Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. announced plans to acquire MyoKardia Inc. for $13.1 billion. The transaction raises leverage to the low-2x area, likely to remain in the high- 1x area in 2021. This is in contrast to our expectation that leverage would decline to the mid- to high-1x area in 2020 and the mid-1x area in 2021, following the acquisition of Celgene in late 2019. We are affirming our 'A+' rating due to the company's strong projected cash flow and management's commitment to reduce leverage over the next few years. However, we are revising the outlook to negative from stable given elevated leverage. We are placing our 'A-1+' short-term rating on CreditWatch with negative implications. On Oct. 5, 2020, S&P
