Moody's cuts Linde, BOC to Baa2

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded to Baa2 the senior unsecured ratings of Linde AG from A3 and of BOC Group plc from A2 following the closure of the acquisition of BOC Group by Linde AG.

At the same time, the agency downgraded the short-term rating of BOC Group plc and BOC Group Inc. (Del.) to Prime-2 from Prime-1 and Linde Finance BV's backed senior unsecured rating to Baa2 from A3 and its backed subordinated long-term rating to Ba1 from Baa2.

The outlook for all ratings is stable.

Moody's said the downgrade to Baa2 primarily reflects the major increase in leverage of the combined entity, with total adjusted debt before disposals expected to exceed €15 billion at the end of fiscal 2006. The agency estimated this debt will push the company's residual cash flow to net debt ratio to the low double digits.

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