Moody's gives Ashland notes Ba1, ups & cuts debt

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned Ba1 ratings to Ashland Inc.'s three new tranches of proposed senior unsecured notes.

At the same time, Moody's affirmed Ashland's Ba1 corporate family rating, upgraded its existing unsecured debt to Ba1 from Ba2 and downgraded its 9 1/8 % notes and the 6.6% Hercules notes to Ba1 from Baa3 due to their move to an unsecured status.

The ratings outlook is stable.

The proceeds from the new notes, along with a $200 million draw under its revolving credit facility, will be used to repay Ashland's existing term loan A and term loan B.

Moody's said Ashland's refinancing transactions are a positive for the firm's liquidity profile - extending the average maturity of debt, potentially reducing its interest costs while locking in low interest rates and eliminating restrictive covenants.

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