Moody’s upgrades Rockwood notes to Baa3

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the rating on Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc.'s senior unsecured notes to Baa3 following the completion of the acquisition of Rockwood by Albemarle Corp. (Baa3, stable) and the establishment of Albemarle's guarantee of Rockwood's notes.

Rockwood's Ba1 corporate family rating, Ba1-PD probability of default rating and SGL-1 speculative grade liquidity rating were withdrawn.

The outlook is stable.

This concludes the review initiated on July 15, 2014 after the acquisition was announced.

Moody’s said the Baa3 ratings reflect the guarantee by Albemarle of Rockwood's obligations under the notes indenture. The notes due 2020 remain outstanding following the acquisition that closed on Jan. 12 and are expected to be repaid at maturity.

Following the pending merger of Rockwood Specialties Group Inc. with Albemarle's subsidiary, Albemarle Holdings II Corp., the cross guarantees between Albemarle and Albemarle Holdings II will result in the notes due 2020 ranking pari passu with debt issued by Albemarle Corp., including the acquisition financing.

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