S&P assigns MTL B+, loan BB-

Standard & Poor's said it assigned its B+ corporate credit rating to music publisher MTL Publishing (EMI). The outlook is positive.

At the same time, the agency said it assigned the company's proposed $75 million revolving credit facility due 2017 and $1.05 billion term loan A due 2018 a BB- issue-level rating. The agency also assigned this debt a recovery rating of 2, indicating an expectation of substantial recovery for lenders in the event of a payment default.

According to S&P, EMI is being acquired for $2.2 billion by an investor group led by Sony Corp. and Mubadala Development Co. The acquisition will be funded with roughly $1.6 billion of debt and $790 million of combined equity, with Sony and Mubadala each contributing 38%, S&P said.

"The B+ corporate credit rating and positive outlook reflect our expectation that leverage, although likely to decline, will remain high over the next two fiscal years because of restructuring efforts, though liquidity should be adequate," said S&P credit analyst Michael Altberg in a news release.

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