The U.S. economic expansion ended abruptly in 2020, and credit quality among U.S. corporate issuers rated by S&P Global Ratings rapidly deteriorated amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices. Optimism was growing when the year began, after the Federal Reserve eased financial conditions and the U.S. and China announced a so-called Phase 1 trade deal. However, during the first quarter, it became apparent that COVID-19 was quickly spreading outside of China, and economic conditions worsened when Russia and Saudi Arabia began a brief but destabilizing oil price war. The World Health Organization officially declared the pandemic on March 11, with cases discovered in over 100 countries. The economic implications sent financial markets into a tailspin that nearly shuttered the U.S. speculative-grade debt markets in March, and the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil touched negative territory in April.

Urgent fiscal and monetary policy responses, including credit facilities authorized by the Fed to purchase high-yield exchange-traded funds and debt that had been downgraded to speculative-grade ('BB+' or lower) from investment-grade ('BBB-' or higher) (also known as fallen angel debt), supplemented spending in the economy, provided immediate liquidity support to businesses, and bolstered confidence in capital markets, which resulted in a record surge in debt issuance. By easing the uncertainty associated with the business climate amid the pandemic, these extraordinary policy responses likely helped some issuers avoid default amid the sharp economic contraction in second-quarter 2020.

Even so, credit deterioration was acute during the year, with a record 634 downgrades and defaults nearly doubling to 146. Default risk remained elevated at year-end, with the proportion of issuers rated 'B-' or lower still near the all-time high. The speculative-grade default rate rose to 6.63%, above its long-term weighted average of 4.1%. Meanwhile, the amount of debt affected by default rose by 51% to $222.8 billion.

Of the 146 U.S. corporate issuer defaults in 2020, 124 were from companies that were rated as of the beginning of the year. Of these, seven were from issuers rated in the 'BB' category, 42 were from issuers rated in the 'B' category, and 75 were from issuers rated in the 'CCC'/'C' category (see chart 1).

For the purposes of this study, we consider issuers that reemerge from default--including after a distressed exchange--to be new entities and consider the ratings on these newly emerged entities to be initial ratings. We make our best effort to capture these defaults in the database, and we include them in the annual default rate calculations if the entity was rated by Jan. 1 of the year it defaulted. However, if S&P Global Ratings withdrew the rating before Jan. 1 of the year the issuer defaulted, we do not include the issuer in the default rate calculation for that year.

Of the 22 defaulters that were not rated at the beginning of the year, 10 had issuer credit ratings withdrawn prior to Jan. 1, 2020, five were first rated after Jan. 1, 2020, and seven defaulted for a second time during the year (after these issuers had emerged from a first default in 2020 and received new initial ratings) (see table 2).

Table 1

Our study of corporate defaults in the U.S. region (which includes the tax havens Bermuda and the Cayman Islands) identified a clear correlation between low ratings and the probability of default. Even as the one-year Gini ratio (a measure of the rank-ordering power of ratings over a given time horizon) decreased to 83.43% in 2020 from 87.19% in 2019, it remained higher than the 80.98% long-term weighted average one-year Gini ratio for U.S. corporate ratings going back to 1981. High Gini ratios reflect a high proportion of the lowest-rated issuers among the defaulters in a given period, and the majority of rated issuers in the U.S. that defaulted in 2020 were rated 'CCC+' or lower at the beginning of the year.

This study includes industrials, utilities, financial institutions (including banks, brokerages, asset managers, and other financial entities), and insurance companies from the U.S. region. We calculated default and transition rates based on the number of issuers in the sample period. The weighted average default rates in this study use the number of issuers at the beginning of each year as the basis for each year's weight (see Appendix 1 for terms and definitions). The data we present in this study, unless labeled otherwise, refers to only public and confidential issuer credit ratings on nonfinancial and financial issuers and excludes credit estimates.

2020 Summary Findings

• The one-year Gini ratio remained high in 2020 at 83.43% but decreased from 2019, as the proportion of defaults from issuers rated 'CCC+' or lower at the beginning of the year dropped to 60% from 70%. For comparison, the one-year Gini ratio for all global corporate issuers in 2020 was 86.1%.
• Of the 146 defaulters, 95% were initially rated speculative-grade. These issuers took an average of 6.9 years to default after the initial rating was assigned. The average time to default for the eight issuers initially rated investment-grade was 25.1 years.
• The average time to default from the initial rating for all issuers was 7.9 years, up from 6.1 years in 2019 and higher than the long-term average of 6.5 years. For comparison, the average time to default for all global corporate issuers in 2020 was 6.9 years.
• All 124 of the defaulters that were rated as of the beginning of the year were rated speculative-grade when the year began, and 102 were rated 'B-' or lower. The speculative-grade default rate ended the year at 6.63%, up from 3.10% in 2019.
• Seven issuers defaulted twice in 2020, and 10 of the 14 defaults involving these issuers were distressed exchanges. We consider issuers that reemerge from default, including after distressed exchanges, to be new entities for the purposes of this study.
• S&P Global Ratings assigned initial ratings to 334 U.S. corporate issuers in 2020 (up from 263 in 2019). Most new ratings were in the 'B' (175 ) and 'CCC'/'C' (85) categories, and 57 of these were for issuers assigned new initial ratings after defaulting in 2020.
• Only the 'CCC'/'C' and 'BB' categories had one-year default rates that exceeded their long-term averages. The one-year default rate for the 'CCC'/'C' category rose to 49.02% (from 32.33% in 2019), and that for the 'BB' category rose to 1.27% (from 0.00% in 2019). The 'CCC'/'C' and 'BB' categories' long-term average default rates are 26.50% and 0.86%, respectively.
• Nearly all defaults came from the nonfinancial sector, with 145. One financial services issuer, Populus Financial Group Inc., defaulted during the year, after a distressed exchange.
• The one-year nonfinancial default rate rose to 4.87% (from 2.18% in 2019), while the one-year financial services default rate fell to 0.13% (from 0.67% in 2019).
• The consumer services and energy and natural resources industries accounted for 61% of defaults, with 89. Last year was the fourth consecutive year these industries led the default tally.
• Distressed exchanges were the most common reason for default in 2020, with 54 distressed exchanges that accounted for 37% of defaults (up from 25 and 32% in 2019). The industries with the most distressed exchanges were consumer services (21) and energy and natural resources (15).
• The 45 Chapter 11 bankruptcies during the year accounted for 31% of defaults (up from 31 and 40% in 2019). The industries with the most Chapter 11 bankruptcies were consumer services (13) and energy and natural resources (12).
• The 47 missed principal and interest payments during the year accounted for 32% of defaults (up from 22 and 28% in 2019). The industries with the most missed payments were energy and natural resources (15), consumer services (13), and leisure time/media (10).
• The largest default of the year was from telecommunications service provider Frontier Communications Corp., with $22.5 billion of outstanding debt. The issuer elected not to pay about $322 million in interest due March 16, 2020, on certain senior unsecured notes. It then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 15, 2020.
• The issuer with the longest time to default from initial rating was Revlon Inc. at 39.4 years. The ratings history for Revlon goes back to 1980 (the beginning of the data series used in this study), when it was rated 'AA'. It had been rated speculative-grade since 1986.
• The publicly rated issuer with the shortest time to default from initial rating was oilfield products and services provider Forum Energy Technologies Inc. at 47 days. It announced its second distressed exchange during the year on Aug. 4, 2020, after its first distressed exchange on May 15, 2020. It was initially rated speculative-grade in 2013.
• The 634 downgrades during the year surpassed the previous record of 578 set in 2002. In 2020, 19% of issuers were downgraded (not including defaults) and just 4% were upgraded, with nearly six issuer downgrades for each upgrade.
• The aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals (112), leisure time/media (108), consumer services (104), and energy and natural resources (86) industries led downgrades during the year.

Table 2

Distressed Exchanges Led Defaults

Distressed exchanges were the most common reason for default in 2020, with 54, but accounted for the second-highest share of affected debt, at 38%. By sector, consumer services (21), energy and natural resources (15), health care/chemicals (six), and aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals (four) had the most distressed exchanges.

Distressed exchanges typically involve entities in distress that restructure their obligations in a way that offers less than the original promise. A distressed exchange is an alternative to a potential conventional default, in which the investor or counterparty stands to fare even worse, and this motivates (at least partially) their acceptance of such an offer. S&P Global Ratings treats such offers and buybacks analytically as de facto restructuring--and, accordingly, as equivalent to a default on the part of the issuer. Given this analytical treatment, distressed exchanges are included in default rates and other relevant statistics.

S&P Global Ratings will typically lower an issuer credit rating to 'SD' (selective default) if the issuer conducts a distressed exchange. An 'SD' rating is assigned if the issuer has selectively defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but will continue to meet its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner.

Selective defaults accounted for about two-fifths of defaults in 2020, and the high proportion continued a multiyear trend. Selective defaults have accounted for about one-third or more of annual defaults since 2013 as distressed exchanges have become more common.

Missed principal and interest payments were the second most common cause of default in 2020, with 47, but accounted for the most affected debt, at 43%. Energy and natural resources (15), consumer services (13), leisure time/media (10), and aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals (four) had the most defaults due to missed principal and interest payments.

The largest default of the year was due to missed interest payments. Telecommunications service provider Frontier Communications Corp., with $22.5 billion of outstanding debt, elected not to pay about $322 million in interest due March 16, 2020, on certain senior unsecured notes. Frontier later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 15, 2020.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy was the least common type of default in 2020, with 45, and accounted for just 19% of affected debt. Consumer services (13), energy and natural resources (12), aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals (six), and leisure time/media (five) had the most defaults due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The U.S. Accounts For Most Of The World's Speculative-Grade Issuers

Speculative-grade issuers have grown as a share of rated U.S. corporate issuers in recent years as investors have shown willingness to accept higher credit risk for additional yield. The share of U.S. corporate ratings that are speculative-grade grew to an all-time high of 58% at the end of 2020, up nearly 15 percentage points since 2004.

Newly assigned ratings have contributed to most of this growth. Since 1980, 66% of new ratings annually have been speculative-grade on average, and this proportion has been rising. Since 2009, speculative-grade ratings have accounted for 87% of new ratings annually on average. In 2020, 334 corporate issuers were assigned new ratings in the U.S., and 86% of these were speculative-grade.

The U.S. accounts for nearly half of all global corporate issuer credit ratings. With the high proportion of speculative-grade ratings in the U.S., it also accounts for most global speculative-grade corporate issuers (see chart 2). Globally, there were 3,598 speculative-grade issuers at the end of 2020, with 53% of these based in the U.S. Furthermore, the U.S. accounts for 63% of issuers rated 'B-' or lower--the lowest-rated speculative-grade issuers--globally.

With more than half of the world's speculative-grade issuers and nearly two-thirds of the weakest-rated issuers, the U.S. typically experiences a higher number of rated corporate defaults annually than other regions. In 2020, 65% of global defaults were from issuers based in the U.S., slightly down from 66% in 2019.

As global defaults rose 92% to 226 in 2020, U.S. speculative-grade defaults continued to outpace the combined speculative-grade defaults of all other regions. Since 1992, the global speculative-grade default rate has been greater than the U.S. speculative-grade default rate in only five calendar years (see chart 3).

No investment-grade issuers defaulted in the U.S. in 2020. Most defaults came from issuers rated in the lowest rating categories. The preponderance of defaults from the lowest rating categories supports the view that ratings are effective indicators of relative credit risk.

Nearly all speculative-grade rating categories' one-year default rates increased in 2020 (see table 3). However, the 'B' and 'B-' default rates remained well below their respective long-term averages. The outsize growth in high technology/computers/office equipment issuers rated in these two categories since 2009, along with the lower incidence of default among issuers in that industry, may contribute to the lower default rates.

Yet more broadly, considering all industries other than high technology/computers/office equipment, there were relatively few transitions to default from issuers that began 2020 rated in the 'B' and 'B-' categories compared with the default cycle peaks in 2001 and 2009. The fewer transitions to default from these two rating categories is the primary reason that the number of defaults in 2020 was lower than the peaks seen in the previous two cycles.

Table 3

Corporate Ratings Follow A Gradual Path To Default

As an issuer's credit quality weakens and it moves toward default, the ratings should reflect that. When we look at the path to default for U.S. corporate issuers since 1981, we see that the median rating for an issuer five years prior to default was 'B+' (for all defaulters since 1981). The median U.S. corporate rating falls to 'B' 26 months prior to default, to 'B-' eight months prior to default, and to 'CCC+' three months prior to default (see chart 4).

U.S. corporate issuers that have defaulted within the past 12 quarters have shown lower median ratings along the path to default. These issuers had a median rating of 'B' five years prior to default. This median rating drops to 'B-' 27 months prior to default and falls further to 'CCC+' 10 months prior to default and 'CCC' two months prior to default. The number of issuer defaults over the trailing 12 quarters is considerably smaller (271) than the full pool from 1981 to 2020 (2,274).

The median path to default for nonfinancial issuers is similar to the total sample, given most defaults in this study are from nonfinancial issuers (see chart 5). Nonfinancial issuers have historically had a smoother, more gradual path to default than financial issuers, albeit with a much larger sample. There were 2,103 nonfinancial issuer defaults from 1981 to 2020, while the total from the most recent 12-quarter period is 263.

By comparison, financial services defaults are less frequent, yet some of these issuers have historically experienced relatively swift transitions to default. Financial services companies are typically more confidence-sensitive than nonfinancial companies, and the loss of confidence from stakeholders (such as counterparties or funding sources) can contribute to a rapid decline in liquidity and credit quality.

Since 1981, the median rating for financial services issuers was 'BBB-' five years prior to default, which is notably higher than the 'B+' median rating for a nonfinancial corporate issuer five years prior to default. Financial entities that defaulted over the past 12 quarters (from 2018 to 2020) experienced a much more gradual path to default from a lower rating level. These issuers displayed a median rating of 'B' five years prior to default, which is in line with the median rating for a nonfinancial corporate issuer that defaulted over the same period. Notably, for financial services entities, these median ratings are based on a much smaller sample of just 171 issuer defaults (for the period from 1981 to 2020).

Defaults By Industry

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the collapse in oil prices, industries disproportionately affected by the sudden recession and shifts in business and consumer spending, along with the energy and natural resources industry, led defaults in 2020. Issuers in consumer services (47), energy and natural resources (42), leisure time/media (17), aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals (14), and health care/chemicals (10) accounted for 89% of defaults during the year. The industries with the highest default rates were energy and natural resources (13.74%), consumer services (9.05%), leisure time/media (5.62%), telecommunications (3.85%), and health care/chemicals (3.32%).

While credit deterioration was severe among a few industries, the impact of the sharp economic contraction in 2020 was also broad, with nine out of 11 nonfinancial industry default rates rising from 2019 levels (see table 4). Among nonfinancial industries, only the high technology/computers/office equipment industry default rate fell during the year. The telecommunications industry default rate stayed elevated but unchanged from 2019.

