Press Release

Morningstar DBRS Discontinues Credit Ratings on the Secured Notes Issued by Portman Ridge Funding 2018-2 Ltd

Structured Credit
August 29, 2024

DBRS, Inc. (Morningstar DBRS) discontinued its credit ratings on the Class A-1R-R Senior-Secured Revolving Floating-Rate Notes (the Class A-1R-R Notes) and the Class A-1T-R Senior-Secured Floating-Rate Notes (the Class A-1T-R Notes; together with the Class A-1R-R Notes, the Secured Notes) issued by Portman Ridge Funding 2018-2 Ltd. (the Issuer or Portman Ridge CLO) pursuant to the Indenture dated as of October 18, 2018, as amended from time to time, among the Issuer; Portman Ridge Funding 2018-2 LLC as Co-Issuer; and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as Trustee.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE/DESCRIPTION
The discontinuation of the credit ratings on the Secured Notes reflects the full repayment of principal and the full payment of interest due on the Secured Notes.

Morningstar DBRS’ credit ratings on the applicable classes address the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents. Where applicable, a description of these financial obligations can be found in the transactions’ respective press releases at issuance.

Morningstar DBRS’ long-term credit ratings provide opinions on risk of default. Morningstar DBRS considers risk of default to be the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term obligation has been issued.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factor(s) that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in Credit Ratings (August 13, 2024; https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437781).

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is Global Methodology for Rating CLOs and Corporate CDOs (February 23, 2024; https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/428544).

Other methodologies referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release.

The credit rating was initiated at the request of the rated entity.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the credit rating process for this credit rating action.

Morningstar DBRS had access to the accounts, management and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this credit rating action.

This is a solicited credit rating.

These credit ratings are endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom, and by DBRS Ratings GmbH for use in the European Union, respectively. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed credit ratings:

The last credit rating action on this issuer took place on March 12, 2024, when Morningstar DBRS confirmed the credit ratings on the Secured Notes.

For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication. For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a central repository, see https://data.fca.org.uk/#/ceres/craStats.

Lead Analyst: Anthony Bell, Senior Analyst
Rating Committee Chair: Jerry van Koolbergen, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: September 21, 2018

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The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

Operational Risk Assessment for CLOs and CDOs (September 14, 2023; https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420608)

Interest Rate Stresses for U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (February 26, 2024; https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/428623)

Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance (April 15, 2024; https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/431205)

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit dbrs.morningstar.com or contact us at info-DBRS@morningstar.com.

Ratings

Portman Ridge Funding 2018-2 Ltd.
  • Date Issued:Aug 29, 2024
  • Rating Action:Disc.-Repaid
  • Ratings:Discontinued
  • Trend:--
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:US
  • Date Issued:Aug 29, 2024
  • Rating Action:Disc.-Repaid
  • Ratings:Discontinued
  • Trend:--
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:US
  • US = Lead Analyst based in USA
  • CA = Lead Analyst based in Canada
  • EU = Lead Analyst based in EU
  • UK = Lead Analyst based in UK
  • E = EU endorsed
  • U = UK endorsed
  • Unsolicited Participating With Access
  • Unsolicited Participating Without Access
  • Unsolicited Non-participating

ALL MORNINGSTAR DBRS RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLAIMERS AND CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. PLEASE READ THESE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING MORNINGSTAR DBRS RATINGS, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS, POLICIES, RATING SCALES AND METHODOLOGIES.