Moody's set a Baa2 rating "to the new...>

US PIPELINE: Moody's set a Baa2 rating "to the new senior unsecured notes of

Northrop Grumman Corp. announced earlier today. The note proceeds plus some cash

on hand will fund the acquisition of Orbital ATK, Inc. ("OA"). Northrop

announced the agreement to acquire OA for approximately $9.2 billion on

September 18, 2017. The company expects to close the transaction in the first

half of 2018. The rating outlook on Northrop is stable."

- Moody's also said that Northrop "will offer notes across five maturities:

threes, fives, sevens, tens and thirties. The terms require a mandatory

redemption of each

tranche but the ten year in the event the acquisition of OA does not close by

December 17, 2018. The notes will not be guaranteed by any of the company's

subsidiaries. The note proceeds will not be escrowed."