Moody's cut Kronos CFR, rates loan B1

Moody's Investors Service said it lowered Kronos Worldwide Inc.'s corporate family rating to Ba3 from Ba2 and assigned a B1 rating to its proposed $275 million senior secured term loan B.

The proceeds from the new term loan will be used to repay the existing intercompany loan from Kronos' indirect parent (Contran Corp.), repay revolver borrowings and add about $87 million of cash to its balance sheet.

The outlook is stable.

Moody's said the downgrade in Kronos' corporate family rating reflects the slow recovery in its titanium dioxide (TiO2) profitability following trough industry conditions experienced in the first half 2013, uncertainty around the timing and pace of the recovery, lagging credit metrics relative to its competitors, the volatile nature of the industry and management's decision to increase debt prior to a more meaningful improvement in operating margins.

© 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.