Ratings on Arcapita withdrawn

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Standard & Poor’s on Monday withdrew its ratings on Arcapita, a Bahrain-based Islamic investment group, six months after the recession-hit institution was downgraded to junk status.

Shortly before the withdrawal of the rating, which was requested by Arcapita, S&P affirmed its negative outlook on the group. This was based on the bank’s high leverage and its pressured liquidity position, the agency said on Monday. “The ratings reflect our opinion of Arcapita’s stand-alone credit profile and do not include any uplift for extraordinary external support.”

Arcapita has been recapitalising its business since January by tapping shareholders and other funds. Earlier this month, the investment group sold Church’s Chicken, a fast-food chain, to Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, a San Francisco-based private equity group, in one of the biggest US exits of the year.