Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its outlook for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. partly on the likelihood the company will be able to successfully fold Van Houtte into its coffee business.

Green Mountain announced in September that it was buying Van Houtte, a Canadian specialty coffee company, for $890 million.

S&P boosted Green Mountain's outlook to "stable" from "negative" on Tuesday. Aside from the Van Houtte buyout, the ratings agency said expectations for continued adequate liquidity and the likelihood of margin expansion contributed to the outlook change.

S&P maintained a preliminary "B" corporate credit rating for the company based in Waterbury, Vt. It also reiterated preliminary "B+" issue ratings for Green Mountain's $1.45 billion senior secured credit facility.

Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters added 77 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $34.45 in afternoon trading. Over the last year, the stock has traded in a range of $19.86 to $37.97.