flow growth. While share buyback levels will
likely increase from prior years, the stable outlook also reflects
the expectation that Elastic will maintain buybacks within the
company's cash generating capabilities.

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

Elastic's ratings could be upgraded if the company maintains strong
revenue and free cash flow growth, demonstrates a defensible role
in AI assisted search, observability and security and it
establishes a longer track record of balanced financial policies,
including low debt levels.

The ratings could be downgraded if Elastic's revenue, operating
margins or free cash flow to debt or the company were to pursue
more aggressive financial strategy particularly that results in
cash adjusted leverage (excluding stock based comp and interest
income) sustained above 3.5x.

Elastic N.V. is a software company that uses search technology
across solutions for enterprise search, observability, and
security, built on one technology stack that can be deployed on
premises, within public or private clouds, or in a hybrid model.
The company generated revenue of roughly $1.7 billion for the
twelve months ended January 2026.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Software
published in December 2025.

The net effect of any adjustments applied to rating factor scores
or scorecard outputs under the primary methodology(ies), if any,
was not material to the ratings addressed in this announcement.



=========
S P A I N
=========

BERING III: Fitch Lowers Long-Term IDR to 'B-', Outlook Negative
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Bering III S.a r.l.'s (Iberconsa)
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B-' from 'B'. The Outlook
is Negative.

The rating action reflects increased refinancing risk ahead of its
revolving credit facility (RCF) and term loan B (TLB) maturing May
2027 and November 2027, respectively. It also takes into account
the company's limited liquidity and forecasts high leverage at
around 6.0x at end-2026, in the context of challenging capital
market conditions.

The 'B-' rating reflects Iberconsa's moderate scale, large exposure
to sourcing in Argentina and certain client concentration. This is
balanced by its leading market positions in frozen seafood,
resilient and wide sales diversification by end-markets, high
barriers to entry defined by the fishing industry's regulation, and
proven strong profitability compared with peers.

Key Rating Drivers

Increased Refinancing Risk: Iberconsa's refinancing risk has
increased as it nears debt maturities in 2027, when the nearly
fully drawn RCF and the TLB fall due. The conflict in the Middle
East has had a limited impact on Iberconsa, but greater risk
aversion, tighter financing conditions in global debt markets and
potentially more restrictive monetary policies have increased
uncertainty around its ability to imminently refinance its debt and
the terms of such refinancing. The lack of refinancing before
end-2026 would likely result in a further downgrade, as signalled
by the Negative Outlook.

High Leverage: Fitch projects Iberconsa's Fitch-adjusted EBITDA
leverage to remain high at 5.8x by end-2026, which in its view
affects potential refinancing options. Fitch still see some
deleveraging potential in 2027 towards 5.5x, driven by organic
growth and consolidation of strong margins, in light of the
company's proven profit resilience and ability to pass on cost
volatility to customers. However, a fragile macroeconomic
environment in Argentina may lead to currency control or new
protectionist measures, resulting in delays to deleveraging or
weaker cash generation.

Reduced Liquidity Headroom: The downgrade also reflects Iberconsa's
weakened liquidity headroom ahead of the near-term debt maturities,
despite a positive 2025 operating performance. The Fitch-adjusted
cash position was EUR15 million at end-1Q26 (after Fitch
restricting EUR18 million for working capital needs), slightly
improved from end-2025 with EUR8 million available under the RCF as
of April 2026. Tight liquidity weighs heavily on its credit
profile, despite compliance with covenants at end-2025, increasing
sensitivity to weaker operating performance, a deteriorated
Argentinian macro-economic environment or volatile capital market
conditions.

Exposure to Argentina: Iberconsa is heavily exposed to Argentina's
operating environment, where it sources 70% of volumes and most
assets are located. This exposes the company to inflation, currency
and policy risks, although the operating environment became more
stable in 2025. Fitch also notes Iberconsa's proven ability to
manage extreme volatility in the country. Near-term risks for
exporters remain due to high inflation, incentives for the
government to reduce export taxes in the near term are limited and
Iberconsa no longer benefits from a preferential FX programme.
Commercial activity is mostly managed from Spain, supporting the
choice of Spain as the applicable Country Ceiling.

