S&P raises Ken Garff

S&P said it raised its rating on Ken Garff Automotive LLC to BB- from B+ and the rating on its senior unsecured notes to BB- from B. The agency also revised the recovery rating on the notes to 4 indicating expectations of average (30%-50%; rounded estimate: 35%) recovery in default from 5.

“The upgrade reflects Ken Garff's declining leverage, strong free cash flow generation, and our expectation that it will continue to maintain more moderate credit metrics even as new- and used-car prices return closer to historical levels. Along with other auto dealerships, Ken Garff is earning very strong margins on elevated prices of new and used cars because of the global semiconductor shortage,” S&P said in a press release.

The agency said it sees the higher prices continuing well into 2022.

The outlook is stable.

© 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.