Moody's lowers Greenbrier bonds

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the B1 corporate family rating of Greenbrier Cos., Inc. and downgraded its senior unsecured regular and convertibles bonds to B3 (LGD5, 78%) from B2.

The outlook was changed to negative from stable.

The agency said Greenbrier's B1 corporate family rating reflects the company's high debt levels resulting from recent acquisitions, along with margin and coverage levels that are weaker than other rated rail car manufacturers and lessor companies.

The notes were downgraded as the result of changes in the company's debt structure over the past year, Moody's said, whereby the company has added a significant amount of senior secured debt in the form of secured notes related to railcar leasing assets.

The outlook was changed to negative to reflect Moody's expectations that operating margins, manufacturing in particular, will remain relatively weak through the industry downcycle and that this will likely constrain the company from improving credit metrics materially over the near term as well as the degree to which the company can repay debt over this time.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.