Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it has affirmed the Issuer Default Ratings of Express Scripts Holdings Co. (ESRX) and its subsidiaries, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc, at 'BBB'.
The ratings apply to roughly $15.7 billion in debt, and Fitch has revised the Rating Outlooks for all three IDRs to Stable from Negative.
Fitch said the Stable Outlook acknowledges that ESRX's current leverage measured as total debt-to-EBITDA remains high for the company's 'BBB' rating, as a result the Medco Health, Inc. acquisition in April 2012.
Fitch, however, expects that ESRX will generate sufficient growth in profitability and free cash flow to reduce debt and leverage to below 2.0x within the next 12 months.
The rating agency continues to believe that the acquisition of Medco was strategically sound, as Medco fits within ESRX's core competencies, and offers a portfolio of complimentary services.
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