S&P puts Kinder Morgan on positive watch

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed its BB corporate credit rating on Kinder Morgan Inc. and placed the rating, including the BB senior unsecured debt rating, on CreditWatch with positive implications following its announcement that it intends to acquire all of the outstanding equity securities of Kinder Morgan Management LLC, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and El Paso Pipeline Partners LP for a total transaction value of about $70 billion.

S&P also affirmed Kinder Morgan Energy Partners’ BBB corporate credit rating and A-2 short-term rating and placed the ratings, including those of operating subsidiaries Copano Energy and Tennessee Gas Pipeline, on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The agency also affirmed El Paso Natural Gas Co.’s BBB- rating. The outlook is stable.

And S&P affirmed El Paso Pipeline Partners’ BBB corporate credit rating and placed the rating, including those of its operating subsidiaries Southern Natural Gas Co. and Colorado Interstate Gas Co., on CreditWatch with negative implications.

S&P said the rating action reflects its view that the benefits to creditors of a combined Kinder Morgan will be somewhat tempered by higher consolidated financial leverage.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.