Moody's lifts Bon-Ton

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.'s corporate family and probability of default ratings to B3 from Caa1, and the senior global notes due March 2014 to Caa1 from Caa2.

Bon-Ton's speculative-grade liquidity rating was affirmed at SGL-2, the agency said.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade of the corporate family rating primarily reflects improvement in Bon-Ton's credit metrics, and Moody's expectations that these improvements will be sustained over the near to intermediate term, the agency said.

The company's earnings have materially improved with EBITDA rising by nearly 33% in 2009 due to better inventory management, which fueled gross margin expansion, as well as reductions in operating expenses, the agency added.

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