By Paul Kilby
NEW YORK (IFR) - US health insurer ANTHEM (ANTM.NY)aid on Friday it had locked in committed financing from Bank of America, Credit Suisse and UBS to pay for its acquisition of rival CIGNA (CI.NY)orp in a deal valued at US$54.2bn.
Anthem expects its debt-to capital ratio to be around 49% following the close of the transaction, and aims to reduce that to the low 40% range within 24 months.
"(We) are committed to retaining investment grade ratings," said the company, which carries senior unsecured ratings of Baa1/A/BBB+ by Moody's, S&P and Fitch.
Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor for Cigna.
(Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Natalie Harrison)
