Global biopharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt plc recently announced a global agreement-in-principle to pay $1.6 billion in cash over eight years to plaintiffs in its opioid litigation; the first payment is due at emergence from bankruptcy of the specialty generics business, which is expected to be in approximately one year. Under the agreement, entities related to Mallinckrodt's Specialty Generic segment will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. We do not expect to consider this a credit rating default. The company has agreed with lenders to refinance certain issues of debt, providing ample liquidity to meet near-term capital requirements. We are placing all of our ratings on Mallinckrodt on CreditWatch with positive implications, reflecting our expectation for improved liquidity and greater certainty that
