S&P lowers Comcast to stable

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed all ratings on Comcast Corp., including the A- corporate credit rating and A-2 short-term rating, and revised its outlook to stable from positive.

The outlook revision follows news that Comcast has agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. for about $45 billion in stock, said Catherine Cosentino, an S&P analyst.

"The transaction, which the companies expect to complete by the end of 2014, would combine the two largest cable system operators in the U.S. with a total of 33 million video subscribers and 81 million revenue generating units," Cosentino said in a press release.

The proposed transaction is expected to face regulatory scrutiny, the analyst said, and could be completed with certain conditions, including possible asset sales.

According to Comcast, neither party is required to pay a break-up fee if the deal is not completed, the analyst added.

Even with an increase in leverage from the assumption of Time Warner Cable's debt, Comcast's financial risk profile would remain intermediate with expected leverage of about 2.4x at the end of 2014, Cosentino said. And this calculation excludes potential cost synergies following the completion of the transaction, she added.

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