Nine out of 11 nonfinancial industry default rates also ended the year above their long-term weighted averages. Meanwhile, the forest and building products/homebuilders and high technology/computers/office equipment industries each had default rates below their long-term weighted averages.

The financial institutions and insurance industry default rates both fell from 2019. Populus Financial Group Inc. was the only financial services issuer that defaulted during the year, completing a distressed exchange on Dec. 18, 2020.

Table 4

In most periods, nonfinancial issuers have higher cumulative default rates than financial issuers, which reflects the high proportion of speculative-grade issuers within U.S. nonfinancial sectors (see table 5).

Table 5

No industries had positive net rating actions--more issuers upgraded than downgraded--in 2020 (see table 6). However, the insurance industry had an equal number of upgrades and downgrades.

Table 6

To measure upgrades and downgrades in this study, we compared the rating on an issuer as of Jan. 1 with that as of Dec. 31 of the same year. Using this approach, issuers downgraded (or upgraded) multiple times during the year are considered to have only one downgrade (or upgrade).

There were nearly six issuers downgraded for each that was upgraded in 2020, as the number of issuer downgrades reached an all-time high (see table 7). Both a higher share of issuers were downgraded and a smaller share were upgraded during the year.

Table 7

Transition Tables And Cumulative Default Rates

One-year rating transitions in the U.S. were generally consistent with rating transitions globally in 2020. U.S. investment-grade ratings tend to have more stability (as measured by transition rates) than speculative-grade ratings. Table 8 illustrates this trend. For example, 90.17% of U.S. issuers rated 'BBB' on Jan. 1 were still rated 'BBB' on Dec. 31, whereas 76.13% of 'BB' rated issuers maintained a 'BB' rating over the same period. As you move diagonally from 'BBB' across the table, the transition rate should generally fall as the likelihood that ratings move down or up increases further down the ratings scale.

Table 8

In any given year, this relationship may not hold true, but it is clearly evident when multiple samples are averaged together (see table 9). Of the U.S. issuers rated 'AAA', 87.38% retained the rating after one year, whereas only 75.52% of issuers rated 'B' maintained the rating after one year, on average. The stability of higher-rated issuers in the U.S. is largely consistent with global corporate ratings performance (see tables 9-11).

One interesting observation when viewing the averaged tables is that the lowest transition rate (one minus the diagonal rate) is observed not in the 'AAA' rating category but the 'A' rating category, and this becomes more pronounced as the time horizon lengthens. The smaller sample sizes of issuers in the 'AAA' and 'AA' categories likely contribute to this.

Table 9

Table 10

Table 11

When we look at rating transitions in more detail by including the rating modifier (the plus [+] or minus [-] following the rating), the same relationship generally holds true. Differences in stability rates frequently exist among rating modifiers within the same rating category. For example, within the 'AA' category, the 'AA+' rating has a stability rate of 81.05%, which is lower than the stability rate of 82.13% for debt rated 'AA' (see table 12).

Table 12

In addition to greater ratings stability, higher-rated issuers also have lower default rates over time. In the U.S., defaults are less frequent among higher-rated entities and vice versa. This relationship remains true over time, as the cumulative average default rates illustrate (see tables 13 and 14 and chart 7, which illustrates the data in the top half of table 13).

Table 13

Table 14

Of the 146 U.S. corporate issuer defaults in 2020, eight were from companies initially rated investment-grade. Of those, three were from the consumer services industry (Tupperware Brands Corp., Revlon Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc.), two were from the energy and natural resources industry (Nabors Industries Ltd. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.), one was from the telecommunications industry (Frontier Communications Corp.), one was from the aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals industry (Briggs & Stratton Corp.), and one was from the real estate industry (CBL & Associates Properties Inc.). Six of these issuers were rated speculative-grade three or more years prior to defaulting, and all were rated speculative-grade when the year began.

The average number of years between the initial rating and default for the 146 U.S. corporate issuer defaults in 2020 was 7.9 years, higher than the average 6.1 years in 2019. The ratings history of Revlon Inc. dates to the beginning of the data series used in this study, and the company had the longest time to default, at 39.4 years. A confidential issuer had the shortest time to default, at 36 days.

Historically, issuers rated in higher rating categories exhibit longer times to default on average than issuers rated in lower rating categories (see chart 8 and tables 15-16). For example, from 1981 to 2020, the average time to default for U.S. issuers rated 'B' averaged 5.5 years from initial rating, while issuers rated 'BB' had an average time to default of 7.8 years from initial rating. This relationship is true for every sequential rating category from 'AAA' to 'CCC'/'C'. The relationship also holds when the time to default is measured using post-original issuer credit ratings.

Throughout the 40-year span from 1981 to 2020, seven U.S. issuers initially rated 'AAA' defaulted: Macy's Inc., Ally Financial Inc. (formerly known as GMAC Financial--a subsidiary of General Motors Corp.), Ambac Assurance Corp., Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co., Executive Life Insurance Co. CA, Motors Liquidation Co. (formerly known as General Motors Corp.), and Eastman Kodak Co. The average time between initial rating and default for these issuers was 19.4 years.

Table 15

Table 16

Gini Ratios And Lorenz Curves

A quantitative analysis of the performance of S&P Global Ratings' corporate issuer credit ratings shows they continue to correlate with the level of default risk across several time horizons. To measure ratings performance, the cumulative share of defaulters is plotted against the cumulative share of issuers by rating in a Lorenz curve to visually render the accuracy of the rank ordering (see charts 9-11 and Appendix 3). Over the long term, the U.S. weighted average one-year transition to default has a one-year Gini coefficient of 80.98%, a three-year Gini coefficient of 72.88%, a five-year Gini coefficient of 69.05%, and a seven-year Gini coefficient of 66.64% (see table 17). These weighted average Gini ratios are weighted by yearly issuer counts since 1981 (see Appendix 2).

Table 17

As expected, Gini coefficients decline as the time horizon lengthens because longer time horizons increase the likelihood of credit degradation among higher-rated entities. In the one-year U.S. Lorenz curve, for example, speculative-grade issuers accounted for 96.6% of total corporate defaults from 1981 to 2020 but for only 43.3% of total issuers during that time (see chart 9). The five-year Lorenz curve shows that speculative-grade issuers made up 91.3% of defaulters and only 41.4% of the entire sample (see chart 11).

If the rank ordering of ratings had little predictive value, the cumulative share of defaulting corporate entities and the cumulative share of all entities at each rating level would be nearly the same, producing a Gini ratio of zero.

Trends in the one-year Gini ratio emerge during periods of both extreme highs and lows in the default cycle. In periods with a high number of defaults, there tends to be greater variation in the distribution of defaults across the ratings spectrum, which reduces the Gini ratio--that is, when default pressure is high, economic conditions are such that issuers across the rating spectrum are more likely to suffer a rapid deterioration of credit quality.

The one-year Gini ratio for U.S. corporate ratings decreased to 83.4% in 2020 from 87.2% in 2019 (the lowest recorded was 57.6% in 2008). The three-year U.S. Gini ratio decreased to 77.0% from 84.1%, and the seven-year Gini ratio decreased to 67.6% from 71.1% (see chart 12).

Appendix 1: Methodology And Definitions

This long-term corporate default and rating transition study uses the CreditPro database of long-term local currency issuer credit ratings. The analysis excludes public information (pi) ratings and ratings based on the guarantee of another company or government entity. We also do not include short-term issuer credit ratings. S&P Global Ratings does not require all issuers with rated debt to have an issuer credit rating. Therefore, if an issuer has rated debt but not an issuer credit rating, we assign a proxy rating so the CreditPro corporate dataset accurately represents the complete universe of ratings. The local currency senior unsecured rating is the preferred debt rating for the proxy because it is usually consistent with the issuer credit rating. In a small number of cases, we use the subordinated debt rating or the senior secured rating as the proxy.

An S&P Global Ratings issuer credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about an obligor's overall creditworthiness. This opinion focuses on the obligor's capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due. It does not apply to any specific financial obligation because it does not take into account the nature and provisions of any single obligation, its standing in bankruptcy or liquidation, statutory preferences, or the legality and enforceability of the obligation. Counterparty credit ratings, corporate credit ratings, and sovereign credit ratings are all forms of issuer credit ratings. Issuer credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term.

Our ongoing enhancement of the database used to generate this study could lead to outcomes that differ to some degree from those reported in previous studies. However, this poses no continuity problem because each study reports statistics back to Dec. 31, 1980. Therefore, each annual default study is self-contained and effectively supersedes all previous versions.

Issuers included in this study

For the purposes of this study, the U.S. region includes the tax havens Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

This study analyzes the rating histories of 11,883 corporate issuers in the U.S. that S&P Global Ratings rated as of Dec. 31, 1980, or that were first rated between that date and Dec. 31, 2020. These include industrials, utilities, financial institutions, and insurance companies with long-term local currency ratings. Structured finance vehicles, public-sector issuers, and sovereign issuers are the subjects of separate default and transition studies, and we exclude them from this study.

In this study, the insurance industry includes life insurance, health insurance, property/casualty insurance, reinsurance, bond insurance, mortgage insurance, and title insurance. In addition to these subsectors, this study also groups insurance service providers (such as insurance brokers and third-party administrators that are rated according to corporate criteria) with the insurance industry.

To avoid overcounting, we exclude subsidiaries with debt that is fully guaranteed by a parent or with default risk that is considered identical to that of a parent. The latter are issuers with obligations that are not legally guaranteed by a parent but that have operating or financing activities that are so inextricably entwined with those of the parent that it would be impossible to imagine the default of one and not the other. At times, however, some of these subsidiaries might not yet have been covered by a parent's guarantee, or the relationship that combines the default risk of parent and subsidiary might have come to an end or might not have begun. We included such subsidiaries for the period during which they had distinct and separate risk of default.

Issuers with withdrawn ratings

S&P Global Ratings withdraws ratings when an entity's entire debt is paid off or when the program or programs rated are terminated and the relevant debt extinguished. For the purposes of this study, a corporate rating may also be withdrawn as a result of mergers and acquisitions. Others are withdrawn because of a lack of cooperation, particularly when an issuer is experiencing financial difficulties and refuses to provide all the information needed to continue surveillance on the ratings, or at the entity's request.

Definition of default

An obligor rated 'SD' (selective default) or 'D' (default) is in default on one or more of its financial obligations, including rated and unrated financial obligations but excluding hybrid instruments classified as regulatory capital or in nonpayment according to terms. An obligor is considered in default unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within five business days of the due date in the absence of a stated grace period, or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days.

A 'D' rating is assigned when S&P Global Ratings believes that the default will be a general default and that the obligor will fail to pay all or substantially all of its obligations as they come due. An 'SD' rating is assigned when S&P Global Ratings believes the obligor has selectively defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but will continue to meet its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner. S&P Global Ratings lowers its rating on an obligor to 'D' or 'SD' if the obligor is conducting a distressed exchange offer.

'R' (regulatory intervention) indicates that an obligor is under regulatory supervision owing to its financial condition. This does not necessarily indicate a default event, but during the period of regulatory supervision, the regulators may have the power to favor one class of obligations over others or pay some obligations and not others. Preferred stock is not considered a financial obligation; thus, a missed preferred stock dividend is not normally equated with default. On July 5, 2019, we removed 'R' from all rating scales.

We deem 'D', 'SD', and 'R' issuer credit ratings to be defaults for the purposes of this study. A default is assumed to take place on the earliest of:

• The date S&P Global Ratings revised the rating(s) to 'D', 'SD', or 'R';
• The date a debt payment was missed;
• The date a distressed exchange offer was announced; or
• The date the debtor filed for, or was forced into, bankruptcy.

When an issuer defaults, it is not uncommon for S&P Global Ratings to subsequently withdraw the 'D' rating. For the purposes of this study, if an issuer defaults, we end its rating history at 'D'. If any defaulting entity reemerges from bankruptcy--or otherwise restructures its defaulted debt instruments, thereby reestablishing regular, timely payment of all its debts--we reenter this issuer into the database as a new entity. Its rating history after the default event is included in all calculations as entirely separate from its experience leading up to its earlier default.

Many practitioners use statistics from this default study to estimate the "probability of default" and "probability of rating transition." It is important to note that S&P Global Ratings' credit ratings do not imply a specific probability of default.

Calculations

Static pool methodology.  We conduct our default studies on the basis of groupings called static pools. For the purposes of this study, we form static pools by grouping issuers (for example, by rating category) at the beginning of each year, quarter, or month that the database covers. Each static pool is followed from that point forward. All issuers included in the study are assigned to one or more static pools. When an issuer defaults, we assign that default to all of the static pools to which the issuer belonged.

S&P Global Ratings uses the static pool methodology to avoid certain pitfalls in estimating default rates. For example, this methodology ensures that default rates account for rating migration and allows them to be calculated across multiperiod time horizons. Some methods for calculating default and rating transition rates might charge defaults against only the initial rating on the issuer, ignoring more recent rating changes that supply more current information. Other methods may calculate default rates using only the most recent year's default and rating data, which may yield comparatively low default rates during periods of high rating activity because they ignore prior years' default activity.

The pools are static in the sense that their membership remains constant over time. Each static pool can be interpreted as a buy-and-hold portfolio. Because errors, if any, are corrected by every new update and because the criteria for inclusion or exclusion of issuers in the default study are subject to minor revisions as time goes by, it is not possible to compare static pools across different studies. Therefore, every update revises results to the same starting date of Dec. 31, 1980, to avoid continuity problems.

Entities that have had ratings withdrawn--that is, revised to not rated (NR)--are surveilled with the aim of capturing a potential default. Because static pools only include entities with active ratings as of the beginning date of a given pool, we exclude issuers with withdrawn ratings, as well as those that have defaulted, from subsequent static pools. If the rating on an entity is withdrawn after the start date of a particular static pool and the issuer subsequently defaults, we will include it in that static pool as a default and categorize it in the rating category of which it was a member at that time.

For instance, the 1981 static pool consists of all issuers rated as of 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1981. Adding those issuers first rated in 1981 to the surviving members of the 1981 static pool forms the 1982 static pool. All rating changes that took place are reflected in the newly formed 1982 static pool through the ratings on these entities as of 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1982. We used the same method to form static pools for 1983 through 2020. From Jan. 1, 1981, to Dec. 31, 2020, a total of 10,565 first-time-rated organizations were added to form new static pools, while we excluded 2,274 defaulting issuers and 6,332 issuers with last ratings of NR.

Consider the following example: An issuer is originally rated 'BB' in mid-1986 and is downgraded to 'B' in 1988. This is followed by a rating withdrawal in 1990 and a default in 1993. We would include this hypothetical issuer in the 1987 and 1988 pools with the 'BB' rating, which was the rating at the beginning of those years. Likewise, it would be included in the 1989 and 1990 pools with the 'B' rating. It would not be part of the 1986 pool because it was not rated as of the first day of that year, and it would not be included in any pool after the last day of 1990 because the rating had been withdrawn by then. Yet each of the four pools in which this issuer was included (1987-1990) would record its 1993 default at the appropriate time horizon.

