Moody's lifts Natural Resource, rates notes Caa1

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded Natural Resource Partners LP's corporate family rating to B2 from B3 and probability of default rating to B2-PD from B3-PD.

Moody's also said it assigned a Caa1 rating to the company's proposed $275 million senior unsecured notes and affirmed the company's SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating.

Proceeds from the new notes, along with balance sheet cash, will be used to repay $346 million of existing senior unsecured notes and pay transaction-related fees and expenses.

The outlook is stable.

The sale of the construction aggregates business, repayment of existing debt with the net proceeds and extension of the revolving credit facility has meaningfully strengthened the company's credit quality, Moody's explained.

The proposed bond refinancing transaction would bring adjusted financial leverage down to lower than 3x and further improve financial flexibility, the agency added.

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