S&P downgrades Edgen Group

Standard & Poor’s said it lowered the corporate credit rating on Edgen Group Inc. to B+ from BB-.

The agency also said it lowered the rating on the company’s 8¾% senior secured notes to B+ from BB-. The recovery rating remains at 3, indicating 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

The outlook is negative.

The downgrades reflect an expectation that Edgen Group will maintain credit measures that are consistent with that of a highly leveraged financial risk profile with debt-to-EBITDA sustained at more than 5x for at least the next 12 months, S&P said.

While the market may improve in 2016 based on higher oil prices, the agency said it expects weakness for the rest of 2015, which will continue to pressure Edgen and its respective end markets.

S&P downgrades Family Dollar

Standard & Poor’s said it lowered the corporate credit rating on Family Dollar Stores Inc. to BB with a stable outlook before withdrawing the rating after the closing of its acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc.

The agency also said it lowered the rating on Family Dollar’s $300 million notes to BB+ and assigned a 2 recovery rating on the notes, indicating 70% to 90% expected default recovery.

These notes are now secured equally and ratably with Dollar Tree’s new senior secured credit facility, which is in place to help fund the acquisition, the agency said.

The downgrade follows Family Dollar becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of

Dollar Tree, along with an expectation that Dollar Tree will improve the profitability of the acquired Family Dollar store-base through enhanced private-label merchandise and more imported goods, S&P said.

Though the acquisition is expected to lead to lower EBITDA margins initially given Family Dollar’s less-productive store base, S&P said it believes Dollar Tree will reduce debt and potentially return to an investment-grade credit profile over the next three- to five-years.

S&P lifts Tyson view to stable

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the BBB corporate credit rating on Tyson Foods Inc. and its subsidiaries and revised the outlook to stable from negative.

The agency also said it affirmed all of the issue-level ratings on the company’s debt, except for the issue-level ratings on its senior unsecured bonds due in 2018 and 2028.

S&P said it is placing the BBB- ratings on the company’s senior unsecured bonds due in 2018 and 2028 on CreditWatch with positive implications.

The outlook revision reflects a belief that the risk of Tyson not improving its cash flow ratios to levels that support the current ratings has abated following the June 2015 sale of its Mexican chicken business to JBS SA for $400 million and the subsequent early redemption of its $400 million 2015 bond maturity, the agency said.

Along with the sale to JBS, Tyson also acquired Hillshire Brands Inc. in August 2014, S&P said.

The stable outlook also considers the post-acquisition synergy targets, which were revised to more than $250 million in 2015, increasing to $600 million in 2017, S&P said.

The acquisition of Hillshire also offers a stronger prepared-foods platform from which the company can grow, the agency added.

The complementary businesses will allow for procurement savings, raw material optimization and manufacturing efficiencies, Fitch said.

S&P lifts Genesis notes, rates new notes B+

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the BB- rating on Genesis Energy LP.

The agency also said it revised the recovery rating on its unsecured notes to 5 from 6 and raised the rating on the notes to B+ from B.

S&P also said it assigned a B+ rating and 5 recovery rating to the partnership’s proposed $750 million senior unsecured notes due 2022.

The stable outlook reflects a view that U.S. midstream energy partnership, Genesis Energy LP will maintain adequate liquidity and financial leverage, pro forma for completed growth projects, between 4.5x and 5.0x, the agency said.

Moody’s gives B1 to Genesis Energy notes

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B1 rating to Genesis Energy LP's proposed $750 million senior notes.

Proceeds will be used in conjunction with about $450 million in proceeds from a simultaneous equity offering and drawings under its revolving credit facility to fund Genesis' $1.5 billion acquisition of Gulf of Mexico crude oil and natural gas gathering assets from Enterprise Products Operating, LLC (Baa1 stable).

Moody's affirmed all of Genesis' existing ratings, including its Ba3 corporate family rating.

The outlook is stable.

"The acquisition of the Enterprise Offshore Business will greatly enhance Genesis's scale and is a positive for the company's business profile," Moody's vice president James Wilkins said in a news release. "However, the company's leverage will likely remain high until the second half 2016."

Moody’s raises JetBlue, EETCs

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the debt ratings of JetBlue Airways, Corp., including the corporate family rating to Ba3, probability of default rating to Ba3-PD and the G1 and G2 tranches of its series 2004-2 enhanced equipment trust certificates to Baa3 from Ba2.