Default rate calculation.  We calculated annual default rates for each static pool, first in units and later as percentages with respect to the number of issuers in each rating category. We combined these percentages to obtain cumulative default rates for the 40 years the study covers.

Issuer-weighted default rates.  All default rates that appear in this study are based on the number of issuers rather than the dollar amounts affected by defaults or rating changes. Although dollar amounts provide information about the portion of the market that is affected by defaults or rating changes, issuer-weighted averages are more useful measures of the performance of ratings.

Average cumulative default rate calculation.  The cumulative default rates in this study average the experience of all static pools by first calculating marginal default rates for each possible time horizon and for each static pool, weight-averaging the marginal default rates conditional on survival (survivors being nondefaulters), and accumulating the average conditional marginal default rates (see tables 5, 13-14, and 20-22). We calculated conditional default rates by dividing the number of issuers in a static pool that default at a specific time horizon by the number of issuers that survived (did not default) to that point in time. Weights are based on the number of issuers in each static pool. Cumulative default rates are one minus the product of the proportion of survivors (nondefaulters).

For instance, in table 22, the weighted average first-year default rate for all speculative-grade-rated issuers in the U.S. for all 40 pools was 4.14%, meaning an average of 95.86% survived one year. Similarly, the second- and third-year conditional marginal averages--shown in the summary statistics at the bottom of the table--were 4.14% for the first 39 pools (95.86% of issuers that did not default in the first year survived the second year) and 3.76% for the first 38 pools (96.24% of issuers that did not default by the second year survived the third year), respectively. Multiplying 95.86% by 95.86% results in a 91.89% survival rate to the end of the second year, which is a two-year average cumulative default rate of 8.11%. Multiplying 91.89% by 96.24% results in an 88.43% survival rate to the end of the third year, which is a three-year average cumulative default rate of 11.57%.

Transition analysis

Transition rates compare issuer credit ratings at the beginning of a period with the ratings at the end of the period. To compute one-year rating transition rates by rating category, we compared the rating on each entity at the end of a particular year with the rating at the beginning of the same year. An issuer that remained rated for more than one year was counted as many times as the number of years it was rated. For instance, an issuer continually rated from the middle of 1984 to the middle of 1991 would appear in the seven consecutive one-year transition matrices from 1985 to 1991. If the rating on the issuer was withdrawn in the middle of 1991, it would be included in the column representing transitions to NR in the 1991 transition matrix. Similarly, if it defaulted in the middle of 1991, it would be included in the column representing transitions to 'D' in the 1991 one-year transition matrix.

All 1981 static pool members still rated on Jan. 1, 2020, had 40 one-year transitions, while issuers first rated on Jan. 1, 2020, had only one. Each one-year transition matrix displays all rating movements between letter categories from the beginning of the year through year-end. For each rating listed in the matrix's leftmost column, there are nine ratios listed in the rows, corresponding to the ratings from 'AAA' to 'D', plus an entry for NR (see table 25).

The only ratings considered in these calculations are those on entities at the beginning of each static pool and those at the end. All rating changes that occur in between are ignored. For example, if an entity was rated 'A' on Jan. 1, 2020, and downgraded to 'BBB' in the middle of the year and then upgraded to 'A' later in the year (with no other subsequent rating changes), this entity would be included only in the percentage of issuers that began the year as 'A' and ended the year as 'A'. This also applies to transition matrices that span longer time horizons. If an issuer defaults or the rating is withdrawn in the middle of the year, then we would consider it to be rated 'D' or not rated as of Dec. 31 of that particular year.

Multiyear transitions

To calculate multiyear transition matrices, we compared the ratings at the beginning of the multiyear period with the ratings at the end. For example, three-year transition matrices were the result of comparing ratings at the beginning of the years 1981-2018 with the ratings at the end of the years 1983-2020. Otherwise, the methodology was identical to that used for single-year transitions.

We calculated average transition matrices on the basis of the multiyear matrices just described. These average matrices are a true summary, the ratios of which represent the historical incidence of the ratings listed in the first column changing to the ones listed in the top row over the course of the multiyear period (see tables 25-28). Transition matrices that present averages over multiple time horizons are also calculated as issuer-weighted averages.

Rating modifiers

We use rating modifiers (plus and minus signs) to calculate the upgrade and downgrade percentages, as well as the magnitude of rating changes, throughout this study. However, some transition tables may use full rating categories for practical reasons. In other words, the use of a rating category suggests that transitions to, for example, 'AA' from 'AA-' or to 'BBB+' from 'BBB-' are not considered to be rating changes because the rating remained within the rating category.

Comparing transition rates with default rates

Rating transition rates may be compared with the marginal and cumulative default rates described in the previous sections. For example, the one-year default rate column of table 13 is equivalent to column 'D' of the average one-year transition matrix in table 9 and the cumulative average in the summary statistics of the year one column in table 20.

However, the three-year default rate column in table 13 is not the same as column 'D' of the average three-year transition matrix in table 10. This difference results from the different methods of calculating default rates. The default rates in table 10 are calculated as not conditional on survival, while those in table 13 are average default rates, conditional on survival. The three-year default rates in table 13 are calculated in the same way as those in the cumulative average section for the year three column in table 20, while those in the 'D' column of table 10 are equivalent to adding up all the defaults behind the year three column's annual default rates in table 20, divided by the sum of all the issuers in table 20 for the years 1981-2018.

The links between transition matrices and average cumulative default rates are best illustrated through tables 20-22. The default rates in the columns of these tables, associated with each static pool year, are calculated in the same way as they would be for individual years' one-year transition matrices. Tables 20-22 are broken out by the broadest rating classifications (all rated, investment-grade, and speculative-grade, respectively). These tables can also be constructed for each rating category.

As an example, the year two column in table 20 shows the two-year default rates (conditional on survival) for each static pool. These are calculated in the same way as the default column in table 7, though table 7 shows the one-year default rates for each rating category for 2020 exclusively. In the summary section at the bottom of tables 20-22, the first row shows the issuer-weighted averages of the marginal default rates. These marginal averages are then used to calculate the cumulative average default rates in the row directly beneath them, as explained in the average cumulative default rate section above. These default rates are the same that appear in table 13 and are average cumulative default rates conditional on survival.

Standard deviations

Many of the tables and charts in this study display averages of default rates, transition rates, and Gini ratios. Often these are issuer-weighted averages. Prior studies have shown that fluctuations in default rates and transitions can vary greatly depending on many circumstances specific to particular time frames, industries, and geographic regions. As a supplement to many of the averages and time series presented in this study, standard deviations are also shown to provide a gauge of the dispersion of data behind these averages.

For the transition matrices in tables 9-12 and 25-28, the standard deviation for each cell in a given matrix is a weighted standard deviation, calculated using the data from each of the underlying cohort years that contribute to the averages, weighted by that cohort year's issuer base for each rating level.

For example, in the average one-year global transition matrix in table 9, each cell's weighted standard deviation is calculated from the series of that particular cell in each of the 40 cohorts beginning with the 1981 cohort and ending with the 2020 cohort. The squared difference between each cohort's transition rate and the weighted average--which is the data point in each cell--is multiplied by each cohort's weight. These weights are based on each cohort's rating level's contribution to the 40-year total issuer base for each rating level. We then divide this by the ratio of the total number of nonzero weights minus one and the total number of nonzero weights.

For the Gini ratios in table 17, the standard deviations are derived from the time series of Gini ratios for all of their constituent annual cohorts. As an example, the standard deviation applied to the seven-year weighted average U.S. Gini ratio in table 17 (6.20) was calculated from the time series of all available seven-year Gini ratios by cohort. In this case, these are the seven-year Gini ratios from the 1981 cohort through the 2014 seven-year cohort. We calculated standard deviations for Gini ratios in this study as the standard deviations of a sample, and not those of a population.

Time sample

This study limits the reporting of default rates to the 15-year time horizon. However, the data was gathered for 40 years, and all calculations are based on the rating experience of that period. In addition, average default statistics become less reliable at longer time horizons as the sample size becomes smaller and the cyclical nature of default rates has a bigger effect on averages.

Appendix 2: Additional Tables

Table 18

Table 19

Table 20

Table 21

Table 22

Table 23

Table 24

Table 25

Table 26

Table 27

Table 28

Appendix 3: Gini Methodology

To measure relative ratings performance, we utilize the Lorenz curve as a graphical representation of the proportionality of a distribution, and we summarize this via the Gini coefficient. For this study, the Lorenz curve is plotted with the x-axis showing the cumulative share of issuers, arranged by rating, while the y-axis represents the cumulative share of defaulters, also arranged by rating. On both axes of the Lorenz curve, the observations are ordered from the low end of the ratings scale ('CCC'/'C') to the high end ('AAA').

As an example, if 'CCC'/'C' rated entities made up 10% of the total population of issuers at the start of the time frame examined (x-axis) and 50% of the defaulters (y-axis), then the coordinate (10, 50) would be the first point on the curve. If S&P Global Ratings' corporate ratings only randomly approximated default risk, the Lorenz curve would fall along the diagonal. Its Gini coefficient--which is a summary statistic of the Lorenz curve--would thus be zero. If corporate ratings were perfectly rank ordered so that all defaults occurred only among the lowest-rated entities, the curve would capture all of the area above the diagonal on the graph (the ideal curve), and its Gini coefficient would be 1 (see chart 13).

The procedure for calculating the Gini coefficients is illustrated in chart 13: Area B is bounded by the random curve and the Lorenz curve, while area A is bounded by the Lorenz curve and the ideal curve. The Gini coefficient is defined as area B divided by the total of area A plus area B. In other words, the Gini coefficient captures the extent to which actual ratings accuracy diverges from the random scenario and aspires to the ideal scenario.

Appendix 4: Defaults In Profile

In 2020, there were 146 U.S. corporate issuer defaults (including 11 confidential defaults) on $222.8 billion of debt. Seven issuers defaulted twice. This appendix provides summaries of the events leading up to each default and, in some cases, events following the default. We also list the defaulting instruments that S&P Global Ratings rates for each issuer.

Constellis Holdings LLC

• US$110 million floating-rate first-lien bank loan due Dec. 17, 2020
• US$872 million floating-rate first-lien TL B2 bank loan due April 21, 2024
• US$75 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due April 21, 2022
• US$215 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due April 21, 2025

On Jan. 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Virginia-based aerospace and defense service provider Constellis Holdings LLC to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CC' after the company failed to make a mandatory principal payment on its $872 million first-lien term loan.

Earlier, on Dec. 30, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Constellis to 'CC' from 'CCC+' after the company entered into a new $110 million priority first-lien term loan.

Later, on May 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 29

TOMS Shoes LLC

• US$306.5 million floating-rate term bank loan due Nov. 2, 2020

On Jan. 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based shoes and accessories seller TOMS Shoes LLC to 'D' (default) from 'CCC' after the company restructured substantially all of its debt and its term loan lenders took ownership of the company.

On Jan. 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 30

Moran Foods LLC (SAL Acquisition Corp.)

• US$740 million floating-rate first-lien term loan B bank loan due Dec. 5, 2023

On Jan. 9, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Missouri-based retailer Moran Foods LLC (SAL Acquisition Corp.) to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the company elected not to make an interest payment due Dec. 31, 2019, while entering into a forbearance agreement.

Table 31

The Krystal Co.

• US$95 million variable-rate bank loan due Aug. 4, 2020

On Jan. 19, 2020, The Krystal Co. defaulted after the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 with the Northern District of Georgia. On July 6, 2004, we withdrew our ratings on the issuer.

Table 32

Panda Green Energy Group Ltd.

• US$350 million 8.25% notes due Jan. 25, 2020
• US$112.308 million 8.00% notes due Jan. 20, 2022

On Jan. 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Panda Green Energy Group Ltd. to 'SD' from 'CC' on the company's completion of a distressed exchange offer on its U.S. bonds due in January 2020.

On Feb. 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit ratings to 'CCC-' from 'SD' after the issuer reached a settlement on the US$350 million notes via a partial exchange, and the new shareholder, Beijing Energy Group Co. Ltd,. can provide credit enhancements.

On May 6, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 33

Pinnacle Operating Corp.

• US$300 million 9.00% senior secured second-lien notes due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$336 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Nov. 15, 2021
• US$210 million 9.00% notes due May 15, 2023

On Jan. 30, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Pinnacle Operating Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The company was acquired by an unrated company. The rating action followed the company's distressed exchange after repaying only a portion of the amount outstanding on its 1.5-lien notes. On the same day, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings.

Table 34

Commercial Barge Line Co.

• US$1.15 billion floating-rate term B bank loan due Nov. 12, 2020
• US$640 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured asset-based revolver

On Feb. 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Commercial Barge Line Co. to 'D' from 'CC' after its subsidiary, American Commercial Lines Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the Southern District of Texas.

Earlier in the month, on Feb. 5, 2020, American Commercial Lines Inc. announced it would execute a restructuring, after which S&P Global Ratings lowered the long-term issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC'.

Table 35

RentPath LLC

On Feb. 12, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on RentPath LLC to 'D' after the issuer defaulted and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Earlier, on Jan. 17, 2020, we withdrew our ratings on the issuer due to insufficient information.

Table 36

The McClatchy Co.

• US$100 million 7.15% debenture due Nov. 1, 2027
• US$300 million 6.875% debenture due March 15, 2029
• US$310 million 9.00% notes due July 15, 2026
• US$268 million 6.875% debenture due July 15, 2031
• US$157 million 7.795% second-lien guaranteed secured due July 15, 2030

On Feb. 13, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. The company was expected to continue its operations with operating cash flow liquidity and another US$50 million from debtors. The proposed reorganization involved the company eliminating more than half of its debt and transferring up to 97% of its equity to lenders.

On March 17, 2020, we withdrew our issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 37

NPC International Inc.

• US$655 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due April 19, 2024
• US$100 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due April 20, 2022
• US$160 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due April 18, 2025
• US$35 million superpriority term bank loan due Jan. 21, 2021

On Feb. 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Kansas-based Pizza Hut restaurants franchise operator NPC International Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the company decided not to make interest payments due Jan. 31, 2020. NPC is the largest franchisee of Pizza Hut and Wendy's restaurants, operating nearly 1,600 locations in the U.S.

On July 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the ratings on the issuer to 'D' from 'SD' following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, following which, on Aug. 5, 2020, the ratings on the issuer were withdrawn.

Table 38

Pier 1 Imports Inc.

• US$200 million floating-rate term B bank loan due April 30, 2021

On Feb. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based home decor and furniture retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company received commitments for US$256 million in debtor-in-possession financing from various lenders.

On March 26, 2020, we withdrew our issuer credit ratings at the company's request.

Table 39

VIP Cinema Holdings Inc.

