DBRS Assigns a B Rating, Stable Trend to Crew Energy Inc.’s Unsecured Notes Offering

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today assigned a rating of B with a Stable trend to Crew Energy Inc.’s (Crew or the Company) offering of the $300 million principal amount of 6.5% senior unsecured Notes due March 14, 2024 (2024 Notes). The 2024 Notes, whose closing Crew announced today on a private placement basis, will be direct senior unsecured obligations of Crew ranking equally with all other present and senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company.

The net proceeds of the offering will be used to (1) redeem Crew’s existing 8.375% Notes due 2020 (2020 Notes) that in aggregate total $150 million, (2) reduce debt drawn under the Company’s existing credit facility and (3) for general corporate purposes, including the ongoing development of Crew’s Montney assets.

DBRS has assigned a Recovery Rating of RR4 for the new 2024 Notes, which is the equivalent rating as the existing 2020 Notes. DBRS also notes that the issuance of the 2024 Notes, combined with redemption of the 2020 Notes, enhances the Company’s liquidity profile and financial flexibility by extending maturity, lowering the overall cost of debt and freeing up capacity on Crew’s credit facility.

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

The principal methodologies are Rating Companies in the Oil and Gas Industry (September 2016) and DBRS Criteria: Recovery Ratings for Non-Investment Grade Corporate Issuers (February 2017), which can be found on www.dbrs.com under Methodologies.