The Michaels Cos. Inc. Upgraded To 'BB-' On Stable Operating Performance Expectations; Outlook Stable

We expect arts and crafts specialty retailer The Michaels Cos. Inc. will continue to demonstrate good cash flow generation and achieve EBITDA growth in 2017 through improved customer engagement and effective merchandising. In addition, with financial sponsor ownership steadily declining, we believe the likelihood of releveraging is limited and the company will maintain leverage around current levels. We are raising all ratings by one notch, including the corporate credit rating to 'BB-' from 'B+'. The stable outlook reflects our view that generally steady operating performance trends will persist in the coming year, enabling the company to maintain adjusted leverage in the low- to mid-4.0x range in 2017. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 15, 2017--S&P Global Ratings raised its corporate

...+ We expect arts and crafts specialty retailer The Michaels Cos. Inc. will continue to demonstrate good cash flow generation and achieve EBITDA growth in 2017 through improved customer engagement and effective merchandising. + In addition, with financial sponsor ownership steadily declining, we believe the likelihood of releveraging is limited and the company will maintain leverage around current levels. + We are raising all ratings by one notch, including the corporate credit rating to '##-' from 'B+'. + The stable outlook reflects our view that generally steady operating performance trends will persist in the coming year, enabling the company to maintain adjusted leverage in the low- to mid-4.0x range in 2017. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 15, 2017--S&P Global Ratings raised its corporate credit rating on Irving, Texas-based The Michaels Cos. Inc. to '##-' from 'B+'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we raised our ratings on the company's term loan to '##+' from '##'. The...

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