• US$165 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due March 1, 2023
• US$45 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due March 1, 2024
• US$20 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due March 1, 2022

On Feb. 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Mississippi-based consumer products supplier VIP Cinema Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On April 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 40

PFS Holding Corp.

• US$280 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Jan. 31, 2021
• US$110 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Jan. 31, 2022

On Feb. 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based pet food distributor PFS Holding Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed interest payments on its US$280 million first-lien bank loan due Feb. 18, 2020. PFS also announced an agreement to merge with Animal Supply Co.

On May 6, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its ratings on the issuer to 'D' from 'SD' upon missed interest payments, following which, on May 14, 2020, the ratings on the issuer were withdrawn.

Table 41

Pioneer Energy Services Corp.

• US$250 million 6.125% senior notes due March 15, 2022
• US$175 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Nov. 8, 2022

On March 3, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oilfield services provider Pioneer Energy Services Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC-'. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a prepackaged plan to equitize around US$300 million of unsecured notes.

On May 11, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 42

Bluestem Brands Inc.

• US$200 million first-lien senior secured asset-based revolver due July 10, 2020
• US$579 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured term B due Nov. 7, 2020

On March 9, 2020, Bluestem Brands Inc. defaulted, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debt. Earlier, on Feb. 13, 2020, we withdrew the ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 43

Ascena Retail Group Inc.

• US$1.8 billion floating-rate term bank loan due Aug. 21, 2022

On March 12, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New Jersey-based apparel retailer Ascena Retail Group Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the issuer repurchased US$122 million debt in two tranches, at approximately 37% below par. The cumulative value of the repurchase represents nearly 9% of the term loan debt outstanding compared with the value in fiscal 2019.

On March 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on the issuer to 'CCC-' from 'SD'.

On July 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on the issuer to 'D' from 'CCC-' upon the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following which, on Jan. 5, 2021, the ratings on the issuer were withdrawn.

Table 44

Optimas OE Solutions Holding LLC

• US$225 million 8.625% notes due June 1, 2021

On March 12, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Illinois-based engineered fastener distributor Optimas OE Solutions Holding LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC+'. The downgrade followed the completion of the partial repurchase of senior secured notes.

On March 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its ratings on the issuer to 'CCC' from 'SD', reflecting our view that there was a possibility of additional debt restructuring.

On Jan. 8, 2021, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its issuer credit rating at the company's request.

Table 45

Frontier Communications Corp.

• US$225 million 8.625% notes due June 1, 2021
• US$50 million 8.40% debenture due Oct. 15, 2029
• US$100 million 7.68% debenture due Oct. 1, 2034
• US$125 million 7.45% debenture due July 1, 2035
• US$150 million 7.00% debenture due Nov. 1, 2025
• US$100 million 6.80% debenture due Aug. 15, 2026
• US$200 million 7.05% debenture due Oct. 1, 2046
• US$1.095 billion 9.00% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2031
• US$400 million 7.875% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2027
• US$1.1 billion 8.50% senior notes due April 15, 2020
• US$500 million 8.75% notes due April 15, 2022
• US$500 million 9.25% senior unsecured notes due July 1, 2021
• US$800 million 7.125% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2023
• US$750 million 7.625% senior unsecured notes due April 15, 2024
• US$775 million 6.25% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021
• US$775 million 6.875% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2025
• US$1.5 billion floating-rate delayed draw term A bank loan due March 31, 2021
• US$1 billion 8.875% notes due Sept. 15, 2020
• US$3.6 billion 11.00% notes due Sept. 15, 2025
• US$2 billion 10.50% notes due Sept. 15, 2022
• US$315 million floating-rate term bank loan due Oct. 12, 2021
• US$850 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Feb. 27, 2024
• US$1.74 billion floating-rate term B-1 bank loan due June 15, 2024
• US$1.6 billion second-lien notes due April 1, 2026
• US$1.65 billion 8.00% first-lien notes due April 1, 2027
• US$200 million 6.75% debenture series F due May 15, 2027
• US$93.45 million 6.75% debenture series F due May 15, 2027
• US$300 million 6.86% debenture series E due Feb. 1, 2028
• US$24 million 6.86% debenture series E due Feb. 1, 2028
• US$200 million 6.73% debenture series G due Feb. 15, 2028
• US$10 million 6.73% debenture series G due Feb. 15, 2028
• US$100 million 8.50% first mortgage bond due Nov. 15, 2031

On March 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Connecticut-based telecom operator Frontier Communications Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed interest payments of about US$322 million. Even with a 60-day grace period, we did not expect payments.

On April 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on the issuer to 'D' from 'SD' upon the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following which, on May 28, 2021, the ratings on the issuer were withdrawn.

Table 46

Internap Corp.

• US$435 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due April 6, 2022
• US$35 million revolver bank loan due Oct. 6, 2021

On March 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Georgia-based data center operator Internap Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC+' after the issuer, along with its subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the Southern District of New York.

On June 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its issuer credit rating at the company's request.

Table 47

Optiv Inc.

• US$800 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Feb. 1, 2024
• US$230 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Jan. 31, 2025

On March 27, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based cyber security provider Optiv Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange, repurchasing about US$47 million of second-lien debt for about US$23 million.

On April 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating on Optiv Inc. to 'CCC' from 'SD', on the view that the company was willing to use its liquidity to repay additional debt. On Dec. 7, 2020, the issuer credit rating on the company was raised to 'CCC+'.

Table 48

Yida China Holdings Ltd.

• US$300 million 6.95% notes due April 19, 2020
• US$224 million 10% step-up notes due March 27, 2022

On March 27, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on China-based business parks developer and operator Yida China Holdings Ltd. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange.

On April 1, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating on Yida to 'CCC-' from 'SD' on a reassessment of the company's credit profile. On the same day, we withdrew the ratings at the company's request.

Table 49

PGX Holdings Inc.

• US$175 million second-lien term bank loan due Sept. 29, 2021
• US$100 million first-lien senior secured term bank loan due Sept. 29, 2020
• US$380 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Sept. 29, 2020

On April 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Utah-based credit report repair service provider PGX Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC'. The issuer entered into a forbearance agreement for its term loan, which allowed it to defer the interest and principal payments for 30 days until April 30, 2020.

On June 5, 2020, we raised the rating on the issuer to 'CCC+' from 'D' on revised credit agreements, which reduced its annual cash interest payments by $10 million, which, in turn, alleviated near-term liquidity pressure.

Table 50

Steak n Shake Inc.

• US$220 million floating-rate term bank loan due March 19, 2021

On April 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based hamburger restaurant chain Steak n Shake Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange by retiring a portion of its term loan.

On April 6, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'SD' to reflect the risk of a conventional default or restructuring, which was likely in the following six months.

Table 51

Whiting Petroleum Corp.

• US$2.4 billion bank loan due April 12, 2023
• US$1.2 billion 5.75% notes due March 15, 2021
• US$750 million 6.25% notes due April 1, 2023
• US$1 billion convertible due April 1, 2020
• US$173.914 million 5.75% convertible notes due 2021
• US$162.962 million 6.25% convertible notes due 2023
• US$750 million 6.625% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2026

On April 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company Whiting Petroleum Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC+' after the issuer filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The issuer agreed with certain majority debtholders to convert US$2.2 billion of existing debt into new equity.

On May 11, 2020, we withdrew the ratings on the issuer.

Table 52

New Millennium Holdco Inc.

• US$600 million floating-rate term bank loan due Dec. 21, 2020

On April 3, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based clinical toxicology laboratory services provider New Millennium Holdco Inc. to 'D' from 'CC'. The issuer missed the interest and principal payment on its term loan of outstanding value of US$557 million, which was originally US$600 million.

On May 27, 2020, we withdrew the ratings on the issuer.

Table 53

BW Homecare Holdings LLC

• US$80 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due May 15, 2023
• US$195 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due May 15, 2026
• US$660 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due May 15, 2025

On April 6, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-headquartered home health provider BW Homecare Holdings LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The issuer, doing business as Elara Caring, completed the exchange of its US$195 million second-lien debt for US$186 million new junior 1.5-lien debt. This restructuring was viewed as a distressed exchange because it would delay the interest payments.

On April 9, 2020, we raised the ratings on the issuer to 'CCC' from 'D' on the expectation of average leverage above 15x. The principal liquidity sources for the issuer involved US$48 million cash on hand and US$35 million to US$55 million available in revolving credits.

Table 54

Gavilan Resources LLC

• US$450 million floating-rate second-lien bank loan due March 1, 2024
• US$350 million first-lien senior secured revolver bank loan due March 1, 2022

On April 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based exploration and production company Gavilan Resources LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-'. The issuer missed the interest payment on its US$450 million second-lien debt.

On May 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Earlier, on April 1, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Gavilan to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+' after the issuer drew the full amount on the US$200 million reserve-based lending facility, which was up for redetermination in April 2020. The issuer was hit by an ongoing bankruptcy proceeding of its joint venture partner Sanchez Energy and by the decline in oil prices owing to the Saudi-Russia price war and decline in demand related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Table 55

Jason Inc.

• US$25.5 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Dec. 31, 2020
• US$310 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due June 30, 2021
• US$110 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due June 30, 2022

On April 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Wisconsin-based industrial products manufacturer Jason Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The issuer entered into a forbearance agreement with its first-lien lenders and missed the quarterly interest payment on second-lien debt. The issuer has been facing negative free cash flows and unsustainable leverage because of its high debt balance and uneven operating performance.

On June 8, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating to 'D' from 'SD' after the issuer's announcement of a reorganization petition filed under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

On Aug. 28, 2020, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 56

Quorum Health Corp.

• US$62.5 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due April 29, 2021
• US$880 million floating-rate term B bank loan due April 29, 2022
• US$400 million 11.625% notes due 2023

On April 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Tennessee-based health care service provider Quorum Health Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC-'. The issuer announced a restructuring agreement as well as filed petitions under Chapter 11. It was expected to reduce debt by US$500 million.

On July 14, 2020, we withdraw our ratings on the issuer.

Table 57

North American Lifting Holdings Inc.

• US$30 million floating-rate revolving bank loan due Aug. 27, 2020
• US$185 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Nov. 29, 2021
• US$470 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Nov. 27, 2020

On April 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based specialized crane service provider North American Lifting Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-'. The issuer entered into a forbearance agreement for deferring the interest payments on its second lien-term loan until June 30, 2020.

On July 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating to 'D' following the company's missed interest payments on its first-lien and second-lien debt and entrance into another forbearance agreement until Sept. 30, 2020.

On Oct. 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B-' issuer credit rating to the company, with a negative outlook. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 16, 2020, with a new capital structure and name, TNT Crane & Rigging LLC. The company eliminated its prepetition debt during the bankruptcy process. The company's new credit group includes wholly owned subsidiary Rocky Mountain Structures Inc. The negative outlook reflects the potential for a lower rating if continued weak operating performance meaningfully pressures the company's liquidity.

Table 58

SPR Holdings LLC

• US$650 million 7.125% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2020
• US$600 million 7.375% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2021
• US$707.6 million 12.00% notes due Oct. 1, 2024

On April 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based exploration and production company SPR Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CCC+' after the issuer missed an interest payment due April 1, 2020. Depressed commodity prices, the company's liquidity position, and ongoing capital needs to maintain production were the main factors behind the decision.

On May 27, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 59

Pace Industries Inc.

On April 12, 2020, Pace Industries Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The issuer halted production at some of its plants because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and reached an agreement with its senior secured lenders for a financial restructuring plan.

S&P Global Ratings had previously withdrawn its ratings on Pace.

Table 60

LSC Communications Inc.

• US$300 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Sept. 30, 2021
• US$450 million 8.75% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2023
• US$312.5 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Sept. 30, 2022

On April 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Chicago-based printing and digital media company LSC Communications Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The issuer was looking for alternatives while remaining operational through bankruptcy, with the help of operational free cash flows and debtor-in-possession financing of approximately US$100 million.

On May 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Earlier, on March 2, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit ratings on LSC to 'CC' from 'CCC+' after the issuer entered into a forbearance agreement for failing to comply with its consolidated leverage and interest ratio credit agreements covenants.

Table 61

Libbey Inc.

• US$440 million term B bank loan due 2021

On April 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Ohio-based glassware manufacturer Libbey Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the issuer deferred an excess prepayment of about US$12 million.

On June 1, 2020, we lowered the credit ratings to 'D' after the issuer commenced Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, and subsequently, on June 25, 2020, the ratings were withdrawn at the issuer's request.

In 2019, the issuer derived about 41% of its revenue from the food service segment and about 32% from the retail segment. Both segments were facing a decline in demand, made worse by the looming recession and coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, on March 19, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating on Libbey to 'CCC' from 'B-' on constrained liquidity and less likelihood of refinancing its term loans.

On Nov. 16, 2020, Libbey announced that it had successfully emerged from Chapter 11 by completing its financial restructuring.

Table 62

J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

• US$275 million 7.125% debenture due Nov. 15, 2023
• US$500 million 7.625% debenture due March 1, 2097
• US$400 million 7.40% debenture due April 1, 2037
• US$700 million 6.375% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2036
• US$400 million 5.65% senior notes due June 1, 2020
• US$1.2 billion unsecured credit facility bank loan due April 7, 2010
• US$1.688 billion floating-rate term bank loan due June 23, 2023
• US$500 million 5.875% senior notes due July 1, 2023
• US$400 million 8.625% second-lien notes due March 15, 2025
• US$2.35 billion asset-based revolver due June 20, 2022

On April 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Plano, Texas-based department store operator J.C. Penney Co. Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC' after the company announced it would not make an interest payment. The issuer has long struggled to adapt to the business model in a challenging domestic department store space, which shrank further because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On July 2, 2020, we withdrew our ratings on the issuer after it filed for reorganization under Chapter 11.

Table 63

Mister Car Wash Holdings Inc.

• US$800 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due May 14, 2026
• US$75 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due May 14, 2024
• US$225 second-lien secured bank loan due April 14, 2027

On April 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Arizona-based retailer Mister Car Wash Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+'. The issuer amended its lender group, which allowed it to make payment-in-kind (PIK) interest payments for three quarters on second-lien term debt.

On April 20, 2020, we raised the rating to 'CCC+' on account of the company's improved liquidity.

Earlier, on April 2, 2020, we lowered our long-term issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'B-' because of weaker operating performance projections in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Table 64

Ultra Petroleum Corp.

• US$700 million 6.875% senior notes due 2022
• US$500 million 7.125% senior notes due 2025
• US$975 million floating-rate RBL term bank loan due April 12, 2024
• US$400 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Jan. 12, 2022
• US$572 million 9.00% cash/2.00% pay-in-kind second-lien notes due July 12, 2024

On April 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit ratings on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Ultra Petroleum Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer announced it would not be making interest payments of about US$13.2 million due April 15, 2020, and entered into a 30-day grace period.

On Sept. 14, 2020, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 65

Engine Holding LLC

• US$174 million floating-rate first-lien term loan bank loan due Sept. 15, 2022
• US$35 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Sept. 15, 2022
• US$50 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Sept. 15, 2023

On April 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the long-term issuer credit ratings on New Jersey-based advertising agency Engine Holding LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer entered into a forbearance agreement with its lenders on its failure to pay the debt interest and principal payments for the first quarter of 2020.

