Montreal-based pharmaceutical company Valeant is acquiring Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. for about $2.6 billion and funding the purchase with debt. We are affirming our 'BB' corporate credit rating on Valeant. At the same time, we are affirming the 'BBB-' issue-level rating on its existing senior secured debt and affirming the 'BB-' issue-level rating on the existing senior unsecured notes. The stable rating outlook primarily reflects our expectations that over the next 12 months, Valeant will use its higher cash flows to reduce leverage to less than 4x. On Sept. 5, 2012, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed all of its ratings, including its 'BB' corporate credit rating, on Montreal-based pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. The outlook is stable. The affirmation
