DBRS Places George Weston’s Ratings Under Review with Developing Implications Following Loblaw’s Announcement of Potential Acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart

DBRS has today placed the ratings of George Weston Limited (GWL or the Company) Under Review with Developing Implications.

The action on GWL’s ratings is directly related to DBRS’s review of the ratings of Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw; see separate press release), which follows Loblaw’s announcement of an offer to acquire the shares of Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation (Shoppers) for $12.4 billion and the assumption of approximately $1 billion of debt (the Transaction).

The proposed financing, including GWL’s $500 million investment in Loblaw, would effectively reduce GWL’s voting ownership of Loblaw to approximately 46% from 63% at the end of F2012. That said, GWL intends to subsequently increase its ownership in Loblaw going forward.

GWL’s ratings reflect its holding in Loblaw and the Company’s own strong bakery brands and efficient operations, balanced by a continuing volatile input cost environment and the mature nature of the bakery industry.

DBRS will resolve its review of GWL at the same time as its review on Loblaw’s ratings. Should Loblaw’s ratings be confirmed or downgraded, similar rating action would likely follow for GWL. Any positive rating action for Loblaw in the medium to longer term would not necessarily result in the same for GWL.

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

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

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