S&P Places Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) on CreditWatch Negative

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today placed all its ratings, including its 'A+' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term corporate credit ratings, on St. Louis, Mo.-based Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL) on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The CreditWatch placement follows the announcement by Germany-based pharmaceuticals, life science technology, and specialty chemicals producer Merck KGaA that it plans to acquire Sigma-Aldrich. "We believe the proposed combination with lower rated Merck is likely to reduce Sigma-Aldrich's credit quality, and we expect to lower our ratings on Sigma-Aldrich upon completion of the transaction as proposed, slated for mid-year 2015," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst James Siahaan. The CreditWatch placement incorporates our expectation that the price of the transaction does not deviate materially from what the company has announced.

We will monitor developments relating to this transaction and expect to resolve the CreditWatch placement once the acquisition is completed, likely in mid-2015.

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