Rakuten Group Inc.’s credit rating was downgraded by a notch to A- at Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. which said a recovery in the e-commerce giant’s mobile-phone business will take longer than it had earlier expected.
(Bloomberg) — Rakuten Group Inc.’s credit rating was downgraded by a notch to A- at Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. which said a recovery in the e-commerce giant’s mobile-phone business will take longer than it had earlier expected.
JCR has a negative outlook on the rating, given the continued uncertainty over the improvement of earnings from the mobile business, the Japanese credit assessor said in a statement. S&P Global Ratings cut Rakuten deeper into junk territory late last year because of slow improvement in that unit.
A spokesperson for Rakuten wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Rakuten, founded by billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani and a competitor to Amazon.com Inc. in its home market – has more than $5 billion of notes maturing by the end of 2025. A quarter of the Tokyo-based firm’s dollar, euro and yen bonds have fallen to distressed levels and its shares have plunged almost 17% this year, reflecting increased concerns about its financing.
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