American Rock Salt Co. LLC, a leading producer of rock and highway deicing salt in North America, is proposing a $40 million revolving credit facility, $250 million term loan B, and $200 million second-lien notes. We are assigning a preliminary 'B' corporate credit rating to the company. We're also assigning a preliminary 'BB-' issue-level rating and a preliminary '1' recovery rating to the company's proposed term loan and a preliminary 'CCC+' issue-level rating and a preliminary '6' recovery rating to the company's proposed notes. The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that the company's profitability and credit measures will improve in the near term because of improved pricing on the company's largely contracted salt production and better cost management. NEW
