Illinois-based restaurant company Cooper?s Hawk Intermediate Holding LLC 's refinancing risk is increasing given its approaching debt maturities in July 2026 and October 2026 on its revolving credit facility and first-lien term loan facility, respectively. Though we project S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage will improve toward the low-7x area in 2025 as EBITDA grows from positive comparable store sales, new restaurant openings, and margin expansion, we continue to forecast negative free cash flow due to the company?s aggressive growth strategy. Therefore, we revised our outlook to negative from positive and affirmed all of our ratings on the company, including our 'CCC+' issuer credit rating. The negative outlook reflects the risk Cooper?s Hawk will be unable to address its upcoming maturities before
