Moody's Investors Services said Tuesday it's reviewing the junk grade ratings of Swift & Co. for possible upgrade, now that JBS SA plans to purchase the U.S. beef and pork processor.
The ratings agency is reviewing Swift's corporate rating of "B3," its probability of default rating of "B3," its senior unsecured notes rating of "Caa1," and senior subordinated notes rating of "Caa1." All the ratings are non-investment grade.
On Tuesday, JBS _ the company that controls Brazil's leading beef exporter Friboi _ announced it's buying Greeley, Colo.-based Swift from private equity firm HM Capital in a $225 million cash deal, that also comes with $1.2 billion in debt.
