U.S.
coated paper manufacturer NewPage Corp. announced that it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
and closed on its exit financing. We (Standard & Poor's) are raising the corporate credit
rating to 'B+' from 'D'. We are
also assigning our 'BB' issue-level rating to the company's six-year, $500 million senior secured term
loan. The term loan has a recovery
rating of '1'. The stable
outlook reflects the lower post-emergence leverage and good prospects for meaningful free cash flow
generation over the upcoming 12 to 18
months despite the significant challenges in declining North American
coated paper end markets. In addition,
the outlook incorporates our view of the
company's strong liquidity position given the lack of financial
maintenance covenants and no significant
debt maturities over the next five years.
