Bausch Health Cos. Inc. has announced exchange offers for its senior unsecured notes, under which existing noteholders would receive between 44 to 72 cents on the dollar in newly issued first-lien, second-lien, and intermediate holding company notes. We view these exchanges as distressed and tantamount to a default, as the noteholders will be receiving less than originally promised. As a result, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Bausch Health and our ratings on the company's outstanding unsecured notes to 'CC' from 'CCC+'. At the same time, we placed our 'B' rating on Bausch Health's senior secured debt on CreditWatch with negative implications, as we expect that recovery prospects will materially weaken once the exchanges are completed and the new
