Research Update: Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC Ratings Raised, Withdrawn On Refinance; Subsidiary Blue Ribbon LLC Assigned 'B-'

U.S. beer marketer Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC (BRIH) and wholly owned subsidiary Blue Ribbon LLC (Pabst) used proceeds from the sale of equipment related to the Irwindale brewery and an equity contribution from owner Blue Ribbon Partners to reduce debt. The debt paydown reduced leverage by almost two turns to 5.4x. Therefore, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating on BRIH to 'B-' from 'CCC', which we subsequently withdrew. At the same time, we assigned a 'B-' issuer credit rating to Pabst, the operating company and issuer of the audited financials. We also issued a 'B' rating to the proposed $420 million senior secured bank credit facility with a '2' recovery rating, indicating creditors could expect substantial (70%-90%;

...- U.S. beer marketer Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings LLC (BRIH) and wholly owned subsidiary Blue Ribbon LLC (Pabst) used proceeds from the sale of equipment related to the Irwindale brewery and an equity contribution from owner Blue Ribbon Partners to reduce debt. The debt paydown reduced leverage by almost two turns to 5.4x. - Therefore, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating on BRIH to 'B-' from '###', which we subsequently withdrew. - At the same time, we assigned a 'B-' issuer credit rating to Pabst, the operating company and issuer of the audited financials. We also issued a 'B' rating to the proposed $420 million senior secured bank credit facility with a '2' recovery rating, indicating creditors could expect substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 70%) recovery in the event of a payment default. - The outlook is positive, reflecting our expectation for EBITDA improvements and leverage reduction over the next 12 months as certain non-recurring costs do not repeat, the...

Research Update