Jules Kroll says he aims to beef up his debt-ratings venture through acquisitions, part of his bid to take on major rating firms like Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Julius Kroll, CEO of Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc., said: “It will take too long” to expand. The strategy is to be a full-service rating agency and ultimately to be a global rating agency,” Mr. Kroll said the firm is primarily interested in “international” purchases, and plans to start rating European banks and asset-backed deals from the region by late 2013.
Connecticut sold $343 million in GO bonds last week, becoming the first municipal issuer to receive a Kroll bond rating (of AA). State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced that her office sold $555 million of State General Obligation Bonds last week, attracting $1.7 billion in orders from institutional investors. Because demand exceeded the bonds available, the State was able to reduce interest rates in the final pricing, saving $1.35 million over the life of the bonds.
Source: Kroll Bond Ratings
