S&P downgrades E.W. Scripps

S&P said it lowered the issuer credit rating on E.W. Scripps Co. to B+ from BB- due to the elevated leverage.

The agency also said it lowered the rating on the company's existing senior secured revolving credit facility and term loan to BB from BB+ and lowered the rating on the company's senior unsecured notes to B+ from BB-.

All of the ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications.

E.W. Scripps has announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of TV stations from Nexstar Media Group for $580 million, S&P said.

This follows the company's pending acquisition of TV stations from Cordillera Communications for $521 million, the agency noted.

S&P said it expects both acquisitions will be funded with incremental debt, causing its adjusted pro forma average trailing-eight-quarter leverage to increase to 6.5x to 7x, well above the low-4x threshold for the BB- rating.

The agency said it will evaluate the combined station portfolio and assess the degree of execution risk associated with integrating multiple acquisitions.

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