The speculative grade liquidity assessment was affirmed at SGL-2.

The outlook is stable. This action concludes the review for upgrade initiated on June 16 following the implementation of Moody's change to its approach for standard adjustments for operating leases.

"The upgrade to Ba3 reflects Moody's view that industry fundamentals will remain favorable through at least 2016, allowing JetBlue to maintain competitive, if not leading, traffic and unit revenue performance as it grows its capacity by more than 6% annually," Moody’s senior credit officer Jonathan Root said in a news release.

Moody’s raises Milacron, loan, notes

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded Milacron Holdings Corp.'s corporate family rating to B2 from B3 and probability of default rating to B2-PD from B3-PD based on the anticipation that a significant amount of proceeds from the company's recent initial public offering will be used for secured debt reduction.

The agency also upgraded Milacron LLC's senior secured term loan to Ba3 from B2 as well as the senior unsecured notes to Caa1 from Caa2.

The two-notch upgrade of the term loan reflects a combination of the corporate family rating upgrade and the reduction in the mix of secured debt relative to loss-absorbing unsecured debt.

At the same time, a speculative grade liquidity rating of SGL-3 was assigned.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said the upgrade reflects the expected meaningful decrease in debt to EBITDA and cash interest expense as a result of the anticipated debt pay down, and the agency expectation that leverage will remain below 6 times over the next 12-18 months.

Milacron's June 2015 IPO netted about $263 million in total proceeds.

S&P: WNA on positive watch

Standard & Poor’s said it placed WNA Holdings Inc.’s B corporate credit rating on CreditWatch with positive implications.

The CreditWatch placement reflects the likelihood that Jarden Corp. will acquire the Waddington Group Inc., the parent holding company of WNA Holdings for $1.35 billion, S&P said.

Jarden will fund the acquisition through a combination of cash, debt and equity, the agency said.

The CreditWatch placement will be resolved when the transaction closes, S&P said.

The ratings will likely be aligned with the ratings on Jarden, the agency said.

S&P rates Consolidated Aerospace loan BB-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a B+ corporate credit rating on Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing LLC.

The agency also said it assigned a BB- rating and 2 recovery rating on the company’s proposed senior secured credit facility, which is comprised of a $240 million term loan and a $25 million revolver. The 2 recovery rating indicates 70% to 90% expected default recovery.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the company’s relatively high debt levels following the several acquisitions it completed since it was formed in December 2012 as a portfolio company of private-equity firm Tinicum Inc., S&P said.

Consolidated Aerospace plans to issue $240 million of new debt to take advantage of lower interest rates and repay its $240 million of existing debt, which will not have a material impact on the company’s credit profile as its debt-to-EBITDA metric will remain slightly more than 4x on a pro-forma basis, the agency said.

The agency said it believes the company’s leverage will fluctuate depending on the timing and size of its future acquisitions, but its debt-to-EBITDA metric is not expected to increase to more than 5x.

Fitch rates Constellation new loans BBB-

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the issuer default rating for Constellation Brands Inc. and for CIH International Sarl at BB+.

Fitch also said it assigned a BBB- rating to Constellation’s new $1.15 billion senior secured revolver at with recovery rating of RR2, along with a BBB- rating to its $1.27 billion senior secured term loan A with recovery rating of RR2 and a BBB- rating to its $241.9 million senior secured term loan A-1 with recovery rating of RR2.

The agency also assigned a BBB- rating to CIH International Sarl’s $1.43 billion European term loan A with recovery rating of RR1.

Fitch also said it withdrew all of the ratings assigned to Constellation’s previous credit facility and term loans.

The outlook is stable.

Constellation has amended its credit facilities to increase the size of the revolver by $300 million to $1.15 billion and U.S. term loan A by $200 million to $1.27 billion, replacing the current U.S. term A and U.S. term A-2, Fitch said.

In addition, the company will be consolidating their European term A and term B into a new $1.43 billion European term A, the agency said.

The amendment also extends the maturities of the term loans to 2020 for the revolver, U.S. term A and European term A, Fitch said, and to 2021 for the U.S. term A-1.

The amended agreement has substantially similar negative covenants with certain modifications, including an increase in the dividend restricted-payment carve-out to $100 million per quarter, the agency said.

Moody’s gives Horizon/Verallia CFR B1; rates notes, loans

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B1 corporate family rating and B1-PD probability of default rating to Horizon Holdings I SAS, the top entity of the restricted group of glass bottle producer Verallia SA.

