Moody's: Holcim view to negative

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Baa2 long-term and Prime-2 short-term ratings of Holcim Ltd. and its rated subsidiaries.

The agency changed the outlook on all ratings to negative from stable following Holcim's announcement of an exchange offer to merge with Lafarge SA (Ba1/RUR).

"The merger of Holcim and Lafarge will create the largest and geographically most diversified cement producer worldwide resulting in a very strong business profile and offering sizable synergy potential," Falk Frey, Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for Holcim, said in a news release.

"However, the weaker capital structure of Lafarge and the execution risks resulting from the complexity of the merger weigh negatively on the Baa2 ratings of Holcim and consequently triggered the outlook change to negative."

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