New Trojan Parent, Inc. -- Moody's downgrades the CFR of New Trojan Parent, Inc. to B3

Rating Action: Moody's downgrades the CFR of New Trojan Parent, Inc. to B3Global Credit Research - 11 Jan 2022New York, January 11, 2022 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") downgraded New Trojan Parent, Inc.'s ratings including its corporate family rating ("CFR") to B3 from B2 and probability of default rating ("PDR") to B3-PD from B2-PD. Moody's also downgraded its first lien bank credit facilities, which includes its revolver and first lien term loan B, to B2 from B1 and downgraded its second lien term loan to Caa2 from Caa1. The outlook is stable.The downgrade reflects the company's high leverage since the LBO in early 2021. Although demand for medical scrubs has continued to be strong, New Trojan is facing elevated costs due to a challenging supply chain environment. The higher than expected costs has resulted in less EBITDA and free cash flow generation than expected and has delayed debt repayment leading to Moody's adjusted EBITDA of approximately 8.5x for the LTM period ended September 30, 2021.Downgrades:..Issuer: New Trojan Parent, Inc..... Corporate Family Rating, Downgraded to B3 from B2.... Probability of Default Rating, Downgraded to B3-PD from B2-PD....Gtd Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility, Downgraded to B2 (LGD3) from B1 (LGD3)....Gtd Senior Secured 1st Lien Term Loan B, Downgraded to B2 (LGD3) from B1 (LGD3)....Gtd Senior Secured 2nd Lien Term Loan, Downgraded to Caa2 (LGD6) from Caa1 (LGD6)Outlook Actions:..Issuer: New Trojan Parent, Inc.....Outlook, Remains StableRATINGS RATIONALENew Trojan Parent, Inc.'s (dba "Careismatic") B3 CFR reflects its high leverage, modest scale and narrow product focus on a single apparel category (predominantly medical uniforms and scrubs) and high customer concentration, which exposes the company to changes in retailer merchandising and pricing strategies. The ratings also reflect governance considerations including financial strategies that will be dictated by its private investment owners, including a tolerance for high leverage and the potential for debt-financed acquisitions or dividend distributions. Mitigating these risks are the stable and growing demand for medical uniforms, which has recently accelerated due to the global coronavirus pandemic, and the category's low fashion risk and the replenishment nature of the product which drive a typically stable and predictable revenue stream. The company also benefits from portfolio of well-recognized brands within its market and good liquidity.The stable outlook reflects Moody's view that liquidity will remain good, with positive free cash flow generation and a fully available $100 million revolving credit facility. The outlook also reflects that Moody's expects credit metrics to improve on revenue and earnings growth and debt reduction.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSThe ratings could be downgraded if the company's overall operating performance, liquidity or relationships with key customers deteriorate, or if financial policies become more aggressive such as through material debt-financed dividends. Quantitively, the ratings could be downgraded should FCF/debt fall below 1% or EBITA/interest expense fall below 1.25x.The ratings could be upgraded if the company maintains good liquidity and a commitment to debt reduction. Quantitatively, the ratings could be upgraded with debt/EBITDA below 6x and EBITA/interest above 1.75x.New Trojan Parent, Inc. is the parent company of Careismatic Brands, Inc., which designs and distributes medical and school uniform apparel and related products globally. Careismatic operates using various trademarks including Cherokee and Dickies. The company is owned by the private equity firm Partners Group.The principal methodology used in these ratings was Apparel published in June 2021 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1276303. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.REGULATORY DISCLOSURESFor further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1288235.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Joe Tringali Analyst Corporate Finance Group Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. 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