DBRS Assigns Ratings of “A” with Stable Trends to Concordia University’s Senior Unsecured Series B and Series C Debentures

DBRS Limited (DBRS) assigned ratings of “A” with Stable trends to Concordia University’s (Concordia or the University) new Senior Unsecured Series B Debentures and Senior Unsecured Series C Debentures (together, the Debentures). The ratings are being assigned to the Debentures based upon the already-outstanding rating on Concordia’s Senior Unsecured Debt, confirmed at “A” with a Stable trend on March 21, 2018.

The $50.0 million 3.678% Senior Unsecured Series B Debentures mature on February 10, 2059, with net proceeds to be used principally to finance real estate and information technology infrastructure projects of the University and to repay a portion of credit facilities previously used to fund similar projects. The $25.0 million 3.626% Senior Unsecured Series C Debentures mature on February 10, 2039, with net proceeds only to be used to finance the University’s sustainability strategy, based on its environmental, social and governance objectives, including the financing of the construction of a new applied science research building (the Science Hub) and to repay a portion of credit facilities used to fund the sustainability objectives including the construction of the Science Hub. The Debentures are direct senior unsecured obligations of the University and rank pari passu with Concordia’s other senior unsecured obligations.

The issuance and use of proceeds are consistent with DBRS’s expectations at the time of its most recent review (see DBRS’s rating report on Concordia University dated March 21, 2018). DBRS notes that Concordia’s total debt burden is expected to rise over the medium term to approximately $14,000 per full-time equivalent student in 2021-2022, as calculated by DBRS, which is considered manageable for the ratings.

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

The principal methodology is Rating Public Universities, which can be found on dbrs.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

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

DBRS Limited
DBRS Tower, 181 University Avenue, Suite 700
Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada