Moody's
Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has downgraded the ratings of CBL & Associates Limited Partnership ("CBL"), including the senior unsecured debt rating to Caa3 from Caa1, the corporate family rating to Caa1 from B2 and the speculative grade liquidity rating to SGL-4 from SGL-3. The rating downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that the secured financing available for CBL's less productive malls has weakened materially, limiting the alternative liquidity provided by CBL's remaining low quality unencumbered asset pool. The current more challenging operating environment facing mall REITs also suggests an increasing probability of a distressed debt exchange for a weak mall REIT such as CBL when its unsecured debt requires refinancing beginning in 2023.
