S&P ups Alpharma outlook to stable

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on Alpharma Inc. to stable from negative.

Ratings on the company were affirmed, including the B corporate credit rating, B- senior unsecured debt rating and CCC+ subordinated debt rating. Alpharma Operating Corp.'s secured bank loan remained at B+, with a recovery rating of 1.

The outlook revision is in response to Alpharma's agreement to sell its troubled global generic drug business to Actavis Group for $810 million in cash, the agency said. The deal is expected to close by year-end 2005, and the company plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and expand its specialty branded-drug business.

S&P said the ratings reflect Alpharma's deteriorating position in the increasingly competitive generic drug market. In an industry where a timely continuous flow of new products and efficient manufacturing operations are essential, S&P said Alpharma faced long-running FDA noncompliance issues at two of its main facilities, thus hindering its ability to launch new products.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.