OSI, Lazydays make list for most at-risk to default

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse and two other area companies landed on an unenviable list of companies most at-risk of defaulting on their debt.

On Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service released a new report called Bottom Rung that lists companies with speculative-grade debt ratings.

Among the 283 companies on the list, which does not include financial companies, are OSI Restaurant Partners and trucking company Quality Distribution, both in Tampa, and Lazydays RV Center, in Seffner.

Companies that rely on consumer spending are especially prevalent on the list. The national names listed include American Airlines parent AMR Corp., Arby's Restaurant Group, Blockbuster Inc., Eastman Kodak; Chrysler, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., JetBlue Airways, Sirius XM Radio and MGM Mirage, which owns several Las Vegas casinos.

Joe Kadow, an executive vice president at OSI, declined comment. OSI operates restaurant chains Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Roy's, Cheeseburger in Paradise and Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits.

A Quality Distribution official did not return a phone message, and Lazydays did not immediately respond to an e-mail request.

The 283 companies are not ranked by likelihood of default, but they are assigned ratings on different measures. These include the probability that any entity within the company will default on any of its debt obligations.

Moody's assigned OSI a rating of "Ca" on the probability of default. Companies with that rating are considered "highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest."

OSI has been hurt by the recession and its large debt burden, which it acquired when it was taken over by two private equity firms in 2007. The company has been buying back some of its outstanding bonds to reduce its debt load.

Lazydays also received a "Ca" rating, and Quality Distribution received a rating of "Caa1," which is a slightly better. The highest rating in Moody's probability of default rating is Aaa, according to its Web site.