Japan Credit Rating Agency (Tokyo) announced on the 20th that it has downgraded the credit rating of Ain Holdings (Sapporo), the largest dispensing pharmacy chain, by one notch from “A” to “A-“. The agency stated that following the company’s acquisition of the Sakura Pharmacy Group, which was completed on the 1st of this month, and its borrowing of 125 billion yen from financial institutions, “while the acquisition will strengthen earnings power, the strain on the financial base is likely to remain higher compared to pre-acquisition levels.”…
