...May 20, 2024 TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) May 20, 2024--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'B-' issue-level rating and '3' recovery rating to Heartland Dental LLC's proposed repriced $2.03 billion senior secured term loan due April 2028. It will use the proceeds from the term loan to refinance its current $1.7 billion senior secured term loan and redeem its $310 million in senior unsecured notes, removing the remaining unsecured debt. While we view the transaction as leverage neutral and slightly positive for cash flow generation, it is marginally negative from a first-lien recovery perspective given the increased proportion of total first-lien claims. That said, our view of first-lien recovery is unchanged and supported by overall growth in Heartland's operations, both organically and due to the addition of new offices through de novo openings or affiliations. Therefore, we assigned our '3' recovery rating, which indicates our expectation for meaningful (50%-70%; rounded estimate: 50%)...
