Moody's rates Altria notes Baa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa1 rating to Altria Group, Inc.'s notes offering, and affirmed the company's long-term Baa1 and Prime-2 short-term debt ratings.

The outlook remains negative.

Altria's Baa1 long-term and Prime-2 short-term ratings incorporate the strong, predictable and highly profitable cash flows and considerable franchise value tempered by the still unpredictable U.S. litigation environment and limited geographic diversification of the company, the agency said.

Moody's added that it expects that Altria's recent acquisition of UST, Inc. for $11.7 billion will result in increased leverage and weakened credit metrics.

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