Calabasas, Calif.-based Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc. (HFT) is refinancing its existing capital structure and paying a dividend to its sponsors. We are assigning a preliminary 'B+' corporate credit rating to HFT. We are also assigning a preliminary 'B+' issue-level rating, with a preliminary '4' recovery rating, indicating our expectation of an average (i.e., 30% to 50%) recovery in the event of a default, to the company's proposed $775 million secured credit facility. The outlook is stable. NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 2, 2010--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its preliminary 'B+' corporate credit rating to Calabasas, Calif.-based Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc. At the same time, we assigned our preliminary 'B+' bank loan rating
