...SAO PAULO (Standard & Poor's) Dec. 23, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Minerva S.A. (global scale: ##-/Stable/--; national scale: brA/Stable/--) are not immediately affected following the recent announcement that Salic UK Ltd. can acquire up to 19.95% of Minerva's shares through a capital increase for Brazil-based protein producer. The transaction can add about R$750 million in cash to Minerva, bolstering its shareholders' equity and its already "strong" cash position. However, we expect this injection only to alleviate the pressures on the company's credit metrics, which have been somewhat weaker for our "aggressive" assessment of its financial risk profile. Despite Minerva's continued use of its free cash flow to reduce leverage, the approximate 50% depreciation of the Brazilian currency in 2015 has weighed on the company's metrics because the bulk of its debt is in foreign currency. Nevertheless, if the transaction is approved and occurs...
