S&P rates Albertsons loan BB

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a preliminary B+ corporate credit rating to Albertsons Cos. LLC, which will become the new parent of Albertson’s LLC, Safeway Inc. and New Albertson’s Inc.

The outlook is positive.

The agency also said it assigned preliminary BB rating and preliminary 1 recovery ratings to the incremental $1.145 billion tranche B-5 term loan.

The ratings on New Albertson’s and Albertson’s Holdings, along with their debt, remain on CreditWatch positive because of performance progress, revised recovery assumptions and changes in capital structure, S&P said.

The ratings reflect the substantial amount of leverage from the 2014 Safeway purchase, the agency said, but also its strong market position as a combined entity and significant potential for cost synergies.

S&P said it believes an initial public offering and possibly further refinancing are still possibilities over the next year, but the timing and likelihood remain unclear.

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