...March 2, 2023 - Aretec Group's EBITDA has been boosted by increased cash sweep revenue from higher interest rates. We expect that this will continue to improve debt service capacity and lower Aretec's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA leverage. - Aretec's announced acquisition of Securian Financial Group Inc.'s retail wealth management business will be funded by some of the proceeds from the issuance of an additional first-lien term loan of $750 million. Inclusive of this new debt and EBITDA, we expect our adjusted measure of Aretec's debt to EBITDA to be about 4x, down significantly from over 6x in the first quarter of 2022. - As a result, we raised our issuer credit and senior secured debt ratings on Aretec to 'B' from 'B-' and our senior unsecured debt rating to '###+' from '###'. We also assigned a 'B' issue rating to the incremental $750 million first-lien term loan. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Aretec's profitability and debt-to-EBITDA leverage will continue to benefit...
