Sampoerna rating up after purchase

Sampoerna rating up after purchase

JAKARTA: PT HM Sampoerna's ratings were raised two levels by Moody's Investors Service after Marlboro-maker Philip Morris International completed its takeover of Indonesia's third-largest cigarette maker.

Sampoerna's foreign-currency debt rating was raised to the last junk rating of Ba1 from Ba3, Moody's said in a statement. Sampoerna's rating is four levels higher than Indonesia's sovereign rating of B2.

Philip Morris International, a unit of New York-based Altria Group Inc., last month completed its US$4.9 billion acquisition of Sampoerna by raising its stake in the Indonesian company to about 98 percent. Philip Morris's acquisition of Surabaya-based Sampoerna is the biggest in Indonesia by a foreign investor.

"The upgrade of the foreign currency bond rating reflects Moody's expectation that Altria may provide Sampoerna with stronger access to foreign-currency resources," Moody's said in the statement. -- Bloomberg