DBRS Assigns Provisional Rating of Pfd-3 (high), Stable Trend, to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. Proposed New Issuance

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today assigned a provisional rating of Pfd-3 (high) with a Stable trend to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P.’s (BREP; rated BBB (high), Stable trend) proposed new issuance of Class A Preferred Limited Partnership Units, Series 5 (Preferred LP Units).

DBRS notes that the proposed issuance is in connection with an offer by BREP to exchange (Exchange Offer) each issued and outstanding Class A Preference Share, Series 5 (Preference Shares; rated Pfd-3 (high), Stable trend) of Brookfield Renewable Power Preferred Equity Inc. for one newly issued Preferred LP Unit of BREP. Holders of the Preference Shares will be entitled to receive one Preferred LP Unit for each Preference Share tendered under the Exchange Offer. The Exchange Offer is not expected to impact BREP’s financial risk assessment.

The Preferred LP Units will have an annual distribution rate of 5.59% and will be guaranteed by BREP’s key holding subsidiaries (the Guarantors). The outstanding Preference Shares currently have an annual distribution rate of 5.00% and are guaranteed by BREP and the Guarantors. The Preferred LP Units will rank pari passu at the Guarantor level with the outstanding Preference Shares. Other terms and conditions of the Preferred LP Units are substantially similar to those of the Preference Shares.

The Exchange Offer will be open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. on December 18, 2015, unless extended or withdrawn by BREP. The Exchange Offer is conditional upon, among other things, at least 50% of the Preference Shares having been validly deposited or tendered under the Exchange Offer and not withdrawn.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. 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 Rating Companies in the Independent Power Producer Industry, Rating Holding Companies and Their Subsidiaries, Preferred Share and Hybrid Criteria for Corporate Issuers and DBRS Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Explicit Support, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

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

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