Moody’s: International Paper notes Baa2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa2 rating to International Paper Co.’s new multi-maturity senior unsecured notes offering.

The notes will rank equally with the company's existing unsecured senior debt and all of the net proceeds will be used to make a voluntary cash contribution to the company's pension plan.

The company’s Baa2 senior unsecured rating and stable outlook are unchanged.

Moody’s said the Baa2 senior unsecured rating is primarily driven by International Paper's scale and leading market share in paper packaging, uncoated freesheet and market pulp, good geographic diversification, and low cost vertically integrated operations.

The company's adjusted debt/EBITDA ratio (including standard adjustments for pensions and operating leases) is high for the rating at 3.6 times for 2017, following the recent $2.2 billion acquisition of Weyerhaeuser Co.’s market pulp business.

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