Research Update: BD White Birch Investment LLC Term Loan Rating Raised To 'BB'; 'B+' Issuer Rating Affirmed; Outlook Stable

BD White Birch Investment LLC has voluntarily paid down the balance on its term loans, improving our recovery estimate for the outstanding balance. As a result, we are raising our issue-level rating on the company's term loan to 'BB' from 'B+' and revising our recovery rating to '1' from '3'. We are affirming our 'B+' issuer credit rating even though leverage is below our upgrade threshold because volatile newsprint prices create uncertainty as to whether BD White Birch can maintain this level of leverage throughout the cycle. The stable outlook reflects our view that BD White Birch will post adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 2.7x over the next 12 months, up from last year due to lower newsprint prices

...- BD White Birch Investment LLC has voluntarily paid down the balance on its term loans, improving our recovery estimate for the outstanding balance. - As a result, we are raising our issue-level rating on the company's term loan to '##' from 'B+' and revising our recovery rating to '1' from '3'. - We are affirming our 'B+' issuer credit rating even though leverage is below our upgrade threshold because volatile newsprint prices create uncertainty as to whether BD White Birch can maintain this level of leverage throughout the cycle. - The stable outlook reflects our view that BD White Birch will post adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 2.7x over the next 12 months, up from last year due to lower newsprint prices but still below our downgrade threshold....

Research Update