On May 11, 2020, we withdrew the ratings at the issuer's request.

Earlier, on Feb. 7, 2020, we lowered the long-term issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'CCC' after it reported some operational missteps, resulting in a covenant violation. It also reported weak financial performance over the past 12 months that was insufficient to meet the net leverage covenant ratio as of Dec. 31, 2019, and increased the risk of payment default.

Table 66

Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. LLC

• US$125 million 7.125% senior debenture due June 1, 2028
• US$550 million 8.00% second-lien notes due April 25, 2024
• US$730.534 million 8.00% third-lien notes due Oct. 25, 2024
• US$497.849 million 8.75% third-lien notes due Oct. 25, 2024
• US$2.775 billion floating-rate extended bank loan due Oct. 25, 2023
• US$12.697 million floating-rate term bank loan due Oct. 25, 2020
• US$960 million 8.00% cash pay notes due Oct. 15, 2021
• US$600 million 8.75% pay-in-kind toggle notes due Oct. 15, 2021

On April 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Massachusetts-based department store operator Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed paying interest due on unsecured notes maturing October 2021. The issuer was facing challenges in adapting to the ongoing changes in the department store sector.

On July 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Earlier, on April 14, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit ratings on the company to 'CCC-' from 'CCC' as it was contending with the disruption and recessionary conditions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the challenging trends facing department stores, and an unsustainable capital structure.

On Sept. 25, 2020, Neiman Marcus Holding Company Inc. (formerly the Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. LLC) announced that it emerged from voluntary Chapter 11.

Table 67

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.

• US$500 million 5.70% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2039
• US$750 million 4.875% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2043
• US$250 million 3.45% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2023
• US$1.4 billion unsecured revolver bank loan due Oct. 22, 2020
• US$500 million 7.875% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2025
• US$950 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Oct. 2, 2023

On April 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based contract drilling services Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after a review of market conditions for contract drilling services. At the time of the rating action, it was expected that North American and international markets were likely to contract up to 50% and 20%, respectively.

On June 11, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its credit ratings on the issuer.

Earlier, on April 16, 2020, we lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on Diamond Offshore Drilling to 'CC' from 'CCC+' after the issuer missed an interest payment due April 15 on the senior notes due 2039 and hired advisers to evaluate alternatives for its capital restructuring.

Table 68

Envision Healthcare Corp.

• US$5.45 billion floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Oct. 10, 2025
• US$300 million floating-rate revolving bank loan due Oct. 11, 2023
• US$1.225 billion 8.75% notes due Oct. 15, 2026
• US$525 million senior unsecured term bank loan due Oct. 11, 2026
• US$550 million asset-based revolver due Oct. 11, 2023

On April 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Delaware-based physician staffing and ambulatory services company Envision Healthcare Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the settlement of its debt exchange offer on the notes due in 2026 and offering on 53-55 cents on the dollar for the new secured term debt.

On May 4, 2020, we raised the issuer credit ratings to 'CCC' from 'SD' after the reduction of debt by approximately US$329 million.

Table 69

CSM Bakery Solutions LLC

• US$210 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due July 3, 2021
• US$850 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due July 3, 2020
• US$125 million asset-based revolver bank loan due July 3, 2020

On April 29, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Kansas-based consumer products supplier CSM Bakery Solutions LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the issuer executed an amendment to extend the maturity of its US$105 million asset-based lending and had not completed refinancing of its first-lien term loan due July 2020. The coronavirus-pandemic-related impact has further weakened operational performance and financial results.

On June 24, 2020, we raised the issuer credit ratings to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the company extended the maturities on all its loans to 2021 and 2022, which helps CSM maintain liquidity for its operations over the next 12 months.

Table 70

J. Crew Group Inc.

• US$250 million 13.00% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021
• US$1.567 billion floating-rate term loan B bank loan due March 5, 2021
• US$375 asset-based revolver first-lien guaranteed senior secured due Nov. 17, 2021
• US$250 million 13.00% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021

On May 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based apparel retailer J. Crew Group Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's announced petitions filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The issuer reached an agreement with 78% of its intellectual property notes lenders and 71% of its term loan lenders to exchange around US$1.65 billion of debt for equity.

On July 7, 2020, we withdrew our long-term issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 71

Techniplas LLC

On May 6, 2020, Techniplas LLC filed for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code with a bondholders' offer of US$105 million, which involves exchanging equity for debt. The issuer's business had been suffering and further deteriorated due to the coronavirus pandemic. S&P Global Ratings had previously withdrawn its ratings on Techniplas.

Table 72

Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

• US$500 million 7.375% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2021
• US$500 million 6.25% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2022
• US$700 million 5.875% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2020
• US$700 million floating-rate term loan B due June 30, 2023
• US$1.7 billion floating-rate revolver bank loan due June 30, 2021
• US$500 million 5.50% senior notes due 2024
• US$1.25 billion 7.625% second-lien notes due June 1, 2022
• US$500 million 7.125% notes due Aug. 1, 2026
• US$900 million 6.00% notes due Jan. 15, 2028
• €225 million 4.125% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2021
• €500 million senior notes due 2023
• US$250 million 7.00% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2028
• US$200 million first-lien senior secured revolver due June 30, 2021

On May 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New Jersey-based vehicle renting and leasing service provider Hertz Global Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed lease payments on some of its asset-backed securities. The majority of the company's revenue comes from airports, depending on airline passenger travel, which has declined sharply because of the pandemic. This caused high liquidity constraints for Hertz.

On May 27, 2020, we lowered our ratings on the issuer to 'D' from 'SD' after it filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and subsequently, on June 26, 2020, we withdrew our credit ratings.

Table 73

Petra Diamonds Ltd.

• US$650 million 7.25% second-lien notes due May 1, 2022
• ZAR500 unsecured revolver bank loan due Nov. 13, 2020

On May 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Bermuda-based diamond miner Petra Diamonds Ltd. to 'D' from 'CCC+' following the issuer's announcement to enter into a grace period of 30 days for interest payment on its US$650 million debt.

Earlier, on Feb. 27, 2020, we revised our outlook on the issuer to negative from stable because of high refinancing risks, given the high leverage and significant portion of debt maturing in 2022.

Table 74

Fieldwood Energy LLC

• US$517.5 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due April 11, 2023
• US$1.143 billion floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due April 11, 2022

On May 12, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Fieldwood Energy LLC to 'D' from 'CCC' after the issuer failed to make the interest payments on its first- and second-lien term loans.

On June 17, 2020, we withdrew the ratings on the issuer.

Earlier, on April 8, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating on Fieldwood to 'CCC' from 'B-', reflecting the issuer's weak credit metrics, constrained liquidity, and the potential that it may breach covenants on its first-lien term loan.

On Sept. 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings assigned its point-in-time 'BB-' issue rating to the $100 million debtor-in-possession facility provided to Fieldwood, which filed for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Aug. 3, 2020.

Table 75

Revlon Inc.

• US$500 million 5.75% senior unsecured notes due Feb. 15, 2021
• US$1.8 billion floating-rate term B bank loan due Sept. 7, 2023
• US$450 million 6.25% notes due 2024
• US$200 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured term loan due Aug. 6, 2023
• US$400 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured term loan due Sept. 7, 2021

On May 12, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on New York-based beauty and personal care manufacturer and distributor Revlon Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer completed refinancing its 2016 term loan. We considered the transaction as distressed given the company's weak operating performance, negative cash flow generation, and near-term debt maturities.

On June 4, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'SD', reflecting our view of the company's still-unsustainable capital structure, very high debt service burden, and weak liquidity.

Earlier, on April 22, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Revlon to 'CC' from 'CCC-' after the company announced it was pursuing a recapitalization transaction to extend the maturity of its existing 2016 $1.8 billion term loan, term out its unrated $200 million term loan issued in 2019, and enhance its liquidity position.

On July 28, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC-' following the company's announcement that it commenced an offer to exchange any and all of its outstanding amounts of 5.75% notes due February 2021 for a combination of new 5.75% notes due February 2024 and an early tender/consent fee. The holders of the existing notes will receive $750 principal amount of the new notes for every $1,000 of existing notes and $50 of cash as a consent fee if they agree to an early tender.

On Nov. 19, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating to 'SD' from 'CC' as the company completed its previously announced 5.75% senior notes exchange. Noteholders validly tendered about 69% of the total outstanding principal amount of the notes through the exchange. The company instructed the trustee to give a notice of optional redemption to redeem the remaining balance on Dec. 14, 2020. We considered the transaction to be a distressed exchange and tantamount to a default on the notes because the noteholders were not adequately compensated and received less than they were originally promised under the securities. We also incorporated the company's weak operating performance, negative cash flow generation, and near-term debt maturities.

On Dec. 9, 2020, we raised our issuer credit rating on Revlon to 'CCC-' from 'SD' after it completed its previously announced 5.75% senior notes exchange, which we viewed as a distressed restructuring. The negative outlook reflects our view of the company's unsustainable capital structure and heavy debt service burden, as well as our belief that Revlon could default on its debt obligations in upcoming quarters.

Table 76

Outerstuff LLC

• US$155 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due July 28, 2021
• US$100 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due March 29, 2024

On May 13, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on New York-based youth licensed sports apparel maker Outerstuff LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The downgrade came after the issuer failed to make the term loan principal and interest payment due March 31 and subsequently decided to enter into a forbearance agreement with lenders on April 6. As per the forbearance agreement, the term loan and ABL lenders agreed to not exercise or enforce certain remedies with respect to this nonpayment for 60 days, ending May 31, 2020. We treated this as distressed because the issuer did not meet its contractual obligation to pay principal and interest in a timely manner and did not adequately compensate lenders for agreeing to temporarily waive their rights.

On Dec. 8, 2020, we raised our rating on Outerstuff to 'CCC' from 'SD', reflecting its restructured debt and licensing agreements, though it still has high leverage and less-than-adequate liquidity. Outerstuff reached an agreement with its lenders to extend its term loan maturity to December 2023 and paid its lenders the principal and interest it missed in March, June, and September 2020. The negative outlook reflects that we could lower the rating on Outerstuff if operating underperformance continues to pressure liquidity such that we believe a default is inevitable within the subsequent six months.

Table 77

Extraction Oil & Gas Inc.

• US$350 million senior notes due 2024
• US$600 million 5.625% senior notes due Feb. 1, 2026
• US$950 million reserve-based revolver first-lien guaranteed senior secured due Aug. 16, 2022

On May 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Colorado-based oil and gas exploration and production company Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer missed the interest payment on its 7.375% senior notes due 2024.

On May 27, 2020, we withdrew all the ratings on Extraction Oil & Gas Inc., including the 'D' issuer credit rating, at the company's request.

Earlier, on May 13, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating and senior unsecured issue ratings on Extraction to 'CC' from 'CCC+', reflecting the increased likelihood that the issuer would enter a debt restructuring that we would view as distressed in the near term.

Table 78

Forum Energy Technologies Inc.

• US$400 million 6.25% notes due Oct. 1, 2021
• US$300 reserve-based revolver first-lien guaranteed senior secured due July 1, 2021

On May 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on Texas-based oilfield products and services provider Forum Energy Technologies Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The rating action followed the company's exchange of about $58.3 million in aggregate principal amount of its senior unsecured notes for $23.3 million in cash, or a 60% discount to par value. We treat this transaction as distressed, as the investors did not receive the originally promised amount.

On June 18, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating on Forum to 'CCC-' from 'SD', reflecting our forward-looking opinion on its creditworthiness.

On July 7, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating on Forum to 'CC' from 'CCC-' following the issuer's announcement to exchange its remaining $328 million of 6.25% senior unsecured notes due October 2021.

On Aug. 4, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Forum to 'SD' from 'CC' as the company closed on its previously announced debt exchange for the majority of its 6.25% senior unsecured notes due in October 2021. We considered the exchange distressed and tantamount to default because, in our view, the transaction offered less than the original promise for the security.

On Aug. 19, 2020, we raised our issuer credit rating on Forum to 'CCC+' from 'SD' following the completion of its debt exchange for the majority of its 6.25% senior unsecured notes due 2021. The company exchanged $315 million of its existing unsecured notes for new 9% convertible secured notes due 2025, which we considered less than the original promise and tantamount to default. The outlook is negative, reflecting the company's unsustainable leverage and the risk that liquidity could deteriorate without an improvement in sector conditions.

Table 79

Downstream Development Authority

• US$270 million 10.50% notes due Feb. 15, 2023
• US$285 million senior secured notes due Oct. 15, 2025

On May 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based casino resort operator Downstream Development Authority (DDA) to 'SD' from 'CCC'. DDA's term loan waiver agreement was equivalent to a default, even though no legal default occurred under the provisions of the term loan, because the timing of the payments was delayed relative to the terms of the original agreement.

On May 29, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating on DDA to 'CCC' from 'SD' based on DDA's reliance on favorable market conditions to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its near-term debt obligations following its reopening.

Earlier, on March 20, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'B' because the gaming operator and gaming equipment sectors were facing an unprecedented decline in revenue resulting from the temporary closures of casinos across the U.S.

Table 80

Equinox Holdings Inc.

• US$1.011 billion floating-rate first-lien bank loan due March 8, 2024
• US$200 million floating-rate second-lien bank loan due Sept. 6, 2024
• US$150 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due March 8, 2022

On May 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New York-based fitness club operator Equinox Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the issuer completed an amendment to its partial guarantee on affiliate company SoulCycle Inc.'s credit facility that would allow it to delay a mandatory payment, which we view as tantamount to a default.

On May 26, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating on Equinox to 'CCC' from 'SD'. The negative outlook reflects the possibility that we could lower the rating if we believe a near-term conventional default, restructuring, or transaction that we view as tantamount to a default becomes a near certainty.

Earlier, on April 20, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating on Equinox to 'CCC' from 'B-' following the closure of all its fitness clubs in the U.S. and freezing of all its club memberships due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Table 81

Akorn Inc.

• US$1.045 billion floating-rate term B bank lien due April 16, 2021
• US$1.045 billion floating-rate term B bank lien due April 16, 2021

On May 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Illinois-based generic pharmaceutical manufacturer company Akorn Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer petitioned for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

On Nov. 25, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its rating at the issuer's request.

Table 82

Centennial Resource Development Inc.

• US$400 million 5.375% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2026
• US$500 million 6.875% senior notes due 2027
• US$127.073 million 8.00% second-lien notes due Jan. 6, 2025
• US$700 million RBL first-lien guaranteed senior secured due April 5, 2023

On May 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on Colorado-based oil and gas exploration and production company Centennial Resource Development Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer announced the exchange of a portion of its 2026 and 2027 senior secured notes for new second-lien secured notes due 2025 at 50% of par value.

