Shares in Noble Group rose 4.5 per cent after the commodity trading company sold the remaining stake in an agricultural business for $750m — but the deal drew a cool response from a leading rating agency.
According to the Hong-Kong based company, selling its 49 per cent stake in Noble Agri to Cofco, China’s state-backed grain business, would place its “financial metrics . . . [in] excess of those required for an investment grade credit”.
However, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s took a different view. While the disposal will reduce debt and eliminate about $670m of liabilities, S&P said Noble’s liquidity headroom — the difference between its cash resources and the debt it must refinance over the next year — was still weak for a company with an investment grade credit rating.