Moody's ratings agency "placed The.........>

US BONDS: Moody's ratings agency "placed The Hershey Co.'s A1 senior unsecured

long term ratings on review for downgrade" following "Hershey's announcement

that it will acquire Amplify Snack Brands Inc. for $1.6 billion in an all cash

transaction. The Prime-1 commercial paper rating was affirmed, reflecting

Moody's expectation that any downgrade to the long term senior unsecured ratings

is unlikely to exceed one notch."

- It said "review will focus on the path to reducing leverage following the

Amplify acquisition. Moody's expects that debt to Ebitda leverage will increase

by nearly a turn, to up to 2.8x before synergies, depending on the mix of cash

and new debt used in financing. The review will include gaining a clearer

understanding of growth potential for the acquired brands, integration risks and

timing of possible synergies."

- Moody's will "also consider the shift in strategy leading" to "addition of

products in a snacking category" outside "of Hershey's core focus and pits the

company against a significantly larger competitor."