...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 8, 2017--S&P Global Ratings said today that it assigned its 'A+' debt rating to UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s (UNH) proposed senior unsecured notes. We expect the debt issuance to be leverage neutral. According to the company, UNH will use debt proceeds to pay down its commercial paper balance--which was $3.6 billion as of year-end 2016--and for general corporate purposes. We expect UNH to reduce its financial leverage to about 40% by year-end 2017 from 46% as of year-end 2016 (on our basis), and for it to sustain this measure at the upper end of 35%-40% thereafter. We expect UNH to achieve leverage reduction through a combination of debt repayment, equity issuance (related to the Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. acquisition), and a temporary pull-back in share repurchases. The transaction does not affect our 'A+' long-term counterparty credit rating on UNH. The outlook remains negative based on the potential for a downgrade if the company's financial leverage...
