Moody’s affirms Pfizer

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the ratings of Pfizer Inc. and rated subsidiaries, including the A1 senior unsecured long-term rating and the Prime-1 commercial paper rating.

The outlook remains stable.

This action follows the announcement that Pfizer will acquire Hospira, Inc. for about $16 billion in cash plus the assumption of net debt.

Moody’s said the affirmation reflects solid credit ratios post acquisition, with gross debt/EBITDA of roughly 2 times, significant scale and diversity, strong operating margins and cash flow and substantial cash and investment levels in excess of $40 billion.

The acquisition will bolster Pfizer's presence in the hospital pharmaceutical market and Hospira's expertise in biosimilar products provides a solid growth driver for Pfizer, complementing its own biosimilars pipeline, the agency said.

"The Hospira acquisition is fundamentally credit positive, but raises event risk as Pfizer approaches a decision on a split-up of the company over the next 24 months," Moody's senior vice president Michael Levesque said in a news release.

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