DBRS Confirms Woodbridge Finance Corporation at A (high)

DBRS has today confirmed the Medium-Term Notes and Commercial Paper ratings of Woodbridge Finance Corporation (Woodbridge Finance or the Company) at A (high) and R-1 (middle), respectively, with Stable trends. Woodbridge Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited (Woodbridge), which is the main investing vehicle for the family of the late Roy H. Thomson. Woodbridge holds approximately 50% of the common shares of Thomson Reuters Corporation (Thomson Reuters, rated R-1 (low) and A (low) by DBRS), in addition to a portfolio of other assets.

Woodbridge Finance’s ratings are supported by the following factors: (1) pledged Thomson Reuters shares must equal at least 1.5 times the commercial paper outstanding and 2.0 times the notes outstanding; (2) committed bank backup lines; (3) a guarantee from Woodbridge; and (4) the quarterly dividends received from Thomson Reuters and the income from Woodbridge’s investment portfolio.

In addition to Thomson Reuters, Woodbridge has other passive investments, including a 40% stake in CTVglobemedia Inc. (CTVglobemedia), which collectively had an aggregate carrying value of more than $3 billion at the end of 2010. Woodbridge has announced that it plans to sell its interest in CTVglobemedia to BCE Inc. (BCE) for $750 million in BCE shares and cash (expected to close in March 2011). As part of this transaction, Woodbridge increased its interest in The Globe and Mail to 85% from 40%. (BCE still holds a 15% interest in the newspaper.)

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Rating Parent/Holding Companies and Their Subsidiaries, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.