Pittsburgh Business Times: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2015/01/07/moodys-downgrades-edmc-debt-to-default-rating.html

Education Management Corp.'s debt effectively has been declared in default by Moody's Investor's Service (NYSE: MCO) following the for-profit education provider's recent debt restructuring.

On Jan. 5, EDMC said it canceled in excess of $1.3 billion of its outstanding debt in exchange for the issuance of two first lien senior secured term loans with the aggregate principal amount of $400 million. The loans are due July 2, 2020.

In the wake of the debt-for-equity swap, Moody's downgraded its probability of default rating on EDMC (OTCMKTS: EDMC) debt to D-PD from Caa3-PD.

In a statement, Moody's said the "distressed exchange qualifies as a default." This means that the issuer has failed to meet debt service obligations outlined in its original debt agreement.

EDMC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.