NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 3, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'A' rating to Highmark Inc.'s senior unsecured debt issue of up to $600 million. The company does business as Highmark BCBS&Highmark Blue Shield. The rating reflects Highmark's (A/Stable/--) strong competitive position, strong operating performance, and very strong capitalization. With this issue, the company's leverage will remain supportive of the rating, with financial leverage increasing to 24% from 17% and fixed-charge coverage remaining above 6x, albeit down from more than 10x in 2010. Highmark will use the proceeds to pay off $306 million of debt coming due in 2013 and for general corporate purposes. Highmark's strong competitive position is based on
