Fitch Downgrades Beazer's IDR, Debt

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Rating and outstanding debt ratings of Beazer Homes USA Inc. and removed them from Rating Watch Negative. The downgrades were as follows: IDR, from B to B-minus; senior notes and convertible senior notes, from B-minus/RR5 to CCC-plus/RR5; and junior subordinated debt, from CCC/RR6 to CCC-minus/RR6. The downgrades reflect "the current difficult housing environment and Fitch's expectations that the housing environment remains difficult for the remainder of the year and that new-home activity will still be on the decline well into 2009," the rating agency said. They also reflect "negative trends in Beazer's operating margins, further deterioration in credit metrics ... and erosion in tangible net worth from noncash real estate charges," Fitch added. The companies can be found online at http://www.beazer.com and http://www.fitchratings.com.