We believe Mississauga, Ontario-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has strengthened its business risk profile through diversifying acquisitions, while adhering to a consistent and transparent financial policy. We are raising our corporate credit rating to 'BB' from 'BB-'. At the same time, we are assigning a 'BBB-' issue-level rating and '1' recovery rating to the company's proposed $1.7 billion senior secured credit facility. We are also raising the issue-level rating on Valeant's senior unsecured notes to 'BB', from 'BB-', in conjunction with the upgrade of the corporate credit rating. The '4' recovery rating remains unchanged. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Valeant will continue to make acquisitions to further diversify itself and build its dermatology focus while adhering to its
