S&P provides A+ to Illinois Tool notes

Standard & Poor's said it assigned its A+ issue-level rating to Illinois Tool Works Inc.'s proposed €1 billion senior unsecured notes offering with eight- and-15-year maturities.

Proceeds will be used to repay a portion of outstanding commercial paper borrowings.

Illinois Tool’s A+ long-term corporate credit rating, A-1 short-term corporate credit rating and stable outlook, as well as ratings on its existing debt, all remain unchanged.

S&P said the corporate credit rating reflects its assessment of Illinois Tool’s "excellent" business risk profile, as defined in the criteria, as a globally diversified industrial manufacturer, its track record of solid free cash flow generation and its "modest" financial risk profile, as defined in the criteria, which result in an anchor of aa.

The negative financial policy modifier, which lowers the rating by two notches, continues to reflect the agency’s uncertainty regarding Illinois Tool’s future shareholder return initiatives and acquisitions and the consequent potential decline in the company's financial risk profile.

© 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.