Altria Group bank debt is believed to have been trading in recent weeks. Some traders said the name was quoted in the 941Ž2-951Ž2 range before rebounding with a trade around the 953Ž4 context last week. One banker, however, did not believe the paper traded south of the 97 context. "There are two sides of that story," said a trader. A dealer mentioned that there were some lenders looking to sell down their exposure to the credit. Altria has felt some pressure over the last year due to litigation against its Philip Morris USA unit.
In March, following a $10.1 billion judgment against Philip Morris, rating agencies downgraded the company's debt. Moody's Investors Service lowered Altria's long-term debt rating from A2 to Baa2. Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings both downgraded the company's long-term debt to BBB. Altria also lost its ability to tap the commercial paper market. Most recently, however, a New Hampshire jury decided that Philip Morris should not be liable for a smoker's lung-cancer death. Altria has a $5 billion multi-year revolver expiring in July 2006. According to company filings, about $2 billion of this line had been tapped by early November. Altria also has a $1.3 billion 364-day revolving credit facility, which expires in July 2004. Calls to Dinyar Devitre, senior v.p. and cfo, were not returned by press time.