Fitch Places Vale's Ratings on Rating Watch Negative

CHICAGO & RIO DE JANEIRO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings has placed Vale S.A.'s (Vale) credit ratings on Rating Watch Negative. A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this release.

The Negative Watch reflects Fitch's view of an increased likelihood that Vale will support Samarco Mineracao S.A. (Samarco, 'BB-/Rating Watch Evolving), directly or indirectly, following the tailings dam accident in Minas Gerais, Brazil on Nov. 5, 2015. Samarco is a stand-alone legal entity. However, there is a high level of uncertainty surrounding the various implications for Vale's credit profile related to possibly supporting its joint-venture with BHP Billiton Plc/Ltd [BHPB, Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) 'A+'/Negative Outlook] if required.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fitch's ratings for Samarco factor in support from its 50/50 shareholders, Vale and BHPB. Forms of financial support historically have included the lowering of dividend payments by the company during times of heavy investment or decreased pellet demand. Reputational risk is considered by Fitch to be very high for Vale due to its position as Brazil's largest mining company, as well as its shareholder composition, which includes some of Brazil's largest pension funds.

Fitch also considers the high economic value of Samarco to be a major incentive in possible future financial support from its shareholders. Samarco's operating assets remain operational and unaffected by the tailings dam accident, including the company's Alegria-Germano mine complex, the unaffected Germano tailings dam, waste-pile, three slurry pipelines, beneficiation plant, pumping station, port, and four pellet plants, among others.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch continues to assume that Vale, BHPB or both, may provide sufficient support to ensure Samarco returns to production.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

At this stage, the potential total of fines and clean-up costs in relation to Samarco's tailings dam accident are difficult to quantify.

LIQUIDITY

Vale held readily available cash and marketable securities of approximately USD4.5 billion as of Jun. 30, 2015 compared to short-term debt of USD3 billion, providing robust cash to short-term coverage of 1.5x. Liquidity is further enhanced by Vale's undrawn $5 billion revolving credit facilities; $2.2 billion undrawn lines of credit with maturities of eight to 10 years; and strong capital markets access.

FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS

Fitch places the following ratings on Rating Watch Negative:

Vale S.A.

--Foreign currency IDR 'BBB+';

--Local currency IDR 'BBB+';

--National scale LT rating 'AAA (bra)';

--Senior unsecured debt issuance 'BBB+';

--National scale unsecured debt rating 'AAA (bra)'.

Vale Overseas Limited:

--Senior unsecured debt guaranteed by Vale 'BBB+'.

Vale Canada Limited:

--Senior unsecured debt guaranteed by Vale 'BBB+'.

Date of Relevant Rating Committee: Nov. 30, 2015.

Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com.

Applicable Criteria

Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage (pub. 17 Aug 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=869362

Additional Disclosures

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=995682

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151201006252/en/

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Jay Djemal
Director
+1-312-368-3134
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
70 West Madison Street
Chicago, IL, 60602
or
Secondary Analyst
Debora Jalles
Director
+1-312-606-2338
or
Committee Chairperson
Daniel R Kastholm, CFA
Managing Director
+1-312-368-2070
or
Media Relations
Alyssa Castelli, +1-212-908-0540
[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

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