S&P upgrades Harron, debt

Standard & Poor's said it raised its ratings on Harron Communications LP, including the corporate credit rating to BB- from B+.

The agency also raised the secured debt rating to BB+. The recovery rating remains at 1, indicating an expectation for very high (90% to 100%) recovery for secured lenders in the event of a default.

In addition, S&P raised the issue level rating on unsecured debt to BB- from B-, reflecting the one-notch upgrade to the corporate credit rating, as well as the favorable revision in the recovery rating for unsecured debt to 4 from 6, which aligns the unsecured debt issue-level rating with the corporate credit rating.

The outlook is stable.

"The upgrade of the corporate credit rating reflects a moderation in leverage from the pending sale of cable properties in 2014, along with our revised view of the financial policy, which we now view as more moderate," S&P credit analyst Richard Siderman said in a news release.

Proceeds from the sale of the company's Mississippi and Alabama cable properties, which comprise about 30,000 video customers and which is expected to close in 2014, will repay $185 million of bank debt and reduce debt leverage to the mid-4 times area, on a pro forma basis, compared with the agency’s prior expectation of leverage in the low-to-mid 5 times range.

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