Hartsville, S.C.-based packaging manufacturer Sonoco Products Co. recently announced the proposed acquisition of Ball Metalpack Finco LLC (B-/Stable/--), a food- and aerosol-focused metal packaging company. Despite the leveraging impact of the transaction, with adjusted debt to EBITDA above 3x this year, we assume earnings growth will drive an improvement in credit measures in 2023. Therefore, we affirmed our 'BBB' issuer credit rating on Sonoco. The outlook remains negative. The negative outlook reflects we could lower the ratings over the next two years if we believed Sonoco's financial policies or integration challenges made it unlikely its adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio would stay below 3x. The negative outlook reflects the increase in leverage, pro forma for the proposed acquisition. We estimate Sonoco's S&P
