...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 28, 2018--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A' issue-level rating to Chicago-based food processing and commodities trading company Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s (ADM) senior unsecured notes (final amounts and maturities to be determined). We expect the company to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes. ADM will likely close on the Neovia acquisition sometime in the first half of 2019. We estimate the acquisition will increase pro forma debt to EBITDA to closer to 2.5x compared with a ratio just under 2x for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2018. Although the company's pro forma leverage will be close to our 2.5x downgrade trigger, we do not expect it to stay there because we are projecting a meaningful (greater than 20%) year-over-year rebound in EBITDA in 2018, underpinned by a strong North American outlook for soybean crush margins, including a significant unwind of the company's first half of 2018 working capital build up, which it underwent...
