Moody's affirms Teva Pharma debt rating

NEW YORK - Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday it affirmed its rating on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and upgraded the credit facilities of Barr Laboratories, which Teva acquired last month.

Moody's said it kept Teva's "Baa2" rating and upgraded Barr's senior unsecured debt rating to "Baa2" from "Ba1" because Teva stands behind the debt.

The ratings agency maintained a "stable" outlook for both.

About $4 billion in debt is affected, Moody's said.

Israel-based Teva completed its cash and stock purchase of Barr on Dec. 23. Teva took on about $1.75 billion in new debt and assumed Barr's gross debt of $1.94 billion, according to Moody's.

Moody's analyst Michael Levesque said the acquisition bolstered Teva's position as the world's leading generic drug manufacturer but reflected the company's aggressive acquisition strategy and a reduction in key credit measurements to the mid-to-low end of Moody's "Baa" ranges.

The agency said it assigned Teva and the Barr subsidiary a "stable" outlook because it expects the parent will comfortably maintain ratios of cash flow to debt around current levels.

U.S.-traded shares of Teva lost 89 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $41.93 Tuesday.

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