On May 29, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' following the distressed debt exchange. This reflects our forward-looking opinion after the reduction in outstanding gross debt by approximately $127 million.

Table 83

Guitar Center Inc.

• US$635 million 9.50% notes due Oct. 21, 2021
• US$318 million 5.00% payment-in-kind notes due April 15, 2022
• US$35 million 10.00% first-lien notes due May 15, 2022

On May 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based Guitar Center Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The rating action followed the issuer's completed exchange of its unsecured notes of cash and PIK. We considered this exchange as a distressed exchange. On May 29, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'SD', reflecting our view of the approaching maturities that may have led to further restructuring of its capital.

On Nov. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit ratings to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed interest payments due Oct. 15, 2020, and announced that it had entered into a restructuring support agreement, which it intended to file for bankruptcy. On Dec. 23, 2020, we raised the issuer credit ratings to 'B-' from 'D'.

Table 84

Unit Corp.

• US$650 million 6.625% senior unsecured notes due May 15, 2021
• US$425 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured revolver due Oct. 18, 2023

On May 26, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based oil and gas exploration and production company Unit Corp. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer reorganized under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. On June 25, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit rating on Unit Corp. at its request.

Table 85

Tuesday Morning Corp.

On May 27, 2020, Texas-based retailer Tuesday Morning Corp. defaulted as the company filed for Chapter 11.

Earlier, in 2004, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the company.

Table 86

California Pizza Kitchen Inc.

• US$290 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Aug. 23, 2022
• US$75 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Aug. 23, 2023
• US$30 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Aug. 23, 2021

On June 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Los Angeles-based restaurant operator California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPK) to 'D' from 'CCC-' because the company missed its interest payments due at the end of May 2020 and entered into a forbearance agreement with its lenders. The company separately raised a bridge loan in April 2020 that required it to file a restructuring support agreement by June 15, 2020. CPK's performance was weak prior to the disruption stemming from the coronavirus pandemic; however, we believe the pandemic contributed additional operating pressure and potentially accelerated the need to restructure its debt.

On Aug. 14, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request. On Dec. 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings assigned a 'CCC+' issuer credit rating to CPK after the issuer emerged from bankruptcy, where it was able to restructure US$200 million of reported prepetition debt.

Table 87

24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc.

• US$500 million 8.00% senior notes due 2022
• US$850 million floating-rate term bank loan due May 30, 2025
• US$120 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due May 31, 2023

On June 5, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based fitness service provider 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC+' after the issuer missed interest payments on its senior notes due 2022 and entered into the grace period. We believe COVID-19-related fitness club closures materially impaired the company's liquidity position.

On Nov. 9, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 88

APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC

• US$155 million A-2 term bank loan due May 9, 2025
• US$25 million A-3 term bank loan due May 9, 2025
• US$142.913 million floating-rate B term bank loan due May 10, 2024
• US$25 million floating-rate A-1 term bank loan due May 9, 2025

On June 5, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CCC' after the issuer announced it was commencing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The issuer was expected to reduce the outstanding debt amount by about US$290 million.

On Sept. 14, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 89

RGIS Holdings LLC

• US$200 million bank loan due 2025
• US$35 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due 2022
• US$460 million floating-rate first-lien bank loan due March 31, 2023

On June 10, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Michigan-based inventory service and data collection provider RGIS Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed an interest payment on its secured term loan due April 30, 2020. Subsequently, on May 29, 2020, the issuer obtained an amendment for extending the grace period until June 12 for the payment of interest of around US$4.1 million. The issuer also received a waiver on its total leverage ratio through June 12, 2020.

On July 2, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'B-' from 'D' after RGIS completed its debt restructuring and eliminated over US$230 million of debt, which, in turn, improved leverage.

Table 90

Pyxus International Inc.

• US$735 million 9.875% notes due July 15, 2021
• US$275 million 8.50% first-lien notes due April 15, 2021
• US$60 million floating-rate ABL revolver bank loan due Jan. 14, 2021

On June 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Virginia-based tobacco leaf merchant Pyxus International Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer announced a reorganization process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code with 92% of principal amount of its first-lien notes and 67% of its second-lien noteholders.

On Aug. 26, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 91

SM Energy Co.

• US$400 million senior notes due 2025
• US$500 million 6.75% senior unsecured notes due 2026
• US$500 million 6.625% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2027
• US$447 million 10.00% notes due Jan. 15, 2025
• US$500 million 5.00% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2024
• US$400 million 6.125% notes due 2022
• US$172.5 million 1.5% senior unsecured notes due July 1, 2021
• US$1.1 billion first-lien senior secured reserve-based revolver due Sept. 28, 2023

On June 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based oil and gas exploration and production company SM Energy Co. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer announced the results of its previous exchange offer. The issuer expected to exchange US$447 million for US$612 million of its senior notes and US$107 million of its old convertible notes.

On June 18, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the debt exchange was completed.

On Nov. 25, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer disclosed it had repurchased a significant portion of senior unsecured notes due in 2022 and 2024 below par. Later, on Dec. 10, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the company completed debt repurchases on favorable terms.

Table 92

Briggs & Stratton Corp.

• US$225 million 6.875% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2020

On June 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Wisconsin-based small-engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer didn't make semiannual interest payments and used the grace period.

On July 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating to 'D' from 'SD' after the company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. We believe this bankruptcy filing was due to the combined effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the company's weak performance in 2019.

On Aug. 21, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 93

CSI Compressco L.P.

• US$350 million 7.25% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2022
• US$400 million 7.50% notes due April 1, 2025
• US$155.529 million 10.00% second-lien notes due April 1, 2026
• US$35 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured asset-based revolver due June 19, 2023

On June 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based natural gas compression services and equipment provider CSI Compressco L.P. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The issuer announced that it had tendered approximately US$215 million principal payment of the US$296 million senior unsecured notes due 2022. The eligible holders of second-lien notes received 97.5 cents on the dollar of the principal amount, whereas first-lien noteholders received 90 cents on the dollar of the principal amount.

Table 94

Ferrellgas Partners L.P.

• US$500 million 6.50% notes due May 1, 2021
• US$475 million 6.75% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2022
• US$500 million 6.75% senior notes due 2023
• US$700 million 10.00% first-lien notes due April 15, 2025
• US$357 million 8.625% senior notes due June 15, 2020

On June 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Missouri-based propane distributor Ferrellgas Partners L.P. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer decided to not make the final maturity payment on its US$357 million unsecured notes and entered into a forbearance agreement with its debtholders until July 31, 2020.

Earlier, on March 20, 2020, we lowered the ratings to 'CC' from 'CCC-' based on our view of the issuer's unsustainable capital structure and weak liquidity.

Table 95

ASP MCS Acquisition Corp.

• US$35 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due May 18, 2022
• US$455 million floating-rate term bank loan due May 20, 2024

On June 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Lewisville, Texas-based ASP MCS Acquisition Corp. (MCS) to 'D' from 'CCC' after the company missed its June 15 interest payment on its secured term loan due 2024. Although MCS had sufficient liquidity to make the interest payment, S&P Global Ratings believed the company was unlikely to pay it within the five-day grace period, given its unsustainable capital structure.

On Oct. 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit ratings to 'B-' from 'D' after the issuer announced it had completed a debt restructuring transaction, resulting in US$400 million of debt reduction. S&P Global Ratings then withdrew its issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 96

Jo-Ann Stores LLC

• US$905 million floating-rate first-lien term B bank loan due Oct. 20, 2023
• US$225 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due May 21, 2024

On June 19, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Hudson, Ohio-based fabric and crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the company repurchased $5.6 million of its second-lien term loan at a 57% discount in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 ended May 2, 2020, and subsequently agreed to repurchase $206 million face value of first- and second-lien debt at an approximate 50% discount in the second quarter ended Aug. 1, 2020. The transactions announced represented about 23% of total first- and second-lien term loans. We viewed the repurchases as distressed and tantamount to a default given lenders participating in the repurchase received substantially less than the original promise of the term loan.

On June 25, 2020, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on Jo-Ann to 'CCC' from 'SD', reflecting the ongoing risk of a conventional default.

On Dec. 10, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating on Jo-Ann to 'B-' from 'CCC' on the basis of its good business performance and extension of its asset-based lending facility. Growth during the year partially reflected temporarily heightened demand due to stay-at-home activities.

Table 97

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

• US$500 million 6.875% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$1.4 billion 6.625% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2020
• US$1 billion 6.125% senior notes due Feb. 15, 2021
• US$700 million 5.375% unsecured notes due June 15, 2021
• US$1.1 billion 5.75% unsecured notes due March 15, 2023
• US$1.5 billion 4.875% senior notes due April 15, 2022
• US$1.25 billion 5.50% senior convertible due Sept. 15, 2026
• US$1.05 billion 8.00% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2025
• US$1.3 billion 8.00% notes due June 15, 2027
• US$400 million 7.50% callable notes due Jan. 10, 2026
• US$850 million 7.00% callable notes due Jan. 10, 2024
• US$918.514 million 8.00% a/o US$45.685 ($873MM exchanged for notes due to 2025) notes due March 15, 2026
• US$2.21 billion 11.50% second-lien notes due Jan. 1, 2025
• US$1.5 billion floating-rate first-lien last-out term A bank loan due June 23, 2024
• US$3.0 billion first-lien guaranteed senior secured reserve-based revolver due Sept. 12, 2023

On June 19, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma City-based oil and gas exploration and production company Chesapeake Energy Corp. to 'D' from 'CC' after the company skipped the interest payments on its 5.375% senior notes due 2021 and 8.0% senior notes due 2027. The company would not make the interest payments within the 30-day grace period. The company was continuing discussions with its debtholders, and we believed these would result in a comprehensive debt restructuring or a bankruptcy filing.

Earlier, on May 1, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Chesapeake Energy to 'CC' from 'CCC'. The company had a $135 million interest payment due in mid-July and a $208 million debt maturity in August 2020, and its bonds traded at less than $0.10 on the dollar.

Later, on Aug. 11, 2020, we withdrew our issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 98

GK Holdings Inc.

• US$175 million floating-rate first-lien bank loan due Jan. 20, 2021
• US$50 million floating-rate second-lien bank loan due Jan. 20, 2022
• US$20 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Dec. 30, 2020

On June 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Cary, N.C.-based information technology and business skills learning solutions provider GK Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the company did not make the interest payments due March 31, 2020, on its revolver and first- and second-lien term loans. We did not expect the company to make the interest payments due June 30 and anticipated that it could complete a comprehensive debt restructuring with its debtholders prior to Sept. 30, 2020, which is when its latest forbearance agreement would expire and its next interest payments came due.

Earlier, on March 31, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Global Knowledge to 'CC' from 'CCC-' as the company's liquidity remained very weak, it faced substantial near-term debt maturities, and it needed to address its unsustainable capital structure.

Table 99

Serta Simmons Bedding LLC

• US$1.95 billion floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Nov. 8, 2023
• US$450 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Nov. 8, 2024

On June 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Doraville, Ga.-based leading U.S. bedding manufacturer Serta Simmons Bedding LLC to 'SD' from 'CC' after the company completed its distressed debt exchange, swapping $992 million first-lien debt and $300 million of second-lien debt for $851 million of superpriority second-out debt and issued $200 million new superpriority first-out debt provided by the debt exchange lenders. We viewed the debt exchange as distressed due to the company's weak operating performance, liquidity constraints, and lack of compensation to existing lenders for the exchange. The company faced intense earnings pressure due to years of market share declines, further exacerbated by the stay-at-home orders and economic recession stemming from COVID-19.

On July 6, 2020, we raised our issuer credit rating on Serta Simmons to 'CCC+' from 'SD', reflecting the improved liquidity profile, although the capital structure remained highly leveraged, and the company's amendment and extension of its asset-based lending credit facility maturity to August 2023 from November 2021. The exchange provided additional liquidity for at least the next 12 months, but it minimally reduced leverage and interest costs remained high. Therefore, we believed Serta Simmons' capital structure remained unsustainable, especially amid an uncertain economic environment that could continue to pressure operating performance and cash flow. The negative outlook reflected the risk of a lower rating if operating performance continued to deteriorate and the company failed to meet our expectations.

Earlier, on June 10, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Serta Simmons to 'CC' from 'CCC-' following the company's announcement that it entered into a transaction support agreement with a majority of its first- and second-lien term loan lenders to recapitalize the company. It expected the transaction would reduce net debt by $400 million. We viewed the proposed transaction, if completed, as distressed and tantamount to a selective default because it involved debt exchange at a discount.

On April 22, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Serta Simmons to 'CCC-' from 'CCC' as the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders forced retail store closures, which resulted in a severe drop in mattress sales and minimal production.

Table 100

Summit Midstream Partners L.P.

• US$300 million 5.50% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2022
• US$500 million 5.75% senior notes due April 15, 2025
• US$300 million floating-rate bank loan due May 13, 2022
• US$1.25 billion first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due May 13, 2022
• US$28 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due March 31, 2021

On June 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Houston-based Summit Midstream Partners L.P. (SMLP) to 'SD' from 'CCC'. On June 18, SMLP announced it repurchased approximately $90 million of its 2022 senior unsecured notes and 2025 senior unsecured notes for approximately $50 million in cash. S&P Global Ratings considered this a distressed transaction because of the discounted trading levels and noteholders receiving less than the original promise of the securities.

Earlier, on June 6, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on SMLP to 'CCC' from 'B'. On May 28, 2020, SMLP closed the acquisition of Summit Midstream Partners LLC, the owner of its general partner (Summit Midstream Partners Holdings LLC), in a simplification transaction.

On Aug. 5, 2020, we raised our issuer credit rating on SMLP to 'CCC' from 'SD' on completion of the distressed exchanges. Further, on Sept. 25, 2020, we lowered the issuer credit rating to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer announced it retired US$38.7 million principal of 2025 notes at below the price of US$575 per 1,000 principal.

On Jan. 13, 2021, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the issuer retired a huge sum of principal in the second half of 2020--approximately US$550 million by early December 2020.

Table 101

GNC Holdings Inc.

• US$100 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Aug. 28, 2022
• US$979.33 million floating-rate term loan B-2 bank loan due March 31, 2021
• US$275 million floating-rate FILO bank loan due Dec. 31, 2022
• US$287 million 1.5% senior unsecured notes due Aug. 15, 2020

On June 25, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Pittsburgh-based retailer of health and wellness products GNC Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' as the company commenced a voluntary prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on June 23, 2020. In connection with the filing, the company entered into a restructuring support agreement with the holders of approximately 92% of the principal amount of its tranche B-2 term loan and approximately 87% of the principal amount of its asset-based lending FILO term loan.

On Aug. 19, 2020, we withdrew our issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Earlier, on March 20, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on GNC to 'CC' from 'CCC+' and placed all ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications after the company announced that it did not expect to have sufficient cash flow from operations to repay its convertible senior notes and tranche B-2 term loan coming due. We believed conditions for GNC were deteriorating substantially due to the coronavirus pandemic, the anticipated macroeconomic downturn, and limited access to capital markets.

