S&P rates Standard Media loans B+, CCC+

S&P said it assigned its B preliminary corporate credit ratings to Standard Media Holdings LLC and its subsidiary Standard Media Group LLC. The outlook is stable.

At the same time, S&P assigned a B+ preliminary issue-level and 2 recovery ratings to the company's proposed $260 million senior secured first-lien credit facility, comprising a $15 million revolving credit facility and a $245 million first-lien term loan. The 2 recovery rating indicates an expectation for substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 70%) recovery of principal in the event of a payment default.

S&P also assigned a CCC+ preliminary issue-level and 6 recovery ratings to the company's proposed $90 million second-lien term loan. The 6 recovery rating indicates an expectation for negligible (0%-10%; rounded estimate: 0%) recovery of principal in the event of a payment default.

Standard Media Group LLC is the borrower on the first- and second-lien credit facilities.

“Our preliminary corporate credit rating and outlook on Standard Media Holdings LLC (Standard Media) reflects the company's smaller size and scale than that of peers and its portfolio of No. 3- and No. 4-rated stations with a concentration of Fox network-affiliated stations,” S&P said in a news release.

“This is somewhat offset by the growing retransmission revenue and high retransmission revenue per subscriber the company receives from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).”

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