DBRS Assigns Rating of Pfd-3 to Loblaw’s Preferred Share Issuance

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today assigned a new Second Preferred Shares rating of Pfd-3 with a Stable trend to Loblaw Companies Limited’s (Loblaw or the Company) $225 million Second Preferred Shares, Series B issuance (the Preferred Shares). The Preferred Shares do not have a fixed maturity date and are not redeemable at the option of the holders. The Preferred Shares will yield 5.30% per annum. Proceeds from the issuance will be used to repay Loblaw’s Second Preferred Shares, Series A and for general corporate purposes. Upon completion of the redemption of the Second Preferred Shares, Series A, DBRS will discontinue its Cumulative Redeemable Second Preferred Shares, Series A rating.

DBRS notes that based on the DBRS criteria “Preferred Share and Hybrid Criteria for Corporate Issuers,” the Preferred Shares would qualify for equity treatment as it relates to adjusting debt for the calculation of several credit metrics. However, preferred share dividends are included in fixed charges, therefore related coverage ratios are not adjusted for equity treatment.

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 methodologies are DBRS Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Explicit Support, Preferred Share and Hybrid Criteria for Corporate Issuers, Rating Companies in the Merchandising Industry and Rating Entities in the Real Estate Industry, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

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

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrs.com or contact us at info@dbrs.com.