Neustar on CreditWatch for LNPA Uncertainty
Neustar remained on a “negative CreditWatch listing,” Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said in a news release Monday. The listing “reflects ongoing uncertainty regarding whether Neustar will retain the [Local Number Portability Administrator] contract,” said Allyn Arden, an S&P credit…
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analyst. Neustar was originally placed on CreditWatch on June 12, after the North American Numbering Council recommended the LNPA contract be awarded to Telcordia. “While the ultimate outcome has yet to be determined, we believe there is a significantly greater risk that Neustar could lose the contract, which would have a material impact on the company's financial risk profile,” S&P said. Neustar derives “roughly half of its business” from the contract, S&P noted. Companies are placed on CreditWatch if "events or circumstances occur that may affect a credit rating in the near term, usually within 90 days," an S&P spokeswoman said. CTIA and telecom associations and companies are pushing the FCC to award Telcordia the contract by the end of the year (see 1411240055). The LNP Alliance, made up of small and medium providers, urged the commission Nov. 21, in comments posted in docket 09-109 on Monday, to extend Neustar’s contract by two years and reopen the bidding process. Small providers were excluded from the selection process, the alliance said.