Moody's rates U.S. Silica loan B1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B1 rating to U.S. Silica Co.'s proposed $160 million senior secured term loan maturing 2016 along with B2 corporate family and probability of default ratings.

The outlook is stable.

The proceeds of the term loan, in conjunction with a new, unrated, $75 million mezzanine facility, will be used to repay existing debt and fund a sponsor dividend.

The ratings reflect the company's limited size and reliance on a single commodity-priced product, its high degree of leverage, regional concentration in the southern and eastern United States, exposure to cyclical end markets and modest cash flow generating capacity relative to outstanding debt, Moody's said.

Supporting the ratings are the company's position as the second-largest producer of industrial silica in the United States with solid regional positions, extensive proven and probable reserves, strategically located quarries and production facilities and long-standing customer relationships, the agency said.

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