S&P cuts Becton Dickinson, rates notes BBB+

Standard & Poor's said it lowered its long-term corporate rating on Becton, Dickinson & Co. to BBB+ from A, the issue-level rating on its unsecured debt to BBB+ from A and the short-term commercial paper rating to A-2 from A-1.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Oct. 6.

At the same time, S&P assigned a BBB+ issue-level rating to Becton Dickinson's senior unsecured notes offering, to be issued in several tranches.

"The ratings and stable outlook reflect our view that Becton Dickinson's expected acquisition of CareFusion is complementary, and that the combined businesses further support the company's "strong" business risk profile," S&P credit analyst Arthur Wong said in a news release.

"However, per the announced financing plans, pro forma net adjusted debt leverage approaches 3x and funds from operations (FFO) to total debt falls to under 30%-levels that are more consistent with an "intermediate" financial risk assessment."

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