S&P drops LBI Media

Standard & Poor's said it lowered its corporate credit rating on LBI Media Inc. to B from B+ and its subordinated debt rating to CCC+ from B-, based on the company's persistently high debt leverage, which has not declined as S&P previously had expected, high business risk and earnings weakness over the past few quarters.

At the same time, the agency said it revised its outlook on LBI to stable from negative.

The ratings on LBI reflect its cash flow concentration in a small number of large Hispanic markets, intense competition for audiences and advertisers from much larger rivals and the potential for additional debt-financed acquisitions, S&P said.

These risks outweigh the company's niche position as an operator of Spanish-language radio and TV stations, its healthy margins, the discretionary cash flow potential of the broadcasting business and broadly favorable Spanish-language advertising trends, the agency noted.

© 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.