S&P upgrades AmerisourceBergen

Standard & Poor's said it raised AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s corporate credit and unsecured debt ratings to BBB+ from BBB. The commercial paper rating remains A-2.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the upgrade predominantly reflects AmerisourceBergen's continued ability and willingness to maintain a modest financial risk profile while making acquisitions and repurchasing stock. S&P believes that AmerisourceBergen will continue to appropriately balance its financial risk profile with its growth strategy and its plans to return value to shareholders.

The ratings on AmerisourceBergen incorporate the company's important position as one of the three-largest drug distributors, its diversified customer and supplier mixes, its ample liquidity and history of maintaining a conservative financial risk profile, S&P said.

Its narrow business focus in a competitive industry and the weak U.S. economy partially mitigate these strengths, in the agency's view.

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