OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings assigns the following rating to Magnetite XVI Limited/LLC:

--$320,000,000 class A notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not rate the class B, C-1, C-2, D or E notes or the subordinated notes.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Magnetite XVI, Limited (the issuer) and Magnetite XVI, LLC (the co-issuer) comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (BlackRock). Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured notes and subordinated securities will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $500 million of primarily senior secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have an approximately four-year reinvestment period and a two-year noncall period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 36.0% for 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 class A notes is in line with the average CE of recent CLO issuances.

'B+/B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is approximately 'B+/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, 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 58.8%.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 94.7% first lien loans. Approximately 90.5% 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 78.2%. 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 stresses resulting in a 39.1% 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 weighted average spread or 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 'A+sf' 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.