DBRS assigns A(low) to Fortis notes

DBRS said it assigned an A(low) rating to Fortis Inc.’s new C$500 million of senior unsecured notes, maturing on Nov. 8, 2033.

The rating is based on the rating of an outstanding debt series of unsecured debentures, the agency said in a press release.

The proceeds will be used for repayment of indebtedness and general corporate purposes.

The trend is stable.

Moody's assigns A3 to ICE notes due 2028

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned an A3 rating to Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.'s planned $1 billion of senior unsecured notes due 2028.

“As part of its September 2023 Black Knight, Inc. (Ba2, ratings under review) acquisition, ICE had assumed $1 billion in Black Knight 3 5/8% senior unsecured notes due 2028. ICE's proposed senior notes issuance is part of an offer to exchange the Black Knight notes with newly issued ICE notes. ICE will not receive any cash as part of this issuance and offer exchange,” the agency said in a press release.

ICE's stable outlook remains unchanged.

Moody's assigns Baa3 to Alaska Air Group

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa3 issuer rating to Alaska Air Group, Inc. The outlook is stable.

“The Baa3 issuer rating reflects Alaska's strong business profile and conservative financial policy. Current and projected credit metrics provide a cushion for operating earnings to lag and/or debt to materially exceed Moody's expectations. Moody's expects debt/EBITDA of about 2x at the end of 2023 and modest deleveraging by the end of 2024,” the agency said in a press release.

Moody’s assigns Baa3 to Polaris notes

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa3 rating to Polaris Inc.’s new senior unsecured notes.

Polaris’ Baa3 long-term issuer rating remains unchanged, the agency said.

Polaris plans to use the proceeds to repay certain indebtedness outstanding under its unsecured credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch rates Polaris notes BBB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a BBB rating to Polaris, Inc.'s planned sale of $500 million of 6% senior unsecured notes.

The rating is aligned with the company’s BBB issuer default rating.

Polaris plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including repayment of certain debt under the company's credit agreement.

The outlook is stable.

S&P gives Polaris notes BBB

S&P said it assigned its BBB issue-level rating to Polaris Inc.'s senior unsecured notes which is expected to be $500 million, the same as the issuer credit rating.

Polaris intends to use the proceeds to refinance its $500 million incremental term loan due next month.

The outlook is stable.

DBRS assigