S&P boosts Nycomed

Standard & Poor's said it raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Nyco Holdings 2 ApS (Nycomed) to B+ from B.

This follows U.S. and European antitrust clearance for Nycomed's acquisition of the pharmaceutical business of Altana AG and approval for the transaction by the extraordinary general meeting of Altana, the agency said.

The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were originally placed on Sept. 25.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade reflects the gradual improvement in credit quality of the combined group, S&P said, noting that it considers that the transaction will initially have a somewhat positive effect on Nycomed's business risk profile.

Altana Pharma adds critical size, business diversity and a larger R&D platform, despite being overdependent on one product with a major patent expiry pending, the agency said.

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