Fitch Lifts BRMalls to BB

Fitch has upgraded the rating of Brazilian mall developer BRMalls Participacoes to BB from BB minus. The outlook is stable. Fitch says the upgrade reflects the company’s dominant business position as the largest Brazilian shopping center operator with participation in 37 shopping centers, stable and predictable cash flow generation, Brazil’s positive economic environment, geographical and property revenue base diversification, and low working capital requirements with renters responsible for most maintenance expenses. It also says BRMalls’ Ebitda for the last 12 months ended June 2010 was BRL358m, which positively compares with its Ebitda levels of BRL320m in 2009. The company’s net debt/Ebitda ratio was 2.0x at the end of June 2010. The company’s net leverage was 1.0x at the end of December 2009.