NU Online News Service, May 19, 6:06 p.m. EDT--Fitch Ratings has put Fidelity National Financial, Inc. on a negative ratings watch as a result of its plans to spin off partially its title operations in the third quarter this year.
Fitch also expressed concern about plans for the new title insurance company to borrow $500 million from a new bank facility and pay a special dividend. "The Rating Watch primarily reflects the increased financial leverage at both the title insurance operations and in FNF overall," Fitch said in a prepared statement.
The restructuring announced yesterday follows the recent recapitalization of both FNF and its subsidiary, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS). In addition, 25 percent of FIS was sold to two institutional investors. The debt at FIS is not guaranteed by FNF, and thus is primarily rated on its own strength and weaknesses.
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