S&P revises Manitowoc view to negative

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on Manitowoc Co. Inc. to negative from stable and affirmed the BB- corporate credit rating and issue ratings.

"The outlook revision on Manitowoc Corp. follows its announcement that it intends to spin off its food service equipment business and form two stand-alone companies, one focused on cranes and the other on food equipment," S&P credit analyst Jaissy Lorenzo said in a news release.

The company expects to complete the spinoff in the first quarter of 2016.

At this time, the agency believes there is some risk that Manitowoc post spinoff will not have the business risk profile and capital structure that can support the BB- rating. The food service business previously helped offset some of the cyclicality inherent in the cranes segment and provided some diversification benefit to the company.

Manitowoc expects credit metrics to be consistent with or better than current measures post the spinoff however; it is unclear what the specific capital structure will be after the spinoff, S&P said.

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