Fitch rates Pfizer notes A+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an A+ rating to Pfizer Inc.'s $4.5 billion notes offering.

Fitch said it expects Pfizer to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including pre-funding the repayment at maturity of the €900 million outstanding of its 4.75% notes due December 2014 and pre-funding a portion of its outstanding 5.35% notes due March 2015.

The new rating does not affect Pfizer's potential acquisition of AstraZeneca, Fitch said.

The outlook is stable.

Pfizer has an issuer default rating of A+, short-term issuer default rating of F1, commercial-paper rating of F1, credit facility rating of A+ and senior unsecured notes rating of A+.

While an acquisition of AstraZeneca would offer Pfizer benefits related to taxes, increased product breadth and greater scale, there is no public offer from which to evaluate the credit impact of such a transaction, Fitch said.

The agency said it believes Pfizer's narrowing strategic focus on human branded pharmaceuticals will improve long-term profitability and growth, offsetting the negative effect of a less-diversified business model.

The company's patent cliff is becoming less steep as a smaller percentage of branded revenues are exposed to patent expiration in the next three years, Fitch said.

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