Standard & Poor's cut BlackRock's debt rating by a notch on the heels of the New York money manager's deal to acquire Barclays Global Investors, Reuters reports. BlackRock's long-term ratings fell one level to A-plus and its short-term ratings dropped to A-1.

The drop reflects concerns about the company's refinancing risks, as the $13.5 billion deal would would add approximately $3 billion in debt to BlackRock's balance sheet.

S&P's outlook is negative, suggesting the possibility of additional downgrades.

“We believe the overall debt burden is moderate, but initial credit metrics for the combined organization place BlackRock into the ‘A’ rating category rather than the ‘AA’ category,” Reuters quoted S&P as saying. 

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