...February 8, 2021 NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 8, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today raised its issue-level rating on Brooklyn Heights, Ohio-based graphite electrode manufacturer GrafTech International Ltd.'s $944 million (outstanding) senior secured term loan due 2025 and $500 million senior secured notes due 2028 to '##' from '##-'. We also revised our recovery rating on the senior secured debt to '2' from '3'. The '2' recovery rating indicates our expectation for substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 75%) recovery in the event of a payment default. The rating action is predicated on the company's recent announcement that, along with its term loan repricing, it plans to prepay $150 million on its senior secured term loan. Following the prepayment, we expect the term loan balance to be approximately $794 million. This action follows the company previously paying down about $400 million of its senior secured debt in 2020. It is our expectation that GrafTech will continue to use its excess...
