S&P rates StoneMor revolver B+

S&P said it assigned its B+ issue-level rating and 1 recovery rating to StoneMor Operating LLC's new $210 million revolving credit facility.

The company used some proceeds to repay borrowings under the prior revolving credit facility; the rest is available for general corporate purposes.

The recovery rating on this debt is 1, indicating an expectation for very high (90%-100%) recovery in the event of a payment default.

The corporate credit rating on parent, StoneMor Partners LP, is unchanged and continues to reflect the company's participation in the mature, competitive and fragmented death care industry, S&P said.

It also reflects the agency’s expectation that leverage will remain high at around 10 times and that the company will continue to incur discretionary cash flow deficits that will require external funding.

S&P considers StoneMor Operating, the borrower of the facility, to be an integral part of parent, StoneMor Partners. For this reason, the agency views the subsidiary to be a "core" entity of StoneMor Partners and views the credit risks to be the same between the two entities.

The issue-level rating and recovery rating on the unsecured debt remain unchanged.

The rating on the unsecured debt remains B- and the recovery rating is 4, indicating an expectation for average (30%-50%, at the low-end of the range) recovery in the event of a payment default.

© 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.