Vivid Seats LLC 'B' Rating Affirmed On Acquisition By New Sponsor; Outlook Stable; New Debt Rated

U.S.-based secondary ticket marketplace Vivid Seats LLC is entering into a strategic partnership with U.S.-based private equity firm GTCR LLC. Vivid Seats will issue a new credit facility to refinance its existing debt and finance the acquisition. We are affirming our 'B' corporate credit rating on Vivid Seats. We are also assigning our 'B' issue-level rating and '3' recovery rating to the company's $50 million first-lien senior secured revolving credit facility due 2022 and $525 million first-lien senior secured term loan due 2024. The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that Vivid Seats will enjoy good operating performance, with revenue growth in the high-teens percentage area in 2017 and in the low-double-digit percentage area in 2018. We also expect free

...+ U.S.-based secondary ticket marketplace Vivid Seats LLC is entering into a strategic partnership with U.S.-based private equity firm GTCR LLC. Vivid Seats will issue a new credit facility to refinance its existing debt and finance the acquisition. + We are affirming our 'B' corporate credit rating on Vivid Seats. + We are also assigning our 'B' issue-level rating and '3' recovery rating to the company's $50 million first-lien senior secured revolving credit facility due 2022 and $525 million first-lien senior secured term loan due 2024. + The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that Vivid Seats will enjoy good operating performance, with revenue growth in the high-teens percentage area in 2017 and in the low-double-digit percentage area in 2018. We also expect free operating cash flow to debt above 5% during the next 12 months and believe leverage will decline to the low-6x area by the end of 2018 from the low-7x area as of year-end of 2017. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) June...

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