DBRS Places Ratings of Bell Aliant Regional Communications Under Review with Positive Implications

DBRS has today placed the ratings of Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership’s (Bell Aliant) Under Review with Positive Implications following BCE Inc.’s tender offer to acquire the minority interest in Bell Aliant for $3.95 billion (BCE Inc./Bell Canada currently own 44.1% of Bell Aliant).

As part of the transaction, BCE Inc. will assume Bell Aliant’s $2.89 billion net debt and $618 million preferred shares. The Positive Implications of the Under Review status reflect the stronger credit profile of BCE Inc./Bell Canada. DBRS will proceed with its review as more information about the form and final structure of the transaction becomes available.

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 Companies in the Communications Industry, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union.