Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is buying Patheon N.V., a contract development and manufacturing organization, for approximately $7.2 billion, funded with $2 billion in equity and $5.2 billion in new debt, a transaction that is largely in line with our expectations for Thermo's growth strategy. We expect the transaction to result in Thermo Fisher's 2017 leverage spiking to 4.2x (the calculation includes only one quarter of Patheon's 2017 EBITDA) and improving to the mid-3x range in 2018, consistent with our current rating. We are affirming our 'BBB' corporate credit rating and issue-level ratings on Thermo Fisher. The outlook remains positive. The positive outlook reflects our view that Thermo Fisher's credit risk profile remains stronger than most of its 'BBB' rated peers,
