DBRS Morningstar Assigns Rating of BBB (high) with a Stable Trend to Bell Canada's M-56 Debt Issuance

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) assigned a rating of BBB (high) with a Stable trend to Bell Canada’s (Bell Canada or the Company; rated BBB (high) with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar) $500 million 2.200% Medium Term Note (MTN) Debentures Series M-56 due 2028, which was issued on May 28, 2021. The rating being assigned is based upon the rating on already-outstanding series of the above-mentioned debt instrument.

DBRS Morningstar expects the Company to use an amount equal to the net proceeds from this offering to finance or re-finance, in whole or in part, new and/or existing Eligible Investments pursuant to BCE Inc.’s Sustainable Financing Framework dated April 2021. The Series M-56 Debentures will constitute a Sustainability Financing pursuant to the Sustainable Financing Framework, under which the net proceeds thereof will be allocated to both Green and Social Eligible Investments.

The MTN Debentures are unsecured and will rank pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of the Company and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by BCE Inc.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

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

The principal methodologies are Rating Companies in the Communications Industry (July 30, 2020, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/364691), Rating Companies in the Broadcasting Industry (March 12, 2021, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/375262), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Rating Corporate Holding Companies and Parent/Subsidiary Rating Relationships (November 2, 2020, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/369167), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Commercial Paper Liquidity Support for Nonbank Issuers (March 9, 2021, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/375001), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/379424), and DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Preferred Share and Hybrid Security Criteria for Corporate Issuers (November 2, 2020, https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/369165), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria. Other applicable methodologies include the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (February 3, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262).

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar trends and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

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