Fitch Upgrades PacifiCare Following Acquisition by UnitedHealth Group.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch RatingsAn international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has upgraded the long-term issuer rating and the convertible subordinated debentures subordinated debenture An unsecured bond with a claim to assets that is subordinate to all existing and future debt. Thus, in the event that the issuer encounters financial difficulties and must be liquidated, all other claims must be satisfied before rating of PacifiCare Health Systems PacifiCare Health Systems (former NYSE: PHS) was a Fortune 500 healthcare company based in Cypress, California. It was acquired by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in late 2005, which continues to market health plans under the PacifiCare name. Inc. (PacifiCare) following the announcement yesterday that UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Incorporated NYSE: UNH is a managed health care company. It is the parent of United Healthcare, one of the largest health insurers in the U.S. It was created in 1977, as UnitedHealthCare Corporation (it renamed itself in 1998), but traces its origin to a , Inc. has completed its acquisition of PacifiCare. In addition, Fitch has withdrawn the ratings on PacifiCare's senior unsecured notes and bank debt, as these obligations have been retired. A list of Fitch's ratings on Pacificare are listed below. Fitch placed the ratings of PacifiCare on Rating Watch Positive on July 7, 2005, following the announcement of the acquisition. UNH Unh The symbol for the element unnilhexium. (senior debt rated 'A'; Outlook Stable by Fitch) is a leading health care services company with total medical membership of 23.5 million. Today's rating action reflects Fitch's view that the acquisition by UNH has significantly improved PacifiCare's financial position and will enhance its operating profile. PacifiCare's previous ratings were based, in part, on the company's comparatively weaker balance sheet fundamentals and limited business profile. The following ratings are withdrawn by Fitch: PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc.: -- 10.75% senior unsecured notes due 2009; -- Bank loan. The following ratings are upgraded from 'BB+' to 'A' by Fitch, with a Stable Outlook: -- Long-term issuer. The following rating is upgraded from 'BB' to 'A-' by Fitch, with a Stable Outlook: -- 3% convertible subordinated debentures 'BB'. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 'www.fitchratings.com'. Published ratings, criteria, and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance, and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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