S&P ups Quintiles debt to B+

Standard & Poor's said it raised Quintile Transnational's second-lien debt to B+ from B and changed the recovery rating to 5 from 6.

The agency affirmed Quintiles' $1.225 billion of first-lien debt and its corporate credit rating.

The change follows a review of Quintiles' recovery ratings, and an increase in the emergence multiple to 6x, in line with peer companies, according to S&P.

Pharma Services Intermediate Holding Corp. is the guarantor for these debts.

Ratings reflect the "volatile demand characteristics for the company's services and its aggressive financial policy and leverage that has existed since the company became privately held in 2003," S&P analyst Arthur Wong said in a statement.

Mitigating factors are Quintiles' industry-leading position as a contract services provider to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, its ample liquidity and its consistently improving operating performance, the agency noted.

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