Tokyo, May 09, 2018 -- Moody's Japan K.K. has downgraded to A2 from A1 the issuer
and senior unsecured ratings of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
Moody's has also placed Takeda's A2 issuer and senior unsecured
ratings under review for further downgrade following Takeda's announcement
on 8 May 2018 that it will acquire all of the outstanding shares in Shire
plc (Baa3 positive) for approximately JPY7 trillion (USD64 billion).
Prior to the Shire announcement, Takeda's rating outlook had
been negative due to elevated leverage after a previous major acquisition
last year.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"Even without the Shire acquisition, we do not expect Takeda
to maintain a financial profile consistent with its previous rating of
A1," says Yukiko Asanuma, a Moody's Analyst.
Leverage was already above the 3x gross debt/EBITDA level for the previous
rating and, given the thinness of its late-stage pipeline,
Moody's expects Takeda would have continued to make acquisitions,
making it unlikely that it would have reduced leverage below 3x on a sustainable
basis even without the Shire acquisition.
Although the scale of the Shire transaction is extraordinary, it
indicates Takeda's willingness to increase its leverage for the
purposes of investments in replenishing its pipeline and for diversifying
its scope.
"At the same time, the rating is on review for further downgrade
because, if Takeda acquires Shire as currently contemplated,
its gross debt/EBITDA will almost double to about 6x," adds
Asanuma.
Together with Shire's existing debt of around JPY2 trillion, Takeda's
on-balance sheet debt will likely increase six-fold from
JPY1 trillion now to JPY6 trillion, if all of the cash offered to
Shire's shareholders of JPY3 trillion is funded by debt. Moody's
also notes that Takeda plans to issue almost JPY4 trillion in equity.
The Shire acquisition is expected to close in the first half of calendar
2019.
Resolution of the rating review will be based on the acquisition meeting
key hurdles, including the approval of the vast majority of shareholders
at both companies; anti-trust and other regulatory approvals
in at least five major jurisdictions; and clarity on the permanent
financing that will be arranged for the cash portion of the transaction.
In its review, Moody's will focus on: 1) the execution
risks in consummating the acquisition, including any amendments
to the terms as a result of requisite approvals or market conditions;
2) Takeda's post-transaction balance sheet, including the
location of liabilities in the combined capital structure and any intercompany
guarantees and other support; and 3) its future financial policy,
including its appetite for additional acquisitions and shareholder rewards
and pace of debt reduction.
Moody's also believes that the acquisition of Shire will enhance
Takeda's business profile.
Combining Shire will double Takeda's scale to make Takeda a top
10 pharmaceutical company -- on a global basis -- with
a more diverse and profitable portfolio.
Shire's rare diseases business will bring higher profitability and complement
Takeda's late-stage development pipeline and enable Takeda
to better compete globally with more resources for research and development.
Further, Moody's expects that Shire will add to Takeda's
free cash flow which can then be applied toward debt reduction and offset
the weakness in its pro forma leverage metrics.
Based on Takeda's current offer, Moody's estimates that
any further downgrade could ultimately result in ratings in the mid to
high Baa range, but this is dependent on understanding the execution
challenges facing Takeda in integrating Shire, as well as assessing
the combined company's willingness and capacity to generate free
cash flow to materially reduce leverage and over what length of time.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Pharmaceutical Industry
(Japanese) published in July 2017. Please see the Rating Methodologies
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
Headquartered in Osaka, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited is
the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan in terms of revenue with a
focus on gastroenterology, oncology and neuroscience.
Headquartered in Dublin, Shire plc is a global biopharmaceutical
company with expertise in rare diseases, hemophilia, immunology,
neuroscience and gastroenterology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to
each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their
credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating.
For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory
disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and
in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to
the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction
structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive
rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further
information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the
respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Moody's Japan K.K. is a credit rating agency registered
with the Japan Financial Services Agency and its registration number is
FSA Commissioner (Ratings) No. 2. The Financial Services
Agency has not imposed any supervisory measures on Moody's Japan K.K.
in the past year.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Yukiko Asanuma
Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Japan K.K.
Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl
2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-6220
Japan
JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110
Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100
Mihoko Manabe
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110
Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100
Releasing Office:
Moody's Japan K.K.
Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl
2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-6220
Japan
JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110
Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100