Amended: Fitch to Rate Crown Castle Towers LLC Series 2015-1 & Series 2015-2; Updated Structure
The total trust leverage and updated capital structure is consistent with the expected ratings assigned. Therefore, Fitch's expected ratings and Rating Outlooks remain unchanged as follows:
--\$300,000,000 class 2015-1 'Asf'; Outlook Stable;
--\$700,000,000 class 2015-2 'Asf'; Outlook Stable.
The expected ratings are based on information provided by the issuer as of April, 22 2015. The 2015-1 and 2015-2 classes are pari passu with the outstanding series 2010-2C, 2010-3C, 2010-5C and 2010-6C notes.
The transaction is an issuance of notes backed by the issuers' equity interest in the entities that own, lease, sublease and operate 11,000 wireless communication sites. The Crown Castle senior secured tower revenue notes, series 2015-1 and 2015-2, will be issued pursuant to indenture supplements as additional debt securities and consist of two new series of notes under the original indenture dated June 1, 2005.
The ratings reflect a structured finance analysis of cash flows from the ownership interest in cellular sites, not an assessment of the corporate default risk of the ultimate parent or guarantor.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
Trust Leverage: Fitch's net cash flow (NCF) is \$653.8 million, approximately 3.5% below the issuer's NCF, implying a Fitch stressed debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 1.81x. The debt multiple relative to Fitch's NCF is 6.0x, which equates to a debt yield of 16.8%.
Leases to Strong Tower Tenants: There are 30,471 wireless tenant leases. Telephony tenants (wireless, voice and data) represent 96.3% of the leases on the cellular sites, and 57.8% of the annualized run rate revenue (ARRR) is from investment-grade tenants. The tenant leases have weighted average annual escalators of approximately 3%-4% and a weighted average final remaining term (including renewals) of 27.2 years. The largest tenant, AT&T (31.5% of ARRR), is rated investment grade by Fitch (long-term Issuer Default Rating [IDR] of 'A-'/Stable Outlook).
Security Interest: The notes are secured by a first-priority security interest in the equity of issuers. The security interests are perfected by both the physical possession of the certificates of the issuers and the filing of the financing statements under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
The security interests in the equity of the issuers provide noteholders with the ability to foreclose on the ownership of the issuers and their assets pledged as collateral in the event of default. The DSCR parameters reflect the collateral of the transaction. The notes are not secured by mortgages on the assets.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Fitch performed several stress scenarios in which Fitch's NCF was stressed. Fitch determined that a 70.4% reduction in Fitch's NCF would cause the notes to break even at 1.0x DSCR on an interest-only basis.
Fitch evaluated the sensitivity of the ratings for classes 2015-1 and 2015-2, and a 9% decline in NCF would result in a one-category downgrade, while an 18% decline would result in a downgrade to below investment- grade. The Rating Sensitivity section in the presale report includes a detailed explanation of additional stresses and sensitivities.
Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities are further described in the accompanying presale report. The presale report is available to all investors on Fitch's web site 'www.fitchratings.com'.
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