S&P downgrades Sigma-Aldrich

Standard & Poor’s said it lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on Sigma-Aldrich Corp. to A from A+ and the short-term corporate credit rating to A-1 from A-1+.

The agency also said it removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications in September 2014 following news of the proposed acquisition by Merck KGaA.

There is an increased likelihood that Sigma-Aldrich will combine with the lower-rated Merck, causing Sigma-Aldrich’s credit quality to deteriorate, S&P said.

The agency said it believes that financial policy issues, specifically the likelihood of higher debt levels, will likely result in weaker credit measures.

Sigma-Aldrich’s strong business risk profile incorporates the overall favorable risk characteristics in life sciences and research, the company’s leading position in producing and distributing a wide array of high-value chemicals and its strategic and operational management competence, S&P said.

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