...August 9, 2021 TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 9, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '###+' issue-level rating to Waltham, Mass.-based life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s (###+/Positive/A-2) proposed senior unsecured debt offering. Thermo Fisher plans to use the proceeds to partially fund its planned acquisition of contract research organization (CRO) PPD Inc., as well as for general corporate purposes. Thermo Fisher is in the process of acquiring Wilmington, N.C.-based PPD for $17.4 billion (including the assumption of about $3.5 billion of net debt). We expect the acquisition will close by year-end 2021. The proposed acquisition is large, and it marks the company's significant entry into the competitive CRO industry. However, Thermo Fisher has solid track record of integrating acquisitions and entering into new adjacent industries, and we expect the company's adjusted debt to EBITDA to be in the mid-2x area in 2022, below our 3x upgrade trigger. Thermo Fisher's...