A $400 million bond issue offering by Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., the parent firm of Marsh insurance brokerage, has been rated "Baa2" (adequate).
The 10-year bond will pay investors 9.25 percent when it comes due in 2019.
MMC said last week that the proceeds from the bond sale will be used to repay its $400 million 7.125 percent bond that is due in June of this year.
The offering is expected to close today.
Moody's said the rating reflects the firm's "strong market presence in global insurance brokerage, its broad product and geographic diversification, and its expertise in providing complex risk management solutions."
On the downside, Moody's said the company's strengths are tempered by weak but improving operating margins and the challenges from the global economic downturn.
"MMC's ability to tap the debt markets is a good indication of its financial flexibility," said Bruce Ballentine, Moody's lead analyst for MMC. "Major insurance brokers enjoy relatively stable cash flows and they are generally not exposed to the sorts of troubled assets that are weighing on other financial firms."
MMC last week also declared it would pay a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share payable on May 15 to shareholders of record as of April 9.
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