Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC Downgraded To 'CCC' On Refinancing Risks; Outlook Negative

U.S. beer marketer Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC's (Blue Ribbon) recently extended the maturity date of its $36 million revolving credit facility (revolver) by about 4 months to September 2020. Still, we believe the company faces headwinds to refinance its capital structure (consisting of its revolver and a $495 million first lien term loan maturing in November 2021) over the next year unless it receives external financing or significantly improves EBITDA and cash flow. In addition, we believe there is significant risk the company could breach its covenants over the next few quarters if operating performance weakens which could further hamper its refinancing prospects, particularly if lenders are not amenable to an amendment or if its owners are not willing

...March 18, 2020 - U.S. beer marketer Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC's (Blue Ribbon) recently extended the maturity date of its $36 million revolving credit facility (revolver) by about 4 months to September 2020. - Still, we believe the company faces headwinds to refinance its capital structure (consisting of its revolver and a $495 million first lien term loan maturing in November 2021) over the next year unless it receives external financing or significantly improves EBITDA and cash flow. - In addition, we believe there is significant risk the company could breach its covenants over the next few quarters if operating performance weakens which could further hamper its refinancing prospects, particularly if lenders are not amenable to an amendment or if its owners are not willing or able to provide an equity cure. - We are lowering our issuer credit rating on Blue Ribbon and our issue-level rating on its first-lien credit facilities to '###' from 'B-' with an unchanged recovery rating...

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