DBRS Assigns Ratings of A (low) to North West Redwater Partnership Debt Issuance, Stable Trends

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today assigned ratings of A (low), with Stable trends, to the $200 million 4.75% Series G Senior Secured Bonds, the $500 million 4.15% Series H Senior Secured Bonds and the $500 million 4.35% Series I Senior Secured Bonds (collectively, the Bonds) issued by North West Redwater Partnership (NWRP) on June 7, 2016.

The Series G Senior Secured Bonds have been issued through a re-opening of the seventh supplemental indenture. The Series H Senior Secured Bonds and Series I Senior Secured Bonds have been issued pursuant to the eighth and ninth supplemental indentures, respectively, to the Trust Indenture dated as of June 25, 2014, among NWRP, NWR Financing Company Ltd. and BNY Trust Company of Canada, as the bond trustee.

The maturity dates are June 1, 2037, June 1, 2033, and January 10, 2039, for the Series G, Series H and Series I bonds, respectively. The Bonds rank pari passu with all of NWRP’s existing senior secured bonds. The financing is in line with DBRS’s expectations incorporated in the rating of NWRP’s Senior Secured Bonds on May 31, 2016. The results of APMC’s economic incentive analysis is improved given that the issuance of the Bonds has increased APMC’s sunk cost to refine bitumen blend with NWRP.

The intended use of proceeds from the Bonds will be (1) to partially fund the construction of the upgrader-refinery to be constructed and operated by NWRP in Sturgeon County, Alberta; (2) to repay indebtedness under the Credit Agreement; and (3) to pay the expenses of offering the Bonds.

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

The applicable methodology is Rating Project Finance, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

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