...April 12, 2021 - Pfleiderer is proposing to refinance its capital structure and increase its debt to pay a dividend to financial sponsor owner Strategic Value Partners (SVP). - As a result of the transaction, we anticipate that adjusted debt to EBITDA will rise to about 5.3x-5.6x over the next two years. We have therefore lowered our long-term issuer credit ratings on Pfleiderer and its subsidiary, PCF GmbH, to 'B' from 'B+'. - The proposed 750 million senior secured notes rank below the proposed 65 million super senior revolving credit facility (RCF) and carry a similar sum of factoring facilities. We have assigned our 'B' issue and '4' recovery rating to the proposed notes, indicating our expectation of average recovery (rounded estimate 40%) in the event of a payment default. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that EBITDA margins will be about 15%-16% in 2021, enabling the group to generate material, positive free operating cash flow (FOCF), despite increased leverage. LONDON...