Resilient 2025 Performance: Iberconsa delivered slightly
better-than-expected performance in 2025 despite a shorter shrimp
season. Adjusted EBITDA rose to EUR82 million, as strong pricing
and an improved cost base offset lower volumes. Total shrimp sales
volume fell 9.9k tonnes, but average prices increased 20.9% after
the delayed season tightened supply and labour disputes ended with
lower crew compensation, creating a structural cost benefit. Hake
and illex squid also performed well, supported by price increases
and solid demand. Fitch anticipates prices to normalise but remain
overall robust, which alongside volume increase, support healthy
sales growth of 15% in 2026.

Strong EBITDA Margin: The company's vertical integration, with 90%
of sales volumes produced in-house, and a well-invested asset base,
lead to EBITDA margins (2025: 18%) well above the industry average.
This, together with a 70% variable cost base, supports healthy
operating cash flow generation. Fitch projects an EBITDA margin of
15.4% from 2026, due to proven efficiencies and reducing impact
from currency controls in Argentina. Fitch expects Iberconsa to
generate sustainably positive FCF from 2026, even though Fitch no
longer factor in the elimination of export taxes in Argentina.

Leading Seafood Provider: Iberconsa is a leading global supplier of
frozen hake and shrimp and number three in Spain across all fish
species. Its business benefits from broad species, channel and
market diversification across hake, shrimp and squid, with sales
through trading, retail and food service in Europe and APAC.
Sourcing is concentrated in Argentina but benefits from strong
vertical integration, supported by 40 owned vessels, on-board and
onshore processing and broad commercial reach. Its focus on wild
catch limits veterinary risk versus farming peers, while large
scale and reliable supply support relationships with large
retailers despite some customer concentration.

Favourable Market Fundamentals: Global demand for seafood is
growing, driven by population growth and a shift towards healthier
protein intake influenced by ageing, health consciousness and
increasing consumer purchasing power. These secular trends,
alongside stability in wild seafood catches, benefit Iberconsa's
business model and its pricing power. The convenience of frozen
fish and the appeal of value-added products further support
consumer demand for Iberconsa's products. Also, strict regulation
of fishing licenses and quotas aligned with governments'
sustainability goals create high barriers to entry and protect
Iberconsa's market position.

Peer Analysis

Iberconsa is smaller and more leveraged than other mid-scale
protein peers, such as Boparan Holding Limited (B+/Stable), which
together with the higher refinancing risk, underline the two-notch
differential despite Iberconsa's broader diversification across
protein types, end-markets and sourcing regions, as well as lower
exposure to veterinary risks. Iberconsa is more profitable than PT
Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Tbk (B+/Rating Watch Positive), but the
latter benefits from bigger scale and lower leverage despite some
market concentrations.

Iberconsa is rated four notches lower than Minerva S.A.
(BB/Stable), which reflects Minerva's stronger and more global
business profile, including scale, which will be reinforced by the
acquisition of Marfrig's assets in Brazil. Minerva also operates
with much lower net leverage.

In comparison with Agrosuper S.A. (BBB-/Stable), JBS S.A.
(BBB-/Stable) or Tyson Foods, Inc. (BBB/Stable), Iberconsa is much
smaller in scale, less diversified in products and has higher
leverage.

Frigorifico Concepción SA (CCC) has excessive refinancing risk
with considerable maturities in 2026, compared with Iberconsa's
main maturity concentrations in 2027.

