Applied Systems Inc., a University Park, Ill.-based provider of property and casualty broker management systems, intends to refinance existing debt in conjunction with plans to distribute a $372 million dividend to shareholders. We are downgrading Applied to 'B-' from 'B', as leverage is expected to exceed the 8x downside threshold for the next 18 months. We are also assigning a 'B' issue-level rating and '2' recovery rating to the company's first-lien credit facility. The proposed second-lien debt will be assigned a 'CCC' issue-level rating and '6' recovery rating. The stable outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings' expectation that the company will maintain its good market position in the insurance broker management software industry. Additionally, we forecast that the company will continue
