Cadbury Schweppes, the UK confectionery and beverages group, will face higher funding costs if it refinances a $2bn (€2.3bn) bridge facility put in place for the acquisition of the US-based Snapple drinks group.
Cadbury has been downgraded by rating agency Fitch to A from A+, and its senior unsecured rating outlook was changed from stable to negative. Last week Moody's Investors Service put the company's A2 rating on review for possible downgrade.