Moody’s lifts Granite Broadcasting

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded Granite Broadcasting Corp.’s corporate family rating to B2 from B3, probability of default rating to B2-PD from B3-PD and first-lien senior secured term loan ($51.8 million outstanding) rating to Ba2, LGD2 from B2, LGD3.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade reflects Granite's improved leverage following the application of net proceeds from the completed station sales to E.W. Scripps in 2014 to repay a portion of outstanding first-lien senior secured term loans and improving free cash flow-to-debt.

Moody's expects leverage will further improve leading up to the sale of stations to Quincy Newspapers, Inc. as excess cash is applied to prepay term loan advances. The Quincy transaction is still pending federal regulatory approval and is expected to close later this year.

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