Concurrently, the agency assigned a provisional B1 (LGD 3) rating to the group's €560 million equivalent senior secured notes, the €1,002,000,000 senior secured term loan B and the €200 million revolving credit facility, which will be issued by Horizon Holdings III SAS, a majority owned indirect subsidiary of Horizon Holdings I, as well as a provisional B3 (LGD 6) rating to the €300 million senior unsecured notes, issued by Horizon Holdings I.

The outlook on all ratings is stable.

The ratings are contingent upon Apollo's success in closing its proposed acquisition of Verallia, the glass packaging division of Saint-Gobain. Proceeds from the debt facilities, together with the sponsor equity will be used to effect a buyout of the company from Saint-Gobain. The funds will be used to finance the acquisition, repay nearly all debt at Verallia and cover fees and expenses relating to the transaction.

S&P: Horizon loan, notes B+, unsecured notes B-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned preliminary B+ long-term corporate credit ratings to Horizon Holdings I (Verallia) and its finance subsidiary, Horizon Holdings III SA.

The Horizon Holdings I is the financial holding company for Verallia.

The outlook is stable.

Private equity fund Apollo entered into an agreement to acquire Verallia from Compagnie de Saint-Gobain for about €2.8 billion, S&P said.

The agency also said it assigned a preliminary B+ rating to Verallia’s proposed €560 million equivalent senior secured notes and €1.002 billion senior secured term loan issued by Horizon Holdings III.

The preliminary recovery rating on these facilities is 3, indicating 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

S&P also said it assigned a preliminary B- rating to the proposed €300 million senior unsecured notes issued by Horizon Holdings I. The preliminary recovery rating on these subordinated notes is 6, indicating 0 to 10% expected default recovery.

The preliminary ratings reflect Verallia’s fair business risk profile and highly leveraged financial risk profile, the agency said.

Verallia has leading market positions in its core European markets and longstanding relationships with a broad and diversified customer base, S&P said.

The company’s industry fundamentals are solid, supported by a significant exposure to relatively stable food and beverage consumption and increasing demand for recyclable and premium packaging, the agency said.

These strengths are partly offset by Verallia’s relatively undiversified product focus on glass packaging, some margin pressure due to recent operational issues and high geographic concentration in Europe, S&P said.

Moody’s rates Invenergy loans B1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a rating of B1 to Invenergy Thermal Operating I LLC's proposed $537 million seven-year senior secured term loan and its $70 million five-year senior secured revolving credit facility.

Proceeds from the term loan, along with $100 million of equity funds, will be used to recapitalize Invenergy Clean Power LLC's interests in a portfolio of six gas fired generating facilities (net capacity of 2,029 MW) and will repay about $225 million of project level debt outstanding as well as roughly $380 million in corporate debt. Pro-forma for the transaction, remaining project level debt will be about $440 million.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said the B1 rating reflects the geographic and cash flow diversity of Invenergy's portfolio of assets, many of which benefit from long term power sales arrangements. Although these contracts provide stability for a portion of Invenergy's cash flow, the rating recognizes Invenergy's meaningful dependence on the more volatile cash flows that are expected to come from the sale of merchant capacity and energy.

In addition, the rating considers the significant leverage that is being employed at the project, and the structurally subordinate position of the Invenergy lenders for four of the six projects, the agency said. It also reflects the solid performance of the operating projects, limited construction risk, and a good liquidity position.

S&P rates Linxens loans B, CCC+

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a preliminary B long-term corporate credit rating on Financiere Lully C SAS (Linxens).

The agency also said it assigned a preliminary B rating to the proposed €680 million-equivalent first-lien term loans due 2022 and €100 million revolving credit facility due 2022 issued by a financing subsidiary.

S&P also said it assigned a preliminary recovery rating of 3 to both the first-lien loans and the revolver, indicating 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

The agency also said it assigned a preliminary CCC+ rating to the proposed €230 million-equivalent second-lien term loan due 2023 and issued by a financing subsidiary. A preliminary recovery rating of 6 also was assigned to this loan, indicating 0 to 10% expected default recovery.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the company’s fair business risk profile and highly leveraged financial risk profile, S&P said.

The ratings are constrained by the company’s small size, particularly compared with its main customers, lack of meaningful product diversification, very high customer concentration and its exposure to medium- to long-term technology shifts, the agency said.

