Research Update: TriNet Group Inc. Upgraded To 'BB' On Better Performance And Leverage; Outlook Stable; Debt Ratings Raised

Dublin, Calif.-based human resources (HR) service provider TriNet Group Inc. continues to perform better than expected as a result of the stabilization in total worksite employee (WSE) base, favorable pricing trends, and good cost management. The recent performance and platform migration resulted in an improvement in debt leverage to 1.9x at year-end 2018 from 2.1x in the previous year, and the company has remediated the financial control weakness identified in its 2016 and 2017 financial audits. As a result, we raised our issuer credit rating on TriNet to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we raised our issue-level ratings on the company's senior secured credit facility to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'; the recovery rating on this

...+ Dublin, Calif.-based human resources (HR) service provider TriNet Group Inc. continues to perform better than expected as a result of the stabilization in total worksite employee (WSE) base, favorable pricing trends, and good cost management. + The recent performance and platform migration resulted in an improvement in debt leverage to 1.9x at year-end 2018 from 2.1x in the previous year, and the company has remediated the financial control weakness identified in its 2016 and 2017 financial audits. + As a result, we raised our issuer credit rating on TriNet to '##' from '##-'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we raised our issue-level ratings on the company's senior secured credit facility to '###-' from '##+'; the recovery rating on this debt remains '1'. + The stable outlook reflects our expectation that TriNet will maintain its leverage ratio below 2.5x over the next year while continuing growth in total WSEs....

Research Update