S&P Raises Sotheby's Unsecured Debt Rating

NEW YORK, March 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) is pleased to share that S&P Global Ratings raised the Company's unsecured debt rating in a press release issued yesterday.  The recovery rating on Sotheby's $400 million senior unsecured notes was revised to '3' from '5', and the issue-level rating on the senior notes was raised from to 'BB-' from 'B+'. 

"We are pleased that S&P has recognized our strong cash flow and highly liquid balance sheet," said Mike Goss, Sotheby's Chief Financial Officer.  "We are off to a good start in 2018 and recent results bode well for our major Hong Kong auctions, which get underway tomorrow, as well as our important May auctions in New York."

In December 2017, the Company refinanced $300 million of senior notes due in 2022 bearing interest at 5.25% with $400 million in new notes due in 2025 bearing a rate of 4.875%.  As of December 31, 2017, Sotheby's had as much as $325 million in excess capital available and an updated share repurchase authorization of $196 million as of March 1, 2018.    

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) relating to future events and the financial performance of Sotheby's.  Such statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties, resulting in the possibility that the actual events or performances will differ materially from such predictions.  Major factors, which Sotheby's believes could cause the actual results to differ materially from the predicted results in the "forward-looking statements" include, but are not limited to, the overall strength of the global economy and financial markets, political conditions in various countries, competition with other auction houses and art dealers, the amount and quality of property available for consignment and the marketability at auction of such property.  Please refer to our most recently filed Form 10-K for a complete list of Risk Factors.

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Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners.  Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

Browse sale catalogues, view original content, stream live auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through Sotheby's apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon Fire

New York| +1 212 606 7176 | Lauren Gioia | Lauren.Gioia@Sothebys.com

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SOURCE Sotheby's