Car dealership real estate investment trust, Capital Automotive LLC, a REIT subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners, is paying a $425 million special dividend to its owner, Brookfield Property Partners L.P. We are lowering our corporate credit rating to 'B' from 'B+' reflecting our view that the owner's aggressive financial policies result in a weaker financial risk profile. We are also assigning a 'B' issue-level rating to the company's first-lien debt and a 'CCC+' issue-level rating to its second-lien debt. The stable outlook reflects our view that credit protection measures will remain weak given the recent increase in debt to pay a dividend to CARS' parent. On March 3, 2017, S&P Global Ratings lowered its corporate credit rating on McLean, Va.-based
