S&P upgrades ACCO Brands, assigns notes B+

Standard & Poor's said it raised its corporate credit rating on ACCO Brands Corp. to BB- from B+.

The agency said it also removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with positive implications on Nov. 18, following the company's announcement that it would merge with Mead C&OP through a Reverse Morris Trust transaction, which closed Tuesday.

At the same time, the agency said it affirmed the BB+ issue-level ratings on ACCO's $1.02 billion senior secured credit facilities. The recovery rating on these loans remains 1.

Additionally, S&P said it assigned a B+ issue-level rating to the $500 million senior unsecured notes. The recovery rating on the notes is 5, indicating an expectation for modest recovery in the event of a payment default.

"The upgrade reflects our opinion that the combination of ACCO and Mead C&OP will create one of the world's largest office supply manufacturers, and that credit measures have modestly improved pro forma for the merger," said S&P's credit analyst Stephanie Harter in a news release. "We believe the merger will increase ACCO's geographic reach and distribution, while adding complementary products to its existing portfolio."

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