S&P Places Ratings of Outerwall (OUTR) on Review for Downgrade

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its ratings on the Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR), including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating, on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The CreditWatch listing follows the announcement that Outerwall's board has approved doubling its dividends and has initiated a process to explore strategic and financial alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

"We believe the company could adopt more aggressive financial policies, which may include a sale of the company in whole or in parts, cash returns to shareholders, or a takeover by a financial sponsor, and that this process could lead to a weakening in its credit measures," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Suyun Qu. "We note," she added, "that the process is only in its initial phase, and that it may not lead to any changes in Outerwall's operating or financing structure."

Standard & Poor's will monitor developments related to the review and resolve the CreditWatch listing when information regarding a likely outcome of the review becomes available.

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