Fitch affirms Kinder Morgan, El Paso

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the issuer default ratings for Kinder Morgan, Inc. and El Paso Corp. at BB+.

Kinder Morgan's secured notes and debentures also were affirmed at BB+, secured revolving credit facility at BB+, 364-day bridge loan facility rating at BB+ and three-year term loan facility rating at BB+.

Kinder Morgan Finance Company, LLC's secured notes also were affirmed at BB+ with KN Capital Trust I's trust preferreds affirmed at BB- and KN Capital Trust III's trust preferreds at BB-.

El Paso's senior secured notes and debentures also were affirmed at BB+ and El Paso Energy Capital Trust's trust convertible preferred securities at BB-.

The ratings also were removed from Rating Watch negative, where they were placed in October 2011 following news of Kinder Morgan's agreement to acquire El Paso in a $38 billion transaction.

The outlook is stable.

The catalyst for removing the Rating Watch negative is greater clarity in the business plans and financial strategies for the merged companies, Fitch said.

In particular, the asset sale process and dropdowns that are essential for the reduction of Kinder Morgan acquisition debt have begun, the agency said.

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