...January 19, 2024 NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 19, 2024--S&P Global Ratings today said it assigned its 'B-' issue-level rating and '3' recovery rating to Tacala LLC's proposed $55 million revolving credit facility due in 2029 and $725 million first-lien term loan due in 2031. The '3' recovery rating indicates our expectation for meaningful recovery to lenders (50%-70%; rounded estimate: 50%). Our 'B-' issuer credit rating and stable outlook on the company are unchanged. We expect Tacala will use the proceeds to refinance its existing first-lien and second-lien term loans and view the refinancing as leverage neutral. Tacala's earnings for the third quarter (ended Sept. 5, 2023) reflected 11% sales growth with more than 7% same-store sales growth. EBITDA also fell due to one-time costs related to its third-quarter dividend. We expect Tacala to close fiscal 2023 with leverage of 6.3x and fiscal 2024 with leverage of 6.5x in 2024. We believe the company will maintain a highly leveraged...