Fitch's Key Rating-Case Assumptions

- Revenue growth of 16% in 2026, driven by volume increases,
followed by flat to low single-digit annual growth over 2027-2029

- EBITDA margin at 15.4% in 2026 (2025: 18.2%), gradually growing
to 17% by 2029, driven by devaluation of the Argentinian peso and
cost initiatives

- Capex at EUR23 million in 2026 and at 5% of revenue in 2027-2029

- Cash inflow of EUR7.6 million in 2026 from the sale of
associates

- No debt-funded M&A

Corporate Rating Tool Inputs and Scores

Fitch scored the issuer as follows, using its Corporate Rating Tool
(CRT) to produce the Standalone Credit Profile (SCP):

- Business and financial profile factors (assessment, relative
importance): Management (bb, Moderate), Sector Characteristics
(bbb, Lower), Market and Competitive Positioning (b, Moderate),
Diversification and Asset Quality (b+, Moderate), Company
Operational Characteristics (bb+, Moderate), Profitability (bbb-,
Moderate), Financial Structure (b-, Higher), and Financial
Flexibility (b-, Higher).

- The quantitative financial subfactors are based on custom CRT
financial period parameters: 20% weight for the historical year
2025, 20% for the forecast year 2026, 20% for the forecast year
2027, 20% for the forecast year 2028 and 20% for the forecast year
2029.

- B+ to CC considerations apply in its analysis and result in an
adjustment of -1 notch.

- The Governance assessment of 'Some Deficiencies' results in no
adjustment.

- The Operating Environment assessment of 'bb' results in no
adjustment.

- The SCP is 'b-'.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Failures to complete the refinancing of the TLB and RCF by 4Q26

- Reducing liquidity headroom

- EBITDA leverage at or above 6.0x on a sustained basis

- Contraction of EBITDA margin due to market volatility,
operational underperformance or negative impact from Argentinian
macroeconomics, leading to volatile or neutral to negative FCF

- EBITDA interest coverage below 2.0x

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

- EBITDA leverage below 5.0x on a sustained basis

- Positive FCF margins on a sustained basis

- EBITDA interest coverage above 2.5x

Liquidity and Debt Structure

Fitch-adjusted available cash balance at end-2025 was EUR16 million
(after restricting EUR18 million of cash for operating needs and
working capital volatility). Liquidity is limited, with EUR8
million available at end-April 2026 in the committed RCF, with
remaining access to the EUR94.5 million off-balance sheet factoring
(EUR80.5 million used as of end-2025), unsecured EUR30 million
export line (EUR24.9 million use at end-2025) and other working
capital facilities up to EUR12 million available. The company is
also working to dispose of idle assets to support liquidity. This
could be insufficient to cover short-term maturities of about EUR20
million in 2026 and requires a refinancing to repay the RCF and TLB
in 2027. Fitch treats the drawn off-balance sheet factoring as
debt.

Issuer Profile

Iberconsa is one of the leading global providers of frozen seafood,
including hake (41% of 2025 sales), wild shrimp (31%) and
cephalopods (16%; mainly illex squid), headquartered in Vigo,
Spain.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS AND SECTOR FORECASTS

Fitch's latest quarterly Global Corporates Sector Forecasts Monitor
data file which aggregates key data points used in its credit
analysis. Fitch's macroeconomic forecasts, commodity price
assumptions, default rate forecasts, sector key performance
indicators and sector-level forecasts are among the data items
included.

Climate Vulnerability Signals

The Climate.VS for 2035 did not indicate an elevated risk for
Bering III S.a r.l.

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           Prior
   -----------               ------           -----
Bering III S.a r.l.    LT IDR B-  Downgrade   B



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

ALBERT COURT: FRP Advisory, BTG Appointed as Joint Administrators
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Albert Court Property Limited was placed into administration in the
High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and
Wales, Insolvency & Companies List (ChD) Court Number
CR-2026-001969. David Paul Hudson and Simon Baggs of FRP Advisory
Trading Limited, together with Paul Steven Cooper of BTG Begbies
Traynor (Central) LLP, were appointed as joint administrators on
March 13, 2026.

Albert Court Property Limited carried on a business of buying and
selling of own real estate.

Its registered office is at 134 Buckingham Palace Road, London,
SW1W 9SA (to be changed to FRP Advisory, 1st Floor, 34 Falcon
Court, Preston Farm Business Park, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3TX).