Table 102

CEC Entertainment Inc.

• US$255 million 8.00% senior notes due Feb. 15, 2022
• US$760 million floating-rate first-lien term B bank loan due Aug. 30, 2026
• US$114 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Aug. 30, 2024

On June 26, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Irving, Texas-based CEC Entertainment Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' as the company filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company noted that the filing resulted from the financial strain from the prolonged COVID-19 restaurant closures. CEC expected to achieve a balance-sheet restructuring that supports its reopenings and long-term strategic plans.

Earlier, on April 15, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on CEC to 'CC' from 'CCC' following the company's announcement that it formed a restructuring committee to explore various strategic alternatives, including an out-of-court or in-court restructuring.

On April 2, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'B-' and removed all of the ratings from CreditWatch negative, where they had been placed on March 19, 2020, as the company faced significant operational headwinds due to the coronavirus pandemic and had about $215 million of 8% senior unsecured notes maturing in less than two years.

Table 103

W&T Offshore Inc.

• US$625 million 9.75% second-lien notes due Nov. 1, 2023

On June 25, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Houston-based exploration and production company W&T Offshore Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' following the company's announcement that it repurchased about $72.5 million of its second-lien notes due 2023, about 10% of its total year-end 2019 long-term debt, for roughly $23.9 million, or an average 33% of par value. S&P Global Ratings viewed the repurchases as a distressed debt restructuring given the significant discount to par, cumulative size of the transactions, and W&T's weakened credit profile brought on by the weak and erratic pricing for crude oil and natural gas in 2020.

Earlier, on April 8, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on W&T Offshore to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. A market share war between Saudi Arabia and Russia led to a crash in crude oil prices, on top of the significant demand destruction for crude oil and natural gas due to the coronavirus pandemic. S&P Global Ratings lowered its oil and natural gas price assumptions and forecast that Brent crude would average $30 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude would average $25 per barrel for the remainder of 2020. Liquidity also weakened as cash flows for debt repayment diminished.

On July 20, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the issuer announced an improvement in leverage, which brought the borrowing base down to US$215 million from US$250 million.

Table 104

Covia Holdings Corp.

• US$1.65 billion floating-rate term bank loan due June 1, 2025

On July 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Ohio-based frac sand and industrial minerals producer Covia Holdings Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC+'. The rating action followed Covia's announcement that its domestic subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The filing preceded Covia's entry into a restructuring support agreement with its lenders, which was to involve a comprehensive restructuring of the company's debt against the backdrop of energy price shocks and the recession caused by the global pandemic.

On Oct. 15, 2020, we withdrew the issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Earlier, on April 4, 2020, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Covia to 'CCC+' from 'BB-' after customers were dealing with a sudden and dramatic collapse in prices for the oil and gas they produce. Our assumptions included average oil prices for the rest of 2020 dropping as much as 55% from 2019 levels, which we believed was going to be a primary driver for Covia's leverage doubling in 2020 from 9.6x at the end of 2019.

Table 105

California Resources Corp.

• US$1.75 billion 5.50% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021
• US$1 billion revolver bank loan due June 30, 2021
• US$1 billion term bank loan due June 30, 2021
• US$2.25 billion 6.00% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2024
• US$2.25 billion 8.00% second-lien bank note due Dec. 15, 2022
• US$1.3 billion floating-rate first-lien second-out term bank loan due Dec. 31, 2021
• US$1.3 billion floating-rate term B bank loan due 2022

On July 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based oil and gas exploration and production company California Resources Corp. to 'D' from 'CC'. The issuer missed the aggregate interest payments on first-, second-, and 1.5-lien term loans due in 2021 and 2022, which was unlikely to be paid in the 30-day grace period.

On Aug. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 106

Denbury Resources Inc.

• US$400 million 6.375% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2021
• US$1.2 billion 4.625% senior sub notes due July 15, 2023
• US$1.25 billion 5.50% senior notes due May 1, 2022
• US$3.5 billion revolving bank loan due Dec. 9, 2021
• US$615.1 million 9.00% second-lien notes due May 15, 2021
• US$455.7 million 9.25% second-lien notes due 2022
• US$400 million second-lien notes due 2024
• US$528.026 million 7.75% second-lien notes due Feb. 15, 2024
• US$245 million senior unsecured notes due Dec. 31, 2024

On July 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Denbury Resources Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC+'. The issuer missed an interest payment of US$8 million on its senior convertible notes due in 2024.

On July 30, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the ratings on the issuer.

Table 107

Lonestar Resources U.S. Inc.

• US$250 million 11.25% senior notes due Jan. 1, 2023
• US$500 million reserve-based revolver due Nov. 15, 2023

On July 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Lonestar Resources U.S. Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer elected to skip an interest payment on its unsecured notes due 2023 and was not likely to pay within the 30-day grace period.

On Aug. 6, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the ratings on the issuer. The issuer was exploring other strategic alternatives as liquidity remained constrained.

Table 108

Tailored Brands Inc.

• US$600 million 7.00% senior notes due July 1, 2022
• US$900 million floating-rate term B-2 bank loan due April 9, 2025

On July 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based specialty apparel retailer Tailored Brands Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC+', reflecting an interest payment default on its senior notes due 2022. The company had debt of about US$1.4 billion and was not likely to pay the interest within the grace period. Later, the issuer commenced a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its capital structure.

Table 109

Tupperware Brands Corp.

• US$600 million 4.75% senior unsecured notes due June 1, 2021
• US$600 million senior secured revolver due March 29, 2024

On July 10, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Florida-based consumer products manufacturer and seller Tupperware Brands Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange for about US$97.6 million of its US$600 million, where noteholders received less than par value.

Since the default, the issuer has been upgraded three times, leading to a 'B' rating on Dec. 14, 2020, with a positive outlook, due to its improved financials and liquidity.

Table 110

Hi-Crush Inc.

• US$450 million notes due 2026

On July 13, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based frac sand and logistics company Hi-Crush Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and entered into a restructuring support agreement with noteholders that control 94% of the company's senior unsecured notes due in 2026. The company was operating at a reduced rate of utilization--a production rate of 5.7 million tons per year against total nameplate capacity of 17.3 million tons per year.

Earlier, on July 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC+' after the issuer defaulted on its unrated asset-backed lending credit facility.

On Nov. 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 111

Chaparral Energy Inc.

• US$300 million 8.75% senior notes due July 15, 2023
• US$750 million reserve-based revolver exit due Dec. 21, 2022

On July 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Ohio-based oil and gas exploration and production company Chaparral Energy Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer elected not to make interest payments of US$13.1 million due on its unsecured notes due 2023. The issuer was engaged in discussions with creditors for a debt restructuring.

On Aug. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 112

Bruin E&P Partners LLC

• US$600 million notes due 2023
• US$300 million second-lien second term loan due March 7, 2023

On July 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Delaware-based oil and gas exploration and production company Bruin E&P Partners LLC to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The issuer aimed to eliminate US$840 million of debt by using restructuring and a US$230 million debtor-in-possession facility.

On Aug. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 113

Renfro Corp.

• US$209.9 million floating-rate term B bank loan due March 31, 2021
• US$20.2 million floating-rate priming term bank loan due Feb. 12, 2021

On July 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on North Carolina-based sock manufacturer Renfro Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange. The issuer borrowed a US$20.2 million new term loan, including US$10.1 million of priming new money and rolling up an existing US$10.1 million term loan. We viewed this transaction as tantamount to a default on the term loan because the company's operations were distressed, making it difficult for it to meet its obligations.

On July 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the rating on the issuer to 'CCC-' from 'SD', as the new priming loan was at a senior collateral position relative to the existing debt. The transaction was approved by 100% of lenders, and it provided the issuer with additional liquidity.

Table 114

Global Eagle Entertainment Inc.

• US$85 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Jan. 6, 2022
• US$500 million floating-rate term bank loan due Jan. 6, 2023
• US$82.5 million 2.75% senior unsecured convertible notes due Feb. 15, 2023

On July 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based media and satellite-based connectivity provider Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer filed for petitions under Chapter 11 of U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In this proceeding, the issuer was to obtain US$80 million in debtor-in-possession, and if the prepackaged plan was approved, then the issuer would emerge with US$400 million of debt.

Table 115

Lakeland Holdings LLC

• US$60 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Dec. 15, 2022
• US$35 million floating-rate delayed draw term B bank loan due Dec. 15, 2024
• US$560 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Dec. 15, 2024

On July 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Virginia-based student educational travel provider Lakeland Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The issuer submitted a prepackaged plan.

On Sept. 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'D' after the issuer emerged from bankruptcy with a new capital structure with a priority exit facility due 2023.

Table 116

Party City Holdings Inc.

• US$60 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Dec. 15, 2022
• US$35 million floating-rate delayed draw term B bank loan due Dec. 15, 2024
• US$560 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Dec. 15, 2024

On July 27, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based party goods retailer and wholesaler Party City Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange, at 33.5% of par value for the debt exchanged. The status of the issuer's subsidiary, Anagram International, was changed to unrestricted subsidiary, which raised another US$110 million of secured debt.

On July 29, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' following the issuer's completion of the distressed exchange.

Table 117

CB Poly Investments LLC

• US$88 million floating-rate ABL revolver bank loan due Aug. 16, 2021
• US$175 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Feb. 16, 2024
• US$654.039 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Aug. 16, 2023

On July 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Delaware-based promotional products supplier CB Poly Investments LLC to 'SD' from 'B-' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange of its second-lien debt due in August 2024. The transaction reduced the company's annual interest payments by about US$19.25 million. The debt was converted from cash to PIK at LIBOR+450 for US$125 million, with another US$50 million at LIBOR+1000.

On July 31, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' on the basis of increased liquidity.

Table 118

Never Slip Topco Inc.

• US$25 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due April 27, 2024
• US$258 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due April 27, 2024
• US$100 million second-lien term loan

On July 28, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Delaware-based footwear provider Never Slip Topco Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC' after the issuer entered a distressed exchange to amend first- and second-lien credit agreements. The issuer also deferred principal payments.

On Aug. 5, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit ratings to 'CCC+' from 'D' as the company completed a distressed restructuring and amended its first-and second-lien credit agreements.

Table 119

Mood Media Corp.

On July 30, 2020, Delaware-based media solutions provider Mood Media Corp. defaulted as the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Earlier, on May 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 120

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

• US$600 million 5.75% senior sub notes due June 15, 2025
• £500 million 6.375% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2024
• US$595 million 5.875% senior notes due 2026
• US$475 million 6.125% notes due May 15, 2027
• US$225 million floating-rate revolving facility bank loan due April 22, 2024
• US$2 billion floating-rate initial B-1 term bank loan due April 22, 2026
• US$500 million 10.50% first-lien notes due April 15, 2025
• US$1.46 billion 12.00% second-lien notes due June 15, 2026
• US$200 million 10.50% first-lien notes due April 24, 2026
• US$600 million 2.95% senior unsecured notes due Sept. 15, 2024
• US$100 million first-lien senior secured revolver due Feb. 14, 2022

On Aug. 3, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Missouri-based motion picture exhibitor AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer completed the distressed exchange of its subordinated debt at 70%-75% of its par value. In the transaction, the issuer raised another US$200 million notes due in 2026.

On Aug. 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.

On Oct. 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+' on liquidity pressures as audience attendance remained weak after reopening and major release dates were delayed.

On Dec. 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC-' with a negative outlook due to the distressed debt-for-equity proposal. This would be considered a default because S&P Global Ratings believes the second-lien noteholders would receive less than they were originally promised.

Table 121

UTEX Industries Inc.

• US$542 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due May 24, 2021
• US$200 million second-lien term bank loan due May 23, 2022

On Aug. 10, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based oilfield service and drilling service provider UTEX Industries Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC' after the issuer opted for missing interest payments on its first-lien and second-lien notes. Low demand, weak macroeconomic performance, and the pandemic led to weakening liquidity and performance.

On Sept. 16, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 122

Martin Midstream Partners L.P.

• US$400 million 7.25% notes due Feb. 15, 2021
• US$291.97 million 11.50% second-lien notes due Feb. 28, 2025
• US$53.75 million 10.00% first-lien notes due Feb. 29, 2024

On Aug. 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based midstream energy company Martin Midstream Partners L.P. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer announced the completion of the distressed exchange of US$364.5 million senior unsecured notes due in 2021. This transaction brought the remaining principal balance to US$29 million.

On Aug. 26, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'B-' from 'SD' as we expected the issuer would be able to generate sufficient cash for debt repayment, though challenges remain.

Table 123

Omnimax International Inc.

• US$385 million 12.00% notes due 2020
• US$127.5 million guaranteed senior unsecured PIK term loan due Feb. 28, 2021

On Aug. 19, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Georgia-based building products producer Omnimax International Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer announced that it missed a principal repayment due on its US$385 million senior notes. This act was classified as a general default because the issuer had not paid a substantial amount of its obligations.

On Nov. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 124

Northwest Hardwoods Inc.

• US$435 million 7.50% senior secured notes due Aug. 1, 2021

On Aug. 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on North American building materials supplier and manufacturer Northwest Hardwoods Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer elected not to pay interest on its 2021 senior secured notes.

On Dec. 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating to 'D' from 'SD' after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Table 125

KCIBT Holdings L.P.

• US$395 million floating-rate first-lien term B bank loan due June 1, 2024
• US$140 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due June 1, 2025
• US$65 million floating-rate first-lien revolving bank loan due June 1, 2022

On Aug. 26, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Virginia-based travel assistance provider KCIBT Holdings L.P. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer deferred a cash interest payment on its second-lien term loan. The issuer also amended the terms of its first- and second-lien credit agreements to extend the maturity of revolving credit and temporarily allow itself to make partial PIK interest payments. This transaction increased available liquidity and reduced cash interest for the short term.

On Aug. 26, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'SD'.

Table 126

Town Sports International Holdings Inc.

• US$325 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$15 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due 2020

On Aug. 26, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based fitness club operator Town Sports International Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer failed to pay its US$14 million outstanding revolver balance. The lenders could accelerate the payment of the outstanding term loan balance, which as of December 2019 was about US$178 million.

On Sept. 15, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'SD' after the company's subsidiary, Town Sports International LLC, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, while the parent was not included.

On Nov. 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 127

SAExploration Holdings Inc.

• US$60 million 6.00% secured notes due Sept. 26, 2023

On Aug. 27, 2020, Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company SAExploration Holdings Inc. defaulted after the issuer filed for reorganization under Chapter 11.

Earlier, on June 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 128

Shiloh Industries Inc.

On Aug. 30, 2020, Ohio-based automotive components manufacturer Shiloh Industries Inc. defaulted after the issuer filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Table 129

Boardriders Inc.

