Approximately $625 million of rated debt affected
New York, March 11, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") affirmed
FULLBEAUTY Brands, Inc.'s ("FULLBEAUTY")
B2 Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and B1 instrument rating on its First
Lien Term Loan due 2021 after the company announced a proposed $160
million add-on to the facility. The outlook remains stable.
Proceeds of the add-on, including a $20 million add-on
to the company's unrated second lien term loan, and approximately
$40 million of balance sheet cash will be used to fund a $215
million dividend to the company's shareholders and pay transaction
fees.
After accounting for the proposed dividend, the company will have
distributed approximately $500 million in dividends to shareholders
since the buyout by Charlesbank Capital Partners, Webster Capital,
and certain management investors in February 2013. The dividend
payments represent greater than 3.5 times the initial equity investment.
However, due to strong operating performance over the same period,
Moody's estimates adjusted pro-forma leverage through September
30, 2014 will be around 6x and should drop to the mid-to-low
5x range by the end of 2015, driven by additional top line and EBITDA
growth.
See below for today's rating actions:
Issuer: FULLBEAUTY Brands, Inc.
Ratings Affirmed:
..Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed B2
.Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed B2-PD
.$625 million 1st Lien Term Loan due 2021 (includes
$160 million add-on), Affirmed B1, LGD-3
.Outlook, Remains Stable
RATINGS RATIONALE
FULLBEAUTY's B2 CFR reflects the company's highly aggressive
financial policies which have resulted in leverage sustained at elevated
levels despite meaningful improvements in operating performance since
the company's buyout. The proposed $215 million dividend
will be the third (largely) debt financed dividend in less than 2 years
and will result in Moody's adjusted pro-forma leverage through
September 30, 2014 of around 6x. The rating also reflects
the company's niche focus on the direct-to-consumer
plus size apparel market and modest revenue scale in the retail and apparel
industry. The company's rating is supported by favorable demographic
trends due the increasing number of overweight and obese people in the
U.S., the breadth of its product offering relative
to many competitors, and its good liquidity profile. The
rating is also supported by strong operating performance over the last
two years and Moody's expectation for continued revenue and EBITDA
growth over the next 12-18 months which should result in leverage
declining to the mid-to-low 5x range.
Moody's expects FULLBEAUTY will maintain good liquidity over the
next 12-18 months driven by positive cash flow and availability
under its $60 million ABL revolver due 2019 (not rated by Moody's)
that should be more than sufficient to cover seasonal working capital
needs and modest debt amortization of about $6.3 million
annually. The use of $40 million of balance sheet cash to
fund the proposed dividend will likely result in near-term borrowings
on the revolver to fund working capital, however we expect any drawdown
on the facility will likely be paid down by the end of the second quarter
with cash generated from operations. The company will also see
elevated levels of capital spend beginning in the second quarter of 2015
associated with FullBeauty's corporate headquarters relocation,
but capex should normalize by year end.
The first and second lien term loans do not contain any financial maintenance
covenants, but the ABL has a springing Fixed Charge Coverage test
of 1.0x which only occurs when availability is less than the greater
of $5 million and 10% of the borrowing base. We do
not expect the company will trigger the covenant over the next 12-18
months, but anticipate they would have sufficient cushion if it
were tested.
The B1 rating assigned to FULLBEAUTY's first lien term loan is one
notch higher than the company's CFR and reflects its senior position
in the capital structure relative to the unrated $165 million second
lien term loan (after accounting for the proposed $20 million add-on)
and other junior claims including trade payables and leases. The
first lien is secured by a first priority lien on substantially all assets
of the company, with a second lien on the ABL priority collateral
including accounts receivable, inventory and cash. The second
lien is secured by second priority lien on substantially all assets of
the company with a third lien on the ABL collateral.
The stable rating outlook reflects Moody's expectation for continued
steady revenue and earnings growth and positive free cash flow generation
that will allow for deleveraging to the mid-to-low 5.0
times range. It also reflects our expectation that financial policies
or operating performance will not lead to further deterioration in credit
metrics.
Ratings could be downgraded if revenue or earnings were to deteriorate,
competitive pressure increase, or financial policies become more
aggressive. Specific metrics include debt/EBITDA exceeding 6.5
times or EBITA/interest below 1.5 times. A deterioration
in liquidity may also result in a negative rating action.
Ratings could be upgraded if the company were to demonstrate the willingness
and ability to achieve and maintain debt/EBITDA below 5.0 times
and EBITA/interest expense above 2.5 times, through a combination
of profitable growth, positive free cash flow and the use of excess
cash to pay down debt. A higher rating would also require the maintenance
of good liquidity.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Global Retail Industry
published in June 2011. Other methodologies used include Loss Given
Default for Speculative-Grade Non-Financial Companies in
the U.S., Canada and EMEA published in June 2009.
Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for
a copy of these methodologies.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Daniel A Altieri
Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Alexandra S. Parker
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's Affirms FULLBEAUTY's B2 CFR and B1 Instrument Rating; Outlook Stable