Its principal trading address is 134 Buckingham Palace Road,
London, SW1W 9SA.

The Joint Administrators can be contacted at:

  David Paul Hudson  
  Simon Baggs  
  FRP Advisory Trading Limited  
  2nd Floor, 110 Cannon Street  
  London  
  EC4N 6EU  

  -- and --

  Paul Steven Cooper  
  BTG Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP  
  40 Bank Street  
  Canary Wharf  
  London  
  E14 5NR  

Further information:

  The Joint Administrators
  Tel: 01642 917555
  Alternative contact: Anna Harrison
  Email: cp.teeside@frpadvisory.com


MONTAGU STREET: BTG Begbies, FRP Advisory Named as Administrators
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Montagu Street Property Limited was placed into administration in
the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England
and Wales, Insolvency & Companies List (ChD) Court Number
CR-2026-002004. Paul Cooper of BTG Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP,
together with David Paul Hudson and Simon Baggs of FRP Advisory
Trading Limited, were appointed as administrators on March 13,
2026.

Montagu Street Property Limited carried on a business of buying and
selling of own real estate, and other letting and operating of own
or leased real estate.

Its registered office is at 2nd Floor, 10 Wellington Place, Leeds,
LS1 4AP.

The Administrators can be contacted at:

  Paul Cooper  
  BTG Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP  
  Floor 2, 10 Wellington Place  
  Leeds  
  LS1 4AP  

  -- and --

  David Paul Hudson  
  Simon Baggs  
  FRP Advisory Trading Limited  
  110 Cannon Street  
  London  
  EC4N 6EU  

For further information, contact:

   Emma Grime
   BTG Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP
   E-mail: at emma.grime@btguk.com
   Telephone: 0113 468 1400.

MONTPELIER STREET: FRP Advisory, BTG Named as Joint Administrators
------------------------------------------------------------------
Montpelier Street (MW) Limited was placed into administration in
the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England
& Wales Court Number CR-2026-002033. David Hudson and Simon Baggs
of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, together with Paul Cooper of BTG
Begbies Traynor (London) LLP, were appointed as joint
administrators on March 13, 2026.

Montpelier Street (MW) Limited carried on a business of buying and
selling of own real estate.

Its registered office is at 134 Buckingham Palace Road, London,
SW1W 9SA (to be changed to FRP Advisory, 1st Floor, 34 Falcon
Court, Preston Farm Business Park, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3TX).

Its principal trading address is 134 Buckingham Palace Road,
London, SW1W 9SA.

The Joint Administrators can be contacted at:

  David Hudson  
  Simon Baggs  
  FRP Advisory Trading Limited  
  110 Cannon Street  
  London  
  EC4N 6EU  

  -- and --

  Paul Cooper  
  BTG Begbies Traynor (London) LLP  
  31st Floor, 40 Bank Street  
  Canary Wharf  
  London  
  E14 5NR  

Further details contact:

  The Joint Administrators
  Tel: 01642 917555
  Alternative contact: Robyn Coulter
  Email: cp.teesside@frpadvisory.com

NISSAN MOTOR: To Cut 900 Jobs in Europe Amid Restructuring
----------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that Nissan Motor will cut about 900 jobs in
Europe, around 10% of the total, and consolidate production from
two lines to one at its Sunderland plant in the UK as part of a
global restructuring drive, the Japanese automaker said on May 5.

Reuters relates that the job cuts will focus on white-collar and
warehouse roles, a Nissan Europe spokesperson said, adding that the
company's current European headcount stands at about 9,300.

According to Reuters, the company's sweeping turnaround plan,
launched last year under Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa, aims to
restore profitability after heavy losses, reduce Nissan's global
manufacturing footprint and cut its total workforce by 15%.

"We have been taking decisive actions to ⁠enhance performance and
create a leaner, more resilient business that adapts quickly to
market changes," Nissan said in a statement.

