Moody's Cuts AT&T Credit Rating Citing Billions of Debt From Time Warner Deal
- Unsecured debt rating cut to Baa2, two steps above junk
- Wireless carrier to have more than $180 billion of debt
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AT&T Inc. was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service, citing a more than $180 billion debt load it estimates the wireless carrier will have after acquiring Time Warner Inc.
The purchase made the company the most indebted in the U.S., excluding financial companies. AT&T’s debt load will force it to refinance large amounts of debt every year, "making the company beholden to the health of the capital markets," Moody’s said as it lowered the company’s unsecured debt rating one level to Baa2, two levels above speculative grade.