08.07.2014 23:29:00
|
AbbVie Inc. -- Moody's: AbbVie's increased proposal for Shire would raise leverage and is credit negative
New York, July 08, 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service commented that the latest proposal by AbbVie Inc. ("AbbVie") on July 8, 2014 to merge with Shire PLC at a cost of approximately $52 billion in cash and stock is credit negative as it would raise AbbVie's financial leverage. While the higher debt results in an overall impact that is credit negative, the deal would have positive benefits to AbbVie's business profile. AbbVie is rated Baa1 with a positive outlook, and there is no change to AbbVie's rating or positive outlook at this time.