In addition to the layoffs, the Nissan Europe spokesperson said the
carmaker, Japan's fourth largest, was looking at other moves in
Europe, including shifting to a distribution model managed by
importer partners in Nordic markets, Reuters relays.

"The proposals in the consultation include a headcount reduction
across Europe of 900 jobs, the partial closure of our warehouse in
Barcelona, and in the Nordics market we are going to change the
distribution model," the spokesperson said.

"We are also consolidating production in Sunderland plant from two
lines to one line, because we are looking for opportunities with
our parties to maximize ⁠our plant utilization."

A Nissan Spain spokesperson said around 500 people in Spain work in
the areas targeted by the layoffs, but added that the final figure
will be negotiated with unions in the coming weeks and would likely
be lower than that, according to Reuters.

"This is a new disappointment by Nissan for which again the only
solution that it seeks to adapt to a situation ⁠is to fire
workers," Reuters quotes Miguel Ruiz, leader of Spanish Nissan
union USOC, as saying. It was too early to know final job loss
numbers, he added.

In 2020, Nissan shut its main factories in Barcelona affecting
around 3,000 jobs, recalls Reuters.

A spokesperson for Nissan Manufacturing UK ⁠confirmed that the
focus was white-collar roles and said that there would be no
production job losses at the Sunderland plant.

The Financial Times first reported the job cut plans, Reuters
notes.

Reuters adds that Nissan is expected to update on the progress of
⁠its restructuring plan when it reports full-year financial
results later this month, and has said it will announce further
elements of its strategic direction later in the year.

                          About Nissan Motor

Japan-based Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. manufactures and distributes
automobiles and related parts. The Company produces luxury cars,
sports cars, commercial vehicles, and more. Nissan Motor markets
its products worldwide.

Fitch Ratings, on April 15, 2026, affirmed Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s
Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs)
at 'BB'. The Outlook remains Negative. Fitch has also affirmed
Nissan's senior unsecured rating at 'BB' and its Short-Term
Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at 'B'.

S&P Global Ratings, in November 2025, lowered its long-term ratings
on Nissan Motor and its overseas subsidiaries to 'BB-' from 'BB'
and affirmed its short-term ratings at 'B'. The negative outlook
reflects S&P's view that prolonged weak profitability and negative
FOCF may further deteriorate the company's creditworthiness.

Moody's Ratings, in February 2025, also downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3
the senior unsecured rating for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. At the same
time, Moody's have assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating and
withdrawn the company's Baa3 issuer rating. Moody's have also
maintained the negative rating outlook.


SMALL BUSINESS 2025-1: Fitch Affirms 'BB+sf' Rating on Cl. C Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Small Business Origination Loan Trust
2025-1 DAC's (SBOLT) class B and C notes.

   Entity/Debt            Rating             Prior
   -----------            ------             -----
Small Business
Origination Loan
Trust 2025-1 DAC

   B XS3045380824      LT BBB+sf Affirmed    BBB+sf
   C XS3045381046      LT BB+sf  Affirmed    BB+sf

Transaction Summary

SBOLT 25-1 is a true-sale securitisation of a GBP399.97 million
static pool of UK mostly unsecured SME loans, originated through
the marketplace lending platform of Funding Circle Ltd (FC, the
servicer) and sold by Glencar Investments 49 DAC.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Performance in Line with Expectations: Cumulative gross defaults
were GBP18.3 million, or 4.6% of the closing portfolio balance,
according to the March 2026 trustee report. Delinquencies between
30 and 90 days were GBP3.3 million, or 1.3% of the current
portfolio balance, barring defaulted loans.

Shorter Remaining Pro-Rata Period: The pro-rata amortisation of the
notes is scheduled to expire in about one year, or until the breach
of a sequential-pay trigger if sooner. Pro-rata structures are at a
higher risk than sequential amortisation structures as they
generally leak proceeds to subordinated notes, undermining the
senior notes' priority for repayment. The pro-rata amortisation is
calculated based on the notes' balance, net of the corresponding
principal deficiency ledger (PDL) outstanding balance, if any.

