Bulletin: WKI Holding Co. Is Being Acquired By GP Investments Acquisition Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO (Standard&Poor's) April 19, 2016--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Rosemont, Ill.-based WKI Holding Co. Inc. (B/Stable/--) are unaffected following the company's announcement that it is being acquired by GP Investments Acquisition Corp. The enterprise value is roughly $566 million. We understand that the acquisition will be funded with equity and new debt. As of the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2015, we estimate that WKI Holding's leverage was just below 4x. We will reassess the impact of the transaction on the ratings following discussions with management and the company's new owners, specifically focusing on financial policy. Our assessment of World Kitchen's business risk profile reflects its participation in the highly fragmented

...SAN FRANCISCO (Standard & Poor's) April 19, 2016--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Rosemont, Ill.-based WKI Holding Co. Inc. (B/Stable/--) are unaffected following the company's announcement that it is being acquired by GP Investments Acquisition Corp. The enterprise value is roughly $566 million. We understand that the acquisition will be funded with equity and new debt. As of the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2015, we estimate that WKI Holding's leverage was just below 4x. We will reassess the impact of the transaction on the ratings following discussions with management and the company's new owners, specifically focusing on financial policy. Our assessment of World Kitchen's business risk profile reflects its participation in the highly fragmented kitchenware industry, its narrow product focus, and vulnerability to shifts in consumer tastes and cutbacks in discretionary spending. World Kitchen is a relatively smaller player in the kitchenware industry. It...

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