DBRS Assigns Provisional Rating of BBB, Stable Trend, to METRO INC.’s New Debt Issuance

DBRS Limited has today assigned a provisional rating of BBB with a Stable trend to METRO INC.’s (Metro or the Company) proposed Series C Notes and Series D Notes issuance expected to total approximately $500 million, announced on November 26, 2014.

The senior unsecured debt issuance is expected to comprise the following two tranches:

(1) Approximately $250 million Series C Notes, due December 1, 2021.
(2) Approximately $250 million Series D Notes, due December 1, 2044.

The Series C Notes and Series D Notes will be direct unsecured obligations of the Company and will rank equally and pari passu with all other existing and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness of Metro.

The net proceeds from the Series C Notes and Series D Notes will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including repaying or refinancing the following existing indebtedness: (1) financing the redemption and retirement of a portion or all of Metro’s issued and outstanding 4.98% medium-term notes due October 15, 2015, and (2) repaying amounts outstanding under Metro’s Revolving Credit Facility.

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

The applicable methodology is Rating Companies in the Merchandising Industry (October 2014), which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

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