Moody’s gives Ba1 to Sinclair facilities

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Ba1 rating to the revolving credit and term loan A facilities of Sinclair Television Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

The transaction extends and amends roughly 80.3% of Sinclair's combined $485.2 million revolver (undrawn) and total outstanding term loan A of $293 to July 2021 from April 2018. At an instrumental level, all of the revolver and $139.5 of term loan A was extended. The maturity of the remaining $153.5 million term loan A will remain unchanged, due April 2018.

Sinclair Broadcast's Ba3 corporate family rating is unchanged.

Moody’s said the extension of maturity is credit positive, pushing the debt maturity profile of the revolver and about 48% of term loan A out by three years, to 2021 from 2018. The maturities spring in advance of the existing April 2020 term loan B maturity and the existing April 2021 maturity of the 5 3/8% notes.

The amendment also benefits the company by lowering borrowing costs with better pricing, but provides less credit protection with first-lien debt ratio raised to 4.25 times, and an expansion of the restricted payment baskets, the agency said.

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