Research Update: Solina Group Holding, New Owner Of France-Based Ingredients Manufacturer Solina, Assigned 'B' Ratings; Outlook Stable

Private-equity firm Astorg is acquiring a majority stake in France-based food-ingredients solutions provider Solina, financed by a new €567.5 million senior secured term loan B (TLB) and supported by an unrated €100 million revolving credit facility (RCF), expected to be undrawn at closing. Although the buyout transaction will push adjusted debt to EBITDA to about 7.0x, we believe Solina's resilient positioning on the seasoning market, its relatively limited exposure to the food service segment, and its profitability focus, will allow gradual deleveraging toward 6.5x by 2022. We assigned our 'B' long-term issuer credit rating to Solina Group Holding, Solina's holding company, and our 'B' issue rating to the proposed senior secured TLB, which has a '3' (50%) recovery rating. The

...- Private-equity firm Astorg is acquiring a majority stake in France-based food-ingredients solutions provider Solina, financed by a new 567.5 million senior secured term loan B (TLB) and supported by an unrated 100 million revolving credit facility (RCF), expected to be undrawn at closing. - Although the buyout transaction will push adjusted debt to EBITDA to about 7.0x, we believe Solina's resilient positioning on the seasoning market, its relatively limited exposure to the food service segment, and its profitability focus, will allow gradual deleveraging toward 6.5x by 2022. - We assigned our 'B' long-term issuer credit rating to Solina Group Holding, Solina's holding company, and our 'B' issue rating to the proposed senior secured TLB, which has a '3' (50%) recovery rating. - The stable outlook reflects our view that Solina's resilient operating model should enable it to sustain a profitable growth trajectory and solid cash flow, allowing S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage to improve...

Research Update