Our ratings on foodservice distributor US Foods Inc., including our 'B' corporate credit rating, remain on CreditWatch with positive implications, where we placed them on Dec. 9, 2013, following the announcement that it will merge with Sysco Corp. in a transaction valued at about $8.2 billion, including assumed or refinanced debt. Upon completion of the transaction we expect to raise our corporate credit rating on US Foods to 'A-', which is the expected corporate credit rating on Sysco. This outcome utilizes Sysco's estimated transaction financing structure and our base-case estimates for potential costs and synergies, and assumes regulators approve the transaction without substantial changes. We then expect to withdrawal all of our ratings on US Foods. We expect to resolve
