Moody’s rates Astra B3, loans B2, Caa2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned ratings to Astra Acquisition Corp., including: a B3 corporate family rating, a B3-PD probability of default rating, B2 ratings to new first-lien debt instruments, including a $40 million revolver and a $325 million term loan, and a Caa2 instrument rating a new $110 million second-lien term loan.

Proceeds from the term loans plus rolled over equity from existing owner Leeds Equity Partners and new equity from Veritas Capital will be used to fund the acquisition of Astra, satisfy transaction fees and expenses, and allocate $40 million of cash to the new company's balance sheet.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said Astra's credit profile reflects exceptionally high Moody's-adjusted debt-to-EBITDA leverage that it anticipated to ease only towards 9 times by the end of 2020, still weak given its small, $200 million revenue scale and acquisition-integration challenges stemming from a private equity sponsor bringing together two modestly profitable companies to form the borrower.

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