...Fitch Ratings has affirmed Universal Corporation's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at `BBB¡'. Fitch also affirms Universal's revolving credit facility and term loans at `BBB¡'. The A-1 and A-2 term loans were recently upsized by $75 million each to $225 million and $295 million, respectively, to repay revolver borrowings following the closing of the Silva International transaction that the company acquired in October 2020. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Universal's rating recognizes its leading global position as a supplier of compliant leaf tobacco products providing a wide range of value-added services to farmers and manufacturers, offset by secular volume declines in global tobacco consumption and operational volatilities inherent in an agriculture-based business. Fitch expects that the recent diversification into plant-based ingredients should help offset the long-term secular pressures, with EBITDA after associates and minorities beginning fiscal 2022 (ending March 2022) to be...
