Fitch to Rate LCM XX Limited Partnership; Issues Presale

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings expects to assign the following rating to LCM XX Limited Partnership:

--$315,000,000 class A notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not expect to rate the class B, C, D or E notes or the LP Certificates.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

LCM XX Limited Partnership (the issuer) and LCM XX LLC (the co-issuer) comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by LCM Asset Management LLC (LCM). Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured notes and limited partnership (LP) certificates will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $500 million of primarily senior-secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have an approximately five-year reinvestment period and a three-year noncall period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 37.0% for class A notes, in addition to excess spread, is sufficient to protect against portfolio default and recovery rate projections in a 'AAAsf' stress scenario. The degree of CE available to class A notes is in line with the average CE of recent CLO issuances, and cash flow modeling indicates performance in line with other 'AAAsf' CLO notes.

'B+/B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is 'B+/B', which is comparable to recent CLOs. Issuers rated in the 'B' rating category denote a highly speculative credit quality; however, in Fitch Ratings' opinion, class A notes are unlikely to be affected by the foreseeable level of defaults. Class A notes are projected to be able to withstand default rates of up to 60.9%.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 96.0% first-lien loans. Approximately 87.6% of the indicative portfolio has strong recovery prospects or a Fitch-assigned recovery rating of 'RR2' or higher, and the base case recovery assumption is 76.5%. In determining the class A note rating, Fitch stressed the indicative portfolio by assuming a higher portfolio concentration of assets with lower recovery prospects and further reduced recovery assumptions for higher rating stress scenarios, resulting in a 36.5% recovery rate in Fitch's 'AAAsf' scenario.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Fitch evaluated the structure's sensitivity to the potential variability of key model assumptions, including decreases in recovery rates and increases in default rates or correlation. Fitch expects the class A notes to remain investment grade, even under the most extreme sensitivity scenarios. Results under these sensitivity scenarios ranged between 'Asf' and 'AAAsf' for the class A notes.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

The publication of a RW&Es appendix is not required for this transaction.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Sources of Information:

The information used to assess this rating was provided by the arranger (Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated) and the public domain.

LCM XX Limited Partnership/LLC (US ABS)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=871610

Applicable Criteria

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds (pub. 14 May 2014)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=744158

Criteria for Interest Rate Stresses in Structured Finance Transactions and Covered Bonds (pub. 19 Dec 2014)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=838868

Global Rating Criteria for CLOs and Corporate CDOs (pub. 30 Jul 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=868908

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria (pub. 06 Jul 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=867952

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=992536

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=992536

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151019006306/en/

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Robert Rhein
Director
+1-312-606-2314
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
70 West Madison Street
Chicago, IL 60602
or
Secondary Analyst
Joseph Farfsing
Associate Director
+1-312-368-3346
or
Committee Chairperson
Kevin Kendra
Managing Director
+1-212-908-0760
or
Media Relations:
Sandro Scenga, New York, +1 212-908-0278
Email: [email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

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