U.S.-based USAGM Topco LLC has proposed a merger with Allied Security Holdings LLC that would create the largest manned security services company in North America operating under the AlliedUniversal brand. We are raising our corporate credit rating on USAGM to 'B+' from 'B'. We are also raising our ratings on the company's first-lien and second-lien debt one notch; the recovery ratings are unchanged. We are also assigning our 'B+' issue-level and '3' recovery ratings to the company's proposed $250 million first-lien delayed draw term loan due 2022. The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that USAGM's financial leverage will decline after the merger, with debt to EBITDA falling below 7x in 2017. We believe this would result from low integration
