S&P rates Pfizer notes AA

S&P said it assigned an AA rating to Pfizer Inc.'s senior unsecured notes.

The agency said it expects the company will issue several tranches maturing in 2022, 2024, 2029, 2039 and 2049.

The proceeds will be used primarily to refinance and redeem existing debt, including repaying a portion of its outstanding commercial paper and finance general corporate activities, S&P said.

This transaction is expected to be neutral to Pfizer's leverage, the agency said.

The AA long-term issuer credit rating on Pfizer reflects the company's significant scale, strong market position and diverse portfolio of high-margin pharmaceuticals, S&P said.

Pfizer's portfolio faces pressure from some patent expirations on Lyrica in June this year in the United States, the agency said, and from declines in Enbrel stemming from competition from biosimilars outside North America.

But, S&P said it expects growth in newer products should more than offset these headwinds, supporting modest annual total revenue growth for the next two years.

Given the sheer size of Pfizer's portfolio, pressure remains on its current portfolio and pipeline to generate significant future sales and earnings growth, especially in light of more aggressive pricing by managed care and pharmacy benefit managers, the agency said.

Meanwhile, Pfizer maintains a very conservative financial profile, S&P said, and its long-term leverage ratio will remain lower than 2x.

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