Fitch rates Penske notes BBB+

Fitch Ratings said it expects to assign a rating of BBB+ to the five-year $500 million senior unsecured debt co-issued by Penske Truck Leasing Co., LP and PTL Finance Corp.

The expected unsecured debt rating reflects the fact that the debt is expected to rank pari passu with all other senior unsecured debt issued by Penske and PTL Finance, Fitch said.

The equalization of the expected rating with Penske’s issuer default rating reflects the predominantly unsecured funding profile and unencumbered asset coverage available to senior unsecured creditors, the agency said.

Fitch said it does not believe there will be a material impact on the company’s leverage as a result of the issuance, as proceeds will be used to pay-down existing debt under its corporate revolver and ABS facility.

The ratings reflect the company’s established market position in the truck leasing business, growing market share in the logistics business, operating consistency and strong liquidity and funding profile, the agency said.

Rating constraints include cyclicality inherent in used-vehicle pricing and the commercial rental business, customer concentration in the logistics segment and potential regulatory impacts on business trends, Fitch added.

S&P rates Penske notes BBB-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a BBB- rating to Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP’s and PTL Finance Corp.’s senior unsecured notes.

The proceeds will be used to repay outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes, S&P said.

The ratings reflect the company’s strong market positions in full-service truck leasing and commercial truck rentals, the agency said.

The company’s revenues are generated primarily through long-term leases that produce relatively strong and stable cash flow, even in periods of economic weakness, S&P said.

The ratings also consider Penske’s substantial debt usage, the agency added.

Moody’s rates Penske Truck notes Baa3

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa3 rating to Penske Truck Leasing Co., LP's $500 million issuance of senior unsecured notes due 2020.

The outlook is stable.

Proceeds are expected to be used to repay outstanding borrowings under the company's revolving credit and ABS facilities.

Moody’s said the Baa3 rating reflects Penske Truck’s well-established position in full-service truck leasing, truck rentals and contract maintenance services for third-party fleets. Free cash flow tends to be counter-cyclical because the company curtails fleet investments during economic downturns while it increases fleet spending during recoveries and expansion. The counter-cyclical nature of free cash flow during downturns offsets the relatively high debt to EBITDA for the investment-grade rating category, the agency said.

Moody’s rates Vistage CFR, loans B2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned credit ratings to Vistage Worldwide, Inc., including a corporate family rating of B2, a probability of default rating of B3-PD and a B2 rating on the proposed first-lien revolving credit and term loan facilities.

The outlook is stable.

Proceeds from the new $150 million term loan, plus cash on hand, will be used to repay existing debt, fund a distribution to Vistage's owners, and cover related fees.

Moody’s said the B2 corporate family rating reflects Vistage's very small scale and narrow but market-leading product line in the field of corporate advisory services to small and medium enterprises, as well as shareholder-friendly financial policies.

Those factors are counterbalanced by Vistage's high proportion of recurring, subscription-based revenues, good sales growth and profitability, and moderate leverage – about 4.8 times (including Moody's standard adjustments) at closing – for its ratings category.

S&P rates Vistage loan B

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a B corporate credit rating to Vistage Worldwide Inc.

The outlook is stable.

The agency also said it assigned a B rating and 3 recovery rating to the company’s $170 million senior secured first-lien credit facility, which consists of a $15 million revolving credit facility due 2020 and a $155 million senior secured term loan due 2021.

The 3 recovery rating indicates 50% to 70% expected default recovery.

The ratings reflect an expectation that the company will experience healthy revenue and EBITDA growth by further penetrating both domestic and international markets while maintaining adequate liquidity and debt leverage at less than 5.5x, S&P said.

Vistage’s business risk profile is considered weak, reflecting the company’s niche market focus and limited geographic diversification, the agency said.

The company’s good market position with long operating history and steady revenue growth only partially offsets these risks, S&P said.

Moody’s might drop Anixter

Moody's Investors Service said it placed Anixter Inc. ratings under review for downgrade, including its Ba2 corporate family rating, Ba2-PD probability of default rating and the Ba3 rating assigned to its senior unsecured notes due 2019 and 2021.

The SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating remains unchanged.

The review follows the company's announcement that it will be acquiring HD Supply's Power Solutions division. Power Solutions distributes pole line equipment, lighting, wire and cable (W&C) and MRO products to investor owned utilities, public power utilities, electrical contractors and industrial business end markets.

S&P: C.H.I. loans B+, CCC+

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the B corporate credit rating on C.H.I. Overhead Doors Inc.

