Moody's may downgrade Anheuser-Busch

Moody's Investors Service said it placed the senior unsecured A3 ratings of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and its affiliates on review for downgrade.

The prime-2 short term rating was affirmed.

The downgrade review reflects Anheuser-Busch's high financial leverage and slow path to de-leveraging following its October 2016 acquisition of SABMiller Ltd., Moody's said.

It also reflects the concern that slower-than-expected growth in certain key emerging markets will continue to hinder the company's ability to materially boost the pace of de-leveraging over the next 12- to 18-months, the agency said.

Deleveraging is behind original expectations due largely to foreign-currency fluctuations and underperformance of certain emerging economies, Moody's said.

As of June, the company's debt-to-EBITDA leverage was about 5.4x, which is high for the rating, the agency said.

The review will focus on the ability of the company to jumpstart its de-leveraging plan in the back half of 2018 and beyond, Moody's said.

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