ConocoPhillips' And Unit's $5.5 Billion Of New Debt Assigned 'A-' Ratings
NEW YORK April 6, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'A-' rating to integrated oil and gas company ConocoPhillips' $1 billion senior unsecured floating rate notes due 2007 and its $2.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility maturing in 2011.
Standard & Poor's also assigned its 'A-' rating to ConocoPhillips Australia Funding Co.'s $1 billion senior unsecured notes due 2013 and its $1 billion senior unsecured notes due 2009.
At the same time, the ratings on Burlington Resources were withdrawn following the close of ConocoPhillips' acquisition of the company. Proceeds from the newly rated issuances will be used to partially fund the Burlington acquisition.
The outlook is stable. Pro forma for the close of the Burlington acquisition, ConocoPhillips (A-/Stable/A-2) will have about $25 billion of debt outstanding.
The acquisition of Burlington's large, concentrated, and low-cost North American natural gas position and the considerable inventory of near-term production growth provide ConocoPhillips with much better production and growth visibility and an improved cost structure.
"ConocoPhillips stronger business profile offsets the near-term burden of considerable leverage undertaken in the acquisition, particularly given the likelihood of attractive oil and natural gas prices through the near term," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst John Thieroff.
The stable outlook reflects the expectation that ConocoPhillips will be able to fund an aggressive slate of initiatives and deleverage in a timely manner over the near term through abundant cash flow from operations.
"We also expect the company to place debt reduction ahead of share buybacks and significant leveraging acquisitions in the near term," said Mr. Thieroff.
UGI Utilities Ratings Withdrawn At Company's Request
NEW YORK April 5, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it withdrew the ratings on UGI Utilities Inc. at the company's request.
AmeriGas Partners L.P. Ratings Are Withdrawn At Company's Request
NEW YORK April 5, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it withdrew the ratings for AmeriGas Partners L.P. at the company's request.
Duke Energy Ratings Finalized; Cinergy Rating Lowered, Off Watch
NEW YORK April 4, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it finalized its 'BBB' corporate credit ratings on Duke Energy Corp. and Duke Power Company LLC, which were preliminary pending the closing of the merger with Cinergy Corp.
At the same time, Standard & Poor's lowered its corporate credit rating on Cinergy and its units to 'BBB' from 'BBB+', and removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications.
The outlook is stable.
"The rating action follows the successful completion of the merger between Duke Energy and Cinergy," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Dimitri Nikas.
In the research update on March 30, 2006, Standard & Poor's announced that it expected to execute these rating actions when the merger closed. The merger was finalized on April 1, 2006.