Ohio-based graphite electrode producer GrafTech International Ltd. has announced a proposed exchange of its senior secured notes and secured new first-lien financing to support liquidity amid challenging market conditions. We view the proposed transaction, if completed, as distressed and tantamount to default because the maturity of the new notes will extend beyond the original and the priority of repayment will be lowered. Therefore, we lowered our issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC+' and placed the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications. We lowered the affected issue-level debt ratings to 'CC' from 'B-' and also placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. The negative CreditWatch placement reflects our expectation that the ratings, including the issue level ratings, will go