• US$450 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due April 8, 2024
• US$286 million term B-2 bank loan due April 23, 2024
• US$45 million term A bank loan due Oct. 23, 2023
• US$80 million term B-1 bank loan due April 23, 2024

On Sept. 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based action sports apparel company Boardriders Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer completed a distressed transaction to increase its liquidity and fund operations. The company issued new money debt of about US$155 million and released another US$492 million of preferred stock to lenders that contributed new money.

On Sept. 24, 2020, we raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'SD'.

Table 130

Premier Brands Group Holdings LLC

• US$325 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due March 20, 2024

On Sept. 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based apparel designer and manufacturer Premier Brands Group Holdings LLC to 'SD' from 'B-' after the issuer announced that it received a waiver for reducing excess cash flow payment of about US$11 million, which was due in April 2020. Half of this amount, US$5.5 million, was waived until the maturity of the notes in 2024, while the issuer was still negotiating the payment date for the other half.

On Oct. 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' with a negative outlook, considering the company's ability to improve its liquidity.

Table 131

MAI Holdings Inc.

• US$135 million 9.50% notes due June 1, 2023

On Sept. 9, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Missouri-based printing equipment designer and manufacturer MAI Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer completed the partial exchange of its senior secured notes. The new notes were in a payment-favorable position. This transaction was aimed at preserving liquidity as sales volume and operating income had been adversely affected by the pandemic.

On Sept. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 132

iQor Holdings Inc.

• US$610 million floating-rate first-lien term B bank loan due April 1, 2021
• US$170 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due April 1, 2022
• US$40 million floating-rate term A-1 bank loan due April 1, 2021

On Sept. 10, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New York-based business process outsourcing and product support services provider iQor Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The issuer entered into an agreement with the majority of its lenders for recapitalization of its funded debt.

On Dec. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'D', reflecting the company's position after the restructuring.

Table 133

Oasis Petroleum Inc.

• US$400 million 6.50% senior notes due Nov. 1, 2021
• US$400 million 6.875% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2023
• US$1 billion 6.875% senior notes due March 15, 2022
• US$275 million convertible senior notes due Sept. 15, 2023
• US$400 million 6.25% notes due May 1, 2026

On Sept. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Oasis Petroleum Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer missed an interest payment and entered into a 30-day grace period. The issuer was also in talks with its lenders and noteholders for a comprehensive financial restructuring.

On Oct. 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 134

FTS International Inc.

• US$550 million floating-rate term bank loan due April 16, 2021
• US$500 million 6.25% secured notes due May 1, 2022

On Sept. 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based hydraulic fracturing services provider FTS International Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

On Nov. 4, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the issuer.

Table 135

Garrett Motion Inc.

• €430 million floating-rate revolving credit facility bank loan due Sept. 27, 2023
• €330 million floating-rate term A bank loan due Sept. 27, 2023
• €350 million 5.125% notes due Oct. 15, 2026
• US$425 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Sept. 27, 2025
• €375 million floating-rate term B bank loan due Sept. 27, 2025

On Sept. 24, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Switzerland-based automobiles and components manufacturing company Garrett Motion Inc. to 'D' from 'B' after the issuer filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company entered a "stalking horse" asset purchase agreement with private equity firm KPS Capital Partners L.P. As part of the agreement, KPS would purchase a substantial part of Garrett's assets and liabilities for US$2.1 billion in cash.

Table 136

Jill Acquisition LLC

• US$290 million floating-rate term bank loan due May 9, 2022
• US$40 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured asset-based revolver due May 8, 2023

On Oct. 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New Hampshire-based specialty apparel retailer Jill Acquisition LLC to 'SD' from 'CC', as the issuer closed its previously announced transaction to extend the maturity of its debt by two years, which we considered distressed and tantamount to default.

On Oct. 5, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.

Table 137

TMK Hawk Parent Corp.

• US$235 million floating-rate second-lien bank loan due Aug. 28, 2025
• US$585 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Aug. 28, 2024

On Oct. 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Massachusetts-based food service equipment and supplies distributor TMK Hawk Parent Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the issuer completed a recapitalization transaction and issued a new US$120 million superpriority first-out term loan, which was provided by a majority of its first-lien lenders. In addition, the company exchanged US$307.5 million of its existing first-lien term loan for a new superpriority second-out term loan.

On Oct. 13, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'SD' following the completion of the exchange.

Table 138

Ruby Tuesday Inc.

On Oct. 7, 2020, Tennessee-based casual dining operator Ruby Tuesday Inc. filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which S&P Global Ratings considers a default.

S&P Global Ratings had previously withdrawn the issuer credit ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 139

Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC

• US$1.5 billion 10.00% senior notes due April 1, 2022
• US$600 million senior notes due 2026
• US$538 million second-lien guaranteed secured bank loan due Nov. 1, 2025
• US$2 billion first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due April 1, 2024

On Oct. 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based oil and gas exploration and production company Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer announced the expiration of its offer to exchange its 2022 senior notes for a combination of a new second-lien term loan due 2025 and new senior notes due 2027.

On Nov. 25, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'B-' from 'SD' on the company's improved maturity profile.

Table 140

Anchor Glass Container Corp.

• US$650 million floating-rate first-lien bank loan due 2023
• US$150 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Dec. 7, 2024
• US$120 million first-lien senior secured asset-based revolver due Dec. 7, 2021

On Oct. 9, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Florida-based glass packaging producer company Anchor Glass Container Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the issuer closed its previously announced exchange offer for its second-lien term loan at a discount to par, which was considered to be distressed and tantamount to default.

On Oct. 15, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'SD' following completion of the distressed exchange.

Table 141

MD America Energy LLC

On Oct. 12, 2020, Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company MD America Energy LLC filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which S&P Global Ratings considers a default.

On April 14, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew the issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Table 142

Gulfport Energy Corp.

• US$350 million 6.625% senior notes due May 1, 2023
• US$650 million 6.00% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2024
• US$600 million 6.375% senior notes due May 15, 2025
• US$450 million notes due Jan. 15, 2026
• US$700 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured reserve-based revolver due Dec. 31, 2021

On Nov. 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based exploration and production company Gulfport Energy Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer elected to skip its interest payment on its 6% senior unsecured notes maturing Oct. 15, 2024, and enter into a 30-day grace period.

On Nov. 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its rating on the issuer.

Table 143

Alliance HealthCare Services

• US$120 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due April 24, 2024
• US$125 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Oct. 24, 2022
• US$405 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Oct. 24, 2023

On Oct. 19, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based health care provider Alliance HealthCare Services to 'SD' from 'B-' after the issuer completed a distressed exchange of its second-lien debt. In addition to relief against very tight financial covenants, second-lien term loan lenders agreed to exchange annual cash interest payments of LIBOR plus 1,000 basis points (L+1000 bps) (1% LIBOR floor) for cash interest payments of L+100 bps (1% LIBOR floor) plus 1,000 bps PIK along with warrants to potentially acquire equity in the company.

On Nov. 3, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' on the basis of increased liquidity.

Table 144

Central Security Group Inc.

• US$357 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due Oct. 6, 2021
• US$50 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Oct. 6, 2020
• US$50 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due Oct. 6, 2022

On Oct. 19, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based home security and monitoring company Central Security Group Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the issuer completed a distressed debt exchange on the first-lien credit facility, in which lenders will exchange about US$396 million of their respective claims for a new US$200 million first-lien term loan due 2025 and most of the reorganized equity, and the second-lien lenders will exchange 100% of their US$50 million claim for 1% of the company's reorganized equity.

Table 145

Nabors Industries Ltd.

• US$700 million 4.625% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021
• US$350 million 5.10% senior unsecured notes due Sept. 15, 2023
• US$600 million 5.50% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2023
• US$575 million 0.75% exchangeable senior notes due Jan. 15, 2024
• US$800 million 5.75% senior notes due Feb. 1, 2025
• US$1.267 billion floating-rate revolving bank loan due Oct. 11, 2023
• US$475 million 7.50% notes due Jan. 15, 2028
• US$600 million 7.25% notes due Jan. 15, 2026

On Oct. 30, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Bermuda-based onshore drilling contractor Nabors Industries Ltd. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer completed a distressed private exchange, whereby it exchanged US$115 million of the principal amount of its 0.75% exchangeable bonds due 2024 for US$50.485 million of new senior priority guaranteed notes due 2025.

On Dec. 10, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' following the company's debt exchange.

Table 146

CBL & Associates Properties Inc.

On Nov. 2, 2020, Tennessee-based real estate company CBL & Associates Properties Inc. defaulted after the issuer filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Earlier, on March 17, 2020, we lowered the long-term issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'B' because the issuer's refinancing prospects were difficult and its capital structure was unsustainable. We subsequently withdrew the issuer credit ratings at the issuer's request.

Table 147

Nine Energy Service Inc.

• US$400 million 8.75% notes due Nov. 1, 2023

On Nov. 5, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oilfield services provider Nine Energy Service Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer's open-market debt repurchases, under which it repurchased a total of more than US$50 million of its unsecured notes principal year to date at less than 30 cents on the dollar.

On Nov. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC' from 'SD', reflecting our assessment of the company's credit risk following the debt repurchases.

Table 148

CDRH Parent Inc.

• US$545 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due July 1, 2021
• US$100 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due July 1, 2021
• US$250 million floating-rate second-lien term bank loan due July 1, 2022
• €282 million notes due July 31, 2023
• €300 million floating-rate notes due Nov. 15, 2024

On Nov. 6, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Florida-based health care service provider CDRH Parent Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' because of the distressed nature of its credit agreement amendment, where the issuer amended its credit agreement to provide covenant relief and improve liquidity. Second-lien lenders agreed to convert scheduled cash interest payments to PIK interest for three quarters (starting Sept. 30, 2020). In return, the issuer agreed to a small increase in overall interest (cash interest plus PIK) for the first quarter.

On Dec. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'SD', which reflects the completion of the distressed exchange and significant risks over the next few months given looming debt maturities and very high leverage.

Table 149

Jonah Energy LLC

• US$1.5 billion floating-rate bank loan due July 13, 2022
• US$600 million 7.25% senior unsecured notes due Oct. 15, 2025

On Nov. 17, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based exploration and production company Jonah Energy LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the issuer elected not to make its full US$30 million reserve-based lending facility deficiency payment for September.

Table 150

Summit Midstream Partners Holdings LLC

• US$300 million floating-rate bank loan due May 13, 2022

On Nov. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based debt issuing company Summit Midstream Partners Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CC' after the issuer closed its sole debt restructuring transaction at a significant discount. S&P Global Ratings then withdrew the long-term issuer credit rating at the issuer's request.

Earlier, on Oct. 1, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered the long-term issuer credit rating to 'CC' from 'CCC' after the issuer announced the restructuring transaction.

Table 151

Northern Oil and Gas Inc.

• US$694.279 million second-lien notes due May 15, 2023
• US$1.5 billion first-lien senior secured revolver due Nov. 22, 2024

On Nov. 20, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Minnesota-based exploration and production company Northern Oil and Gas Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the issuer disclosed debt exchanges, which over the past few quarters represented a meaningful amount of the original principal. Since the beginning of 2020, secured debtholders had received 95% of par, on average, in the form of cash, preferred stock, and common equity for US$130 million of secured notes due 2023.

On Dec. 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' following debt repurchases.

Table 152

Callon Petroleum Co.

• US$650 million 6.25% senior notes due April 15, 2023
• US$600 million 6.125% senior unsecured notes due Oct. 1, 2024
• US$250 million 8.25% senior notes due July 15, 2025
• US$400 million 6.375% notes due July 1, 2026
• US$516 million 9.00% second-lien notes due April 1, 2025
• US$1.6 billion reserve-based revolver due Dec. 20, 2024

On Dec. 2, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company Callon Petroleum Co. to 'SD' from 'CC' following a distressed exchange wherein it exchanged US$217 million of new 9% second-lien notes due 2025 for US$389 million of its existing unsecured notes. The exchange occurred at a weighted average ratio of approximately US$557 per US$1,000 of principal exchanged plus a total of 1.76 million warrants with a strike price of US$5.60.

Table 153

Superior Energy Services Inc.

• US$800 million 7.125% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2021
• US$500 million 7.75% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2024

On Dec. 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Louisiana-based oilfield services company Superior Energy Services Inc. to 'D' from 'CC'. The issuer announced that it voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

On Jan. 8, 2021, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its issuer credit rating on the company.

Table 154

Community Health Systems Inc.

• US$1 billion 5.125% senior secured notes due Aug. 1, 2021
• US$3 billion 6.875% senior unsecured notes due Feb. 1, 2022
• US$3.1 billion 6.25% senior notes due March 31, 2023
• US$1.355 billion 8.125% junior priority notes due June 30, 2024
• US$1.77 billion junior priority notes due June 30, 2023
• US$1.027 billion 8.125% notes due 2024
• US$2.08 billion 8.00% notes due Dec. 31, 2026
• US$1.7 billion 6.875% senior notes due April 1, 2028
• US$700 million 8.00% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2027
• US$1.462 billion 6.625% senior notes due Feb. 15, 2025
• US$1.6 billion 8.00% senior notes due March 15, 2026
• US$1.032 billion 8.625% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2024
• US$500 million senior notes due March 15, 2026

On Dec. 9, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Tennessee-based health care services provider Community Health Systems Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The issuer announced that it completed a transaction to exchange US$700 million of the US$1.476 billion senior unsecured debt due in 2028 with US$400 million in cash and 10 million common shares. This transaction was viewed as distressed because the exchange was at a much discounted rate of about 70 cents on a dollar.

On Dec. 23, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD' based on the company's recent operating performance, improved cash flow, and financial transactions, which helped in improving its maturity profile and lowering interest rates.

Table 155

Populus Financial Group Inc.

• US$350 million 12.00% notes due Dec. 15, 2022

On Dec. 18, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based financial products and services provider Populus Financial Group Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The company finalized a tender offer to repurchase $213 million of its outstanding $255 million 12% senior secured notes due 2022. The transaction was viewed as distressed because the remaining US$42 million would become subordinated, while the noteholders that agreed to the exchange would receive US$850 per US$1,000 principal amount.

On Dec. 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating to 'CCC+' from 'SD'. To facilitate the proposed exchange, the issuer entered a new term loan facility of US$190 million maturing in 2024.

Table 156

Sungard AS New Holdings LLC

• US$100 million floating-rate term bank loan due Feb. 3, 2022
• US$300 million floating-rate term bank loan due Nov. 3, 2022

On Dec. 22, 2020, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based high-availability infrastructure and disaster recovery services provider Sungard AS New Holdings LLC to 'SD' from 'B-'. The issuer announced that it completed an amend-and-extend transaction for all of its US$100 million senior term loans due in February 2022 and most of its US$300 million junior term loans. The transaction was viewed as distressed because lenders got less than they were originally promised.

On Jan. 7, 2021, S&P Global Ratings raised the rating on the issuer to 'CCC+' from 'SD' based on its response to a decline in revenue by significantly reducing costs and capital investments. The issuer is still under high execution risk after its Chapter 11 filing in 2019.

Table 157

Related Research

• 2020 Annual Global Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study, April 7, 2021