The outlook is stable.

The agency also said it assigned a B+ rating to C.H.I.’s proposed $300 million senior secured first-lien term loan and $40 million senior secured revolving credit facility.

S&P also said it also assigned a 2 recovery rating to both facilities, indicating 70% to 90% expected default recovery.

The agency also said it assigned a CCC+ rating to C.H.I.’s proposed $135 million senior secured second-lien credit facility and 6 recovery rating, indicating 0 to 10% expected default recovery.

KKR is acquiring C.H.I. from Friedman Fleischer & Lowe. The new debt will be used to refinance existing debt and fund a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition, S&P said.

The stable outlook reflects an expectation that C.H.I.’s 2015 operating results will modestly improve over the next 12 months given a view of modest growth in repair and remodeling spending, S&P said.

Moody’s: Consolidated Aerospace CFR, loans B2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B2 corporate family rating and a B3-PD probability of default rating to Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, LLC and B2 ratings to its proposed $25 million senior secured revolving credit facility due 2020 and $240 million senior secured term loan due 2022.

Proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said the B2 corporate family rating reflects the company's small scale, a high degree of customer concentration, and a limited operating history. The rating recognizes Consolidated Aerospace small size relative to both its competitors and customers, which the agency believes makes the company particularly vulnerable to pricing pressure in a highly competitive, cyclical industry.

Moody’s drops Offshore Group, loans, notes to Caa3

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Offshore Group Investment Ltd.’s corporate family rating, senior secured term loans and senior secured notes each to Caa3 from B3 and the probability of default rating to Caa3-PD from Caa1-PD.

In addition, the speculative grade liquidity rating was downgraded to SGL-4 from SGL-2 and the outlook was changed to negative from stable.

Offshore Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vantage Drilling Corp.

"The downgrade was driven by deteriorating credit metrics due to weak contract coverage beyond 2015, exacerbated by the unfavorable supply-demand dynamics of the offshore rig market," Moody's senior analyst Sreedhar Kona said in a news release.

"The negative outlook reflects the company's unsustainable capital structure and the high likelihood of a distressed exchange or some other form of debt restructuring."

S&P affirms Stericycle on acquisition news

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the A corporate credit rating on Stericycle Inc.

The outlook is stable.

Stericycle entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held SIT, a global secure information destruction services provider, for about $2.3 billion, the agency said.

After the transaction’s close, S&P said it expects Stericycle’s EBITDA to be about $1 billion on a run-rate basis.

The agency said it views the acquisition as a good strategic fit and as complementary to its core business.

After the transaction closes, S&P said it expects to classify Stericycle’s liquidity as strong.

Fitch: Thermo Fisher notes BBB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a BBB rating to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s €500 million senior notes.

The proceeds of the euro denominated issue will be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of upcoming debt maturities, Fitch said.

The outlook is stable.

Thermo Fisher demonstrated solid and consistently paced improvement in credit metrics since the first quarter of 2014 acquisition of Life Technologies Corp., Fitch said.

The transaction added $11.3 billion of debt to the capital structure and resulted in a one-notch downgrade of the ratings.

Fitch said it expects Thermo Fisher to produce free cash flow of $2.4 billion in 2015, which is sufficient to accomplish necessary debt reduction.

It is likely that the company also will deploy capital for bolt-on acquisitions during 2015, the agency said.

As long as this does not derail progress in de-leveraging, it is not likely to result in a downgrade of the ratings, Fitch said.

S&P rates Huntington Ingalls loan BBB

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a BBB rating and 1 recovery rating to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.’s $1.25 billion revolving credit facility due 2020.

The 1 recovery rating indicates 90% to 100% expected default recovery.

The agency also said it affirmed the BB+ rating on the company’s unsecured notes. The 4 recovery rating on the unsecured notes remains unchanged, reflecting 30% to 50% expected default recovery.

The new revolver replaces the company’s previous $650 million revolver and the company used cash on hand to pay off the $345 million of outstanding debt remaining on its term loan, S&P said.

The proposed transaction is not expected to significantly alter the company’s credit metrics, so its corporate credit rating and outlook are unchanged, the agency said.

The ratings reflect Huntington Ingalls’s position as one of only two builders of large ships for the U.S. Navy and its large backlog, which should provide the company with steady demand for the next few years, S&P said.

But, the company has limited product and customer diversity and is exposed to possible long-term budget pressures, the agency said.

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