all of our debt service obligations, including those under the notes, or to fund our other important business uses. If we incur additional indebtedness, our debt service obligations could increase significantly, as to which no assurance can be given. In addition, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness, including the notes, at or prior to maturity. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness or obtain additional financing will depend on, among other things, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects, and market conditions at the time and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, and additional borrowings or refinancings are not available to us, we may be unable to meet all of our debt service obligations, including those under the notes. As a result, we would be forced to take other actions to meet those obligations, such as selling properties, raising equity or delaying capital expenditures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we will be able to effect any of these actions on favorable terms, or at all.
The indenture under which the notes will be issued does not restrict the amount of additional unsecured debt that we may incur.
The notes and indenture under which the notes will be issued do not place any limitation on the amount of unsecured debt that may be incurred by us. In the future, depending on liquidity and capital needs, we may enter into commitments for additional debt financing and may make borrowings pursuant to such commitments. There can be no assurance that we will enter into any such debt commitments or make any such borrowings, or that such debt commitments or borrowings will be available to us on terms we find acceptable or at all. Our incurrence of additional debt may have important consequences for you as a holder of the notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the notes, a loss in the trading value of your notes, if any, and a risk that the credit rating of the notes is lowered or withdrawn.
Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks of your investment in the notes, and negative changes in our credit ratings may adversely affect your investments in the notes.
Our credit ratings are an assessment by rating agencies of our ability to pay our debts when due. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of the notes. These credit ratings may not reflect the potential impact of risks relating to structure or marketing of the notes. Agency ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization. Each agency’s rating should be evaluated independently of any other agency’s rating.
As a result of general economic uncertainty and the impact of the COVID-19, on March 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered our rating from BBB to BBB- with a negative outlook, and on April 1, 2020, Fitch Ratings, Inc. lowered our rating from BBB to BBB- with a negative outlook. Also on April 1, 2020, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed our senior unsecured rating at Baa2, and changed the outlook to negative from stable. On March 17, 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised our outlook to stable from negative. Any further actual or anticipated negative changes or downgrades in our credit ratings or ratings outlook or watch, including any announcement that our ratings are under further review for a downgrade, could increase our corporate borrowing costs and affect the market value of the notes. In particular, the interest rate payable on the notes offered hereby is subject to adjustment depending upon the ratings assigned to such notes as described in “Description of the Notes—Interest Rate Adjustment of the Notes Based on Certain Rating Events.”
If an active trading market does not develop for the notes, you may be unable to sell your notes or to sell your notes at a price that you deem sufficient.
The notes are a new issue of securities for which there currently is no established trading market. We do not intend to list the notes on a national securities exchange. While the underwriters of the notes have advised us that
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