S&P downgrades Baxter

Standard & Poor's said it lowered the corporate credit rating and the unsecured debt ratings of Baxter International Inc. to A- from A and placed these ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The agency also said it lowered the company's short-term rating to A-2 from A-1.

The downgrade follows news that Baxter plans to spin-off its biopharmaceuticals businesses into a new company, S&P said.

Baxter's operations after the separation would include the businesses in its medical product segment and the biosurgery business, the agency said.

The transaction, if successfully completed, would result in a significantly smaller, less diversified and lower EBITDA margin business for Baxter, S&P said.

The CreditWatch placement considers the uncertainty around the final capital structure of the new Baxter, the agency said.

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