Unsecured SME Loans: The securitised loans are unsecured apart from
personal guarantees granted by the owners or directors of the SME
borrowers. Total recoveries are currently GBP0.73 million,
equivalent to 4% of cumulative gross defaults.

Granular Portfolio: The collateral portfolio features low single
obligor concentration, with the top 10 obligors accounting for 1.7%
of the portfolio balance. Industry concentration is more in line
with other SME portfolios', with the largest three industries
accounting for 43.5% of the portfolio balance, led by property and
construction (18%), followed by manufacturing and engineering
(12.9%) and professional and business support (12.6%).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Weakening asset performance is strongly correlated to increasing
levels of delinquencies and defaults that could reduce credit
enhancement available to the notes. Unanticipated declines in
recoveries could also result in lower net proceeds, which may make
certain notes susceptible to negative rating action, depending on
the extent of the decline in recoveries.

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

Upgrades may result from better-than-expected asset performance,
leading to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to
cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

CRITERIA VARIATION

Fitch perceives higher performance volatility in foreign currency
(FC) historical loan book data than the broader SME lending market.
For this reason, Fitch calibrated its correlation assumption to
ensure that the default rate for the overall portfolio at 'AAsf'
covers the 32.7% peak of delinquencies in the FC loan book during
the Covid-19 pandemic. This criteria variation has had no impact on
the ratings of the rated notes.

USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

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

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.

Prior to the transaction closing, Fitch reviewed the results of a
third-party assessment conducted on the asset portfolio information
and concluded that there were no findings that affected the rating
analysis.

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

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.

SMALL BUSINESS 2026-1: Fitch Rates Class C Notes 'BB+(EXP)sf'
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Small Business Origination Loan Trust
2026-1 DAC (SBOLT 26-1) notes expected ratings.

The assignment of final ratings is contingent on the receipt of
final documents conforming materially to information already
reviewed.

   Entity/Debt         Rating           
   -----------         ------           
Small Business
Origination Loan
Trust 2026-1 DAC

   A-Loan           LT A(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
   B                LT BBB(EXP)sf  Expected Rating
   C                LT BB+(EXP)sf  Expected Rating
   Z                LT NR(EXP)sf   Expected Rating

Transaction Summary

SBOLT 26-1 is a true-sale securitisation of a GBP329.92 million
static pool of UK mostly unsecured SME loans, originated through
the marketplace lending platform of Funding Circle Ltd (FC,
servicer) and sold by Glencar Investments 49 DAC. This transaction
is the fourth issue from this platform to be rated by Fitch, and
the 10th overall.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

SME Borrower Default Probability: Fitch analysed the default risk
of the underlying SME portfolio based on FC's static default
vintage data, which is disclosed for each internal risk band
separately. For the securitised portfolio, including the A+ to D
risk bands, Fitch determined an average one-year probability of
default at close to 5.0%.

Unsecured SME Loans: The transaction's underlying loans are backed
by personal guarantees granted by the owners of the SME borrowers,
except for a minor portion of the portfolio (GBP6.2 million) that
benefits from a debenture granted by the SME borrowers themselves.
Fitch analysed the static recovery vintage data and determined an
average recovery rate of close to 35%, expected to be uniformly
distributed over five years after a borrower default. Waterfall
Eden Master Fund, Ltd may also purchase all the defaulted loans at
a price of no less than 36.5% of their par amount on a maximum of
two occasions throughout the transaction.

Granular Portfolio: The collateral portfolio features low single
obligor concentration levels, with the top 10 obligors accounting
for 2.3% of the portfolio balance. However, industry concentration
is more in line with other SME portfolios. The largest three
industries account for 45.0% of the portfolio balance, led by
building and materials (19.8%), followed by industrial and
manufacturing (13.0%) and business services general (12.2%).

