S&P rates Ascend Learning B and loans B, CCC+

Standard & Poor's said it assigned Ascend Learning LLC a B corporate credit rating and rated its $365 million senior secured credit facilities, consisting of a $250 million first-lien term loan B due 2016, a $40 million first-lien revolving credit facility due 2015 and a $75 million second-lien term loan due 2017.

The term loan B and revolving credit facility were assigned B ratings with a recovery rating of 3, indicating the expectation of meaningful (50%-70%) recovery in the event of a payment default, S&P said. The second-lien loan was rated CCC+ with a recovery rating of 6, indicating the expectation of negligible (0%-10%) recovery.

The outlook is stable.

The company used proceeds to refinance unrated credit facilities and to pay a $108 million special dividend to its private-equity shareholders.

The corporate credit rating reflects the expectation of an 8% revenue and EBITDA increase in 2011 due to growing demand for the company's products and services as a result of increasing employment in health care and allied fields, the agency said.

The ratings also consider the company's weak business risk profile, reflecting its concentration in health care and related fields, which is highly fragmented and competitive, S&P said.

© 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.