DBRS Assigns BBB (high) Provisional Rating to Molson Coors New Debt Issuance

DBRS has today assigned a provisional rating of BBB (high) to the proposed issuance of up to C$500 million in Senior Unsecured Notes (Series A Notes) by Molson Coors International LP (the Issuer), which is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company (Molson Coors or the Company). The trend is Stable.

The Series A Notes, which are expected to be issued through a private placement, will be due in 2017 and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Molson Coors, Molson Canada 2005 (Molson Coors’ operating subsidiary in Canada), Molson Coors Capital Finance ULC, and by certain other existing and future Canadian and U.S. subsidiaries. The Series A Notes and guarantees will rank pari passu with all of the Issuer’s and guarantors’ unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. Proceeds from the issuance will be used mainly to repay debt (i.e., $300 million 4.85% Notes due September 2010), as well as for general corporate purposes that may include pension funding, with a limited impact on the Company’s financial profile.

DBRS will assign a final rating subject to DBRS having comfort that the Company’s final documentation is not significantly different from our expectations.

Note:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Rating Consumer Products, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.