Fitch Withdraws Traviata's Ratings

Published: 2025-05-14 04:56:09 ET STEP

Published on 05/14/2025 at 04:56

Fitch Ratings has withdrawn Traviata B.V.'s (Traviata) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B' with Stable Outlook.

Fitch has also withdrawn the rating of 'B'/RR4 on the senior secured term loan. A full list of rating actions is below.

The IDR has been withdrawn due to the reorganisation of the rated entity following Axel Springer SE's (Axel Springer) own business reorganization. As a result, Traviata became a holding company of The Stepstone Group Holding GmbH (B+/Stable) and Aviv Group GmbH (B+/Stable), hence Fitch does no longer have access to information at Traviata's level. The instrument rating has been withdrawn because the senior secured term loan has been fully redeemed.

Accordingly, Fitch will no longer provide analytical coverage or ratings for the company.

Key Rating Drivers

Axel Springer Reorganization Complete: Effective 29 April 2025, Axel Springer implemented a new corporate structure as announced in September 2024. As a result, KKR, through investment vehicles controlled by investment funds advised and managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. and its affiliates, and CPP Investments have divested their shares in Axel Springer.

Under the new corporate structure, The Stepstone Group, one of the world's leading recruiting platforms, and AVIV, a leading digital real estate classifieds company operating across Europe and Israel, operate now as independent joint venture companies with KKR and CPP Investments as majority owners.

Peer Analysis

Derivation summary is not applicable as the ratings have been withdrawn.

Key Assumptions

Not applicable as the rating has been withdrawn.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Not applicable as the ratings have been withdrawn

Liquidity and Debt Structure

Not applicable as the rating has been withdrawn.

Issuer Profile

Traviata is the investment holding company used by KKR to fund its ownership stake in Axel Springer in 2019.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS AND SECTOR FORECASTS

Click here to access Fitch's latest quarterly Global Corporates Macro and Sector Forecasts data file which aggregates key data points used in our credit analysis. Fitch's macroeconomic forecasts, commodity price assumptions, default rate forecasts, sector key performance indicators and sector-level forecasts are among the data items included.

ESG Considerations

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. Following the rating withdrawal Fitch will no longer provide ESG scores for the company. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.