Sensitivity to Pro Rata Period: The transaction will feature pro
rata amortisation of the notes at closing until the breach of a
sequential-pay trigger. The pro rata amortisation is based on the
note balance net of the corresponding principal deficiency ledger
but also includes the subordinated notes. Pro rata structures
generally leak proceeds to subordinated notes and therefore are at
a higher risk than sequential amortisation. Their ratings are more
sensitive to the back-loaded default timing assumption as it
determines the timing of the continued leakage of principal to
subordinated notes.

Fitch applied some defaults during the first year of the
transaction's life under its back-loaded default timing assumption.
This is consistent with the historical performance default data
provided by FC for its loan book and previous securitisations. This
approach is in line with Fitch's criteria for portfolios of
consumer loans with similar granularity and tenor.

Model-Implied Rating Deviation: The class B notes are rated one
notch above their model-implied rating. This deviation is due to
the immaterial shortfall on the breakeven default rate below the
'BBB' hurdle default rate. This shortfall occurred on only one of
the 18 cash-flow modelling scenarios run.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Weakening asset performance is strongly correlated to increasing
levels of delinquencies and defaults that could reduce credit
enhancement available to the notes. Additionally, unanticipated
declines in recoveries could also result in lower net proceeds,
which may make certain notes susceptible to negative rating action,
depending on the extent of the decline in those recoveries.

An increase of the rating default rate (RDR) by 25% of the mean
default rate and a 25% decrease of the rating recovery rate (RRR)
at all rating levels would lead to downgrades of up to three
notches for the notes.

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

After the end of the pro-rata period, upgrades may occur on
better-than-initially expected asset performance, leading to higher
credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover losses in
the remaining portfolio.

A reduction of the RDR by 25% of the mean default rate and a 25%
increase of the RRR at all rating levels would lead to upgrades of
up to two notches for the notes.

CRITERIA VARIATION

Fitch perceives higher performance volatility in FC's historical
loan book data compared with the broader SME lending market. For
this reason, Fitch calibrated its correlation assumption to ensure
the default rate for the overall portfolio at 'AAsf' covers the
32.7% peak of delinquencies in FC's loan book during the Covid-19
stress. This criteria variation has no impact on the notes'
ratings.

USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Small Business Origination Loan Trust 2026-1 DAC

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

Fitch reviewed the results of a third party assessment conducted on
the asset portfolio information, and concluded that there were no
findings that affected the rating analysis.

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.

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.

[] S&P Places 119 Credit Ratings From 34 U.K. RMBS on CreditWatch
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings placed 119 credit ratings from 34 U.K. RMBS
transactions on CreditWatch. Of these ratings, 74 were placed on
CreditWatch positive, and 45 on CreditWatch negative.

On April 24, 2026, S&P updated its sector and industry variables
for the U.K. under its global RMBS criteria. The changes included:

-- Revised the industry risk score to low risk from intermediate
risk, which was driven by a revision of the institutional framework
score to low risk from intermediate risk in our BICRA;

-- Lowered the anchor default probabilities for the archetypal
pool at all rating levels;

-- Recalibrated the loan-to-value curve and change of neutral
point;

-- Introduced a debt to income-based assessment of borrower
affordability;

-- In calculating loss severity, updated repossession costs,
increased loan-level loss severity floors, and changed the range
for valuation haircuts for non-full valuations;

-- Updated the reinvestment rate stresses for cash flow analysis;
and

-- Curtailed the seasoning adjustment for certain loan types.

S&P said, "The CreditWatch positive placements reflect our view of
an expected decrease in credit coverage, primarily due to updates
to our loan purpose and payment shock, base foreclosure frequency,
and our loan-to-value adjustments, to a level that would affect the
current ratings. The CreditWatch negative placements reflect our
view of an expected increase in credit coverage, primarily due to
the curtailment of seasoning credit, and higher loss severity
floors, to a level that may affect the current ratings.

"We intend to resolve these CreditWatch placements within 90 days,
following a committee review."

A list of Affected Ratings can be viewed at:

             https://tinyurl.com/zrpu7ps7


                           *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

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