S&P lifts Berry Plastics

Standard & Poor’s said it raised the corporate credit rating on Berry Plastics Group Inc. to BB- from B+, along with the ratings on the company’s first-lien term loan to BB and B+ and second-lien secured notes to BB- and B.

The outlook is positive.

The positive outlook reflects a one-in-three chance for a future upgrade over the next 12 months, S&P said.

The possibility of an upgrade anticipates that solid demand for Berry’s rigid, flexible and non-woven packaging products, timely integration of the Avintiv unit and aggressive debt reduction will result in improved credit measures over the next 12 months, the agency said.

The company may continue to execute small bolt-on acquisitions as a part of its growth strategy, but the forecast does not contemplate any additional large debt-funded transactions that would meaningfully weaken its financial risk profile, S&P said.

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