Research Update: CE Intermediate I, LLC Assigned 'B-' Issuer Credit Rating; Outlook Stable

On Sept. 3, 2021, Silver Lake Alpine II L.P. agreed to acquire a 35% stake in membership management software company CE Intermediate I LLC (d/b/a Clubessential) with preferred equity. Clubessential plans to raise $330 million of first-lien debt and will use the proceeds in addition to the proposed equity investment from Silver Lake and $30 million of preferred equity from Battery Ventures to refinance its existing debt, repurchase shares, add about $80 million of cash to the balance sheet, and pay related fees and expenses. S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B-' issuer credit rating to Clubessential, reflecting its high debt leverage, small scale, and niche focus on membership-based organizations in the highly competitive software as a service (SaaS) industry. We

...- On Sept. 3, 2021, Silver Lake Alpine II L.P. agreed to acquire a 35% stake in membership management software company CE Intermediate I LLC (d/b/a Clubessential) with preferred equity. - Clubessential plans to raise $330 million of first-lien debt and will use the proceeds in addition to the proposed equity investment from Silver Lake and $30 million of preferred equity from Battery Ventures to refinance its existing debt, repurchase shares, add about $80 million of cash to the balance sheet, and pay related fees and expenses. - S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B-' issuer credit rating to Clubessential, reflecting its high debt leverage, small scale, and niche focus on membership-based organizations in the highly competitive software as a service (SaaS) industry. - We also assigned our 'B-' issue-level and '3' recovery ratings to the company's proposed revolving credit and senior secured term loan B facilities. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Clubessential will generate...

Research Update