NEW YORK—Standard & Poor’s Corp. lowered the speculative-grade ratings of American Cellular Corp. to CCC-plus from B because the company’s annual report indicated it is likely to exceed the debt leverage limits required by its bank loan covenants.
“According to management and the auditors, if this issue is not resolved with the banks, it raises the issue of the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” said Rosemarie Kalinowski, telecommunications analyst for S&P.
American Cellular, a joint venture between Dobson Communications Corp. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc., had about $1.8 billion in debt outstanding as of Dec.31. The debt rating agency said it does not expect American Cellular to receive “any material support from its parents.”
