OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings assigns the following rating to Golub Capital Partners CLO 26(B), Ltd./LLC:

--$256,000,000 class A notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not rate the class B, C, D, E or subordinated notes.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Golub Capital Partners CLO 26(B), Ltd. (the issuer) and Golub Capital Partners CLO 26(B), LLC (the co-issuer) together comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by GC Investment Management LLC (Golub). Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured and subordinated notes will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $400 million of primarily senior-secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have a four-year reinvestment period and a two-year non-call period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement (CE): CE of 36.0% for the class A notes, in addition to excess spread, is sufficient to protect against portfolio default and recovery rate projections in an 'AAAsf' stress scenario. The degree of CE available to the class A notes is slightly below the average CE of recent CLO issuances; however, cash flow modeling indicates performance in line with other 'AAAsf' rated CLO notes.

'B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is approximately 'B', which is comparable to recent CLOs. Issuers rated in the 'B' rating category denote a highly speculative credit quality; however, in Fitch's opinion, the class A notes are unlikely to be affected by the foreseeable level of defaults. The class A notes are projected to be able to withstand default rates of up to 61.4%.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 97.2% first lien loans. Approximately 93.2% of the indicative portfolio has either strong recovery prospects or a Fitch-assigned Recovery Rating of 'RR2' or higher, and the base case recovery assumption of 78.3%. In determination of 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 stresses, resulting in a 37.7% 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 representations, warranties and enforcement mechanisms appendix is not required for this transaction.