In order to manage its liquidity risk, Publicis has substantial cash and cash equivalents amounting to euro 3,413 million and confirmed unused credit lines amounting to euro 2,632 million as of December 31, 2019. The main component of these credit lines is a multi-currency syndicated facility in the amount of euro 2,000 million, renegotiated on June 28, 2019, maturing in 2024. These immediately available or almost immediately available amounts allow the Group to pay its financial debt maturing in less than one year (including non-controlling interests buyout commitments). Group cash management continued to benefit from the introduction of local centralized cash-pooling centers in the Group’s main markets. Since 2006, an international cash pooling structure has been implemented with the goal of pooling all cash for the Group as a whole. Two financial companies established in Dublin since 2014 have been added to the Group to manage financial transactions and the short-term investing of subsidiaries’ liquidity. In 2017, one of these two companies, MMS Multi Euro Services DAC, became the lynchpin of the centralization of international cash pooling for the entire Group. The other company, MMS Ireland DAC, whose functional currency is the dollar, became the lynchpin of the centralization of cash pooling for most of the Group’s US entities.
The Group’s cash resources are, for the most part, centralized in Ireland. Cash resources not centralized in Ireland are, for the most part, held by subsidiaries in countries where funds can be freely transferred and centralized. On April 16, 2019, S&P gave a rating of BBB+, stable outlook, given the negative implications of the Epsilon acquisition announcement. On October 16, 2019, S&P downgraded Publicis’ rating from BBB+ to BBB with a stable outlook. On April 17, 2019, Moody’s confirmed the Baa2 rating but changed the outlook from neutral to negative. See also Notes 22 and 28 to the consolidated financial statements (Section 6.6 “Notes to the consolidated financial statements”).
As of December 31, 2019, and the date of the closing of accounts, there were no rating triggers or financial covenants for short-term bank credit lines, syndicated loans, confirmed medium-term bilateral bank credit lines or bond debt likely to restrict the Group’s liquidity. There are no legal or economic restrictions likely to limit or significantly restrict any transfers of funds to the parent company in the near future.
Given its cash position and its confirmed unused credit lines amounting to euro 6,045 million at December 31, 2019, the Group has the necessary liquidity to meet its operating requirements and investment plan over the next 12 months. Please note that, as a preventive measure, in light of the COVID-19-related health crisis, on March 20, 2020, Publicis Groupe SA drew 2,200 million dollars on its syndicated credit line, using the entire credit facility signed on June 28, 2019 with a pool of international banks.
