Moody's rates Stryker notes Baa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa1 rating to Stryker Corp.'s proposed offering of senior unsecured euro notes.

The proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of all of the $500 million principal amount of outstanding January 2019 notes and the repayment of all of the $750 million principal amount of outstanding March 2019 notes, the agency said.

The proceeds also will be used for the repayment of any commercial paper outstanding, Moody's said.

All of the other ratings are unchanged.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the company's diversified product portfolio across its orthopedic, surgical and neurotechnology segments, Moody's said.

The company benefits from its strong market position in orthopedics as the third largest company in this sector, the agency said.

Moody's said it expects Stryker's leverage will remain low with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio remaining at 2x to 2.25x.

The ratings are constrained by industry wide pricing pressures as its hospital customers are increasingly focused on quality of care, the agency said.

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