Poland-Based Wood Panels Producer Pfleiderer Affirmed At 'B+' On Proposed Share Buybacks; Incremental Debt Rated 'B+'

Poland-based wood panels producer Pfleiderer Group S.A. plans to upsize its term loan B by €130 million to €480 million. The company intends to use the new debt proceeds to fund potential share buybacks of up to €130 million. We view this transaction as aggressive--it increases S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage by approximately 1x. Nevertheless, we consider that credit metrics remain commensurate with the existing rating. As a result, we are affirming our 'B+' long-term issuer credit rating on the company. We are also assigning our 'B+' issue-level rating and '4' recovery rating to the company's senior secured term loan B. The stable outlook indicates that we expect Pfleiderer's operational performance to improve slightly in 2018, and that this, combined with

...+ Poland-based wood panels producer Pfleiderer Group S.A. plans to upsize its term loan B by 130 million to 480 million. The company intends to use the new debt proceeds to fund potential share buybacks of up to 130 million. + We view this transaction as aggressive--it increases S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage by approximately 1x. Nevertheless, we consider that credit metrics remain commensurate with the existing rating. + As a result, we are affirming our 'B+' long-term issuer credit rating on the company. We are also assigning our 'B+' issue-level rating and '4' recovery rating to the company's senior secured term loan B. + The stable outlook indicates that we expect Pfleiderer's operational performance to improve slightly in 2018, and that this, combined with a supportive financial policy, will allow the company to maintain funds from operations to debt of about 17.6%. LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) July 13, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that it affirmed its 'B+' long-term issuer...

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