DBRS Assigns AAA Rating to CDN Debt Issue of CDP Financial Inc.
DBRS has today assigned a rating of AAA, with a Stable trend, to the $2 billion Senior Note issue of CDP Financial Inc. The debt issue includes a 5.5-year floating-rate tranche ($1 billion) and a 10.5-year tranche with a coupon of 4.6% ($1 billion), and is expected to close on January 15, 2010. All notes are irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the Caisse), and rank pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of CDP Financial Inc. DBRS notes that the debt issue was expected and is consistent with the announcement by the Caisse on November 13, 2009, of its intention to issue up to $8 billion in Canada, the United States and Europe by the end of 2010 to replace certain short-term debt with longer-term debt. This is the second issue under the program after USD5 billion in Senior Notes was issued on November 25, 2009.
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All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
DBRS ratings on public pension funds and pension fund asset managers are primarily based on the funding status, membership fundamentals and cash flow outlook of the public pension plan or pension plan depositors, the net asset and liquidity position of the fund in relation to outstanding recourse debt, the fund’s investment track record and portfolio management strategy as well as the financial strength of plan contributors.
This is a Corporate (Public Finance) rating.
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