Research Update: Stonepeak Nile Parent LLC Assigned 'BB' Issuer Credit Rating, Outlook Stable; Proposed Term Loan Rated 'BB'

On Jan. 24, 2025, Stonepeak announced it will finance its $3.1 billion acquisition of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) through committed equity financing from funds affiliated to Stonepeak, $1.4 billion first-lien term loan, and $500 million other secured debt. After the transaction closes, we will consider Stonepeak Nile Parent LLC (direct parent of ATSG and issuer of the first-lien term loan and other secured debt) to be a financial sponsor-owned company. We assigned our 'BB' issuer credit rating to Stonepeak Nile Parent LLC, one notch lower than ATSG's prior issuer credit rating and assigned a 'BB' issue rating to its proposed $1.4 billion term loan. Additionally, we lowered ATSG's issuer credit rating to 'BB' from 'BB+' and the issue rating

...- On Jan. 24, 2025, Stonepeak announced it will finance its $3.1 billion acquisition of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) through committed equity financing from funds affiliated to Stonepeak, $1.4 billion first-lien term loan, and $500 million other secured debt. - After the transaction closes, we will consider Stonepeak Nile Parent LLC (direct parent of ATSG and issuer of the first-lien term loan and other secured debt) to be a financial sponsor-owned company. - We assigned our '##' issuer credit rating to Stonepeak Nile Parent LLC, one notch lower than ATSG's prior issuer credit rating and assigned a '##' issue rating to its proposed $1.4 billion term loan. Additionally, we lowered ATSG's issuer credit rating to '##' from '##+' and the issue rating on its existing unsecured notes to '##-' from '##'. We also expect to withdraw our ratings on ATSG once the acquisition closes. - The stable outlook reflects our view that despite the higher debt servicing costs under the new capital structure,...

Research Update