FILE PHOTO: A close-up of a the Infineon microcontroller kit XMC 4700 is pictured at an exhibition during the German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon's annual shareholder meeting in Munich, February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert/File Photo

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Infineon Technologies expects to keep its investment grade credit rating after its 9 billion euro ($10 billion) agreed acquisition of U.S. Cypress Semiconductor, Chief Financial Officer Sven Schneider said on Monday.

Infineon’s leverage ratio, measured as debt to earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will, however, exceed a target of two times before returning to that level in late 2022, Schneider told analysts.

Asked about how the deal came about, Chief Marketing Officer Helmut Gassel said discussions had been triggered by interest expressed in Cypress by another party. Infineon was invited to take part in the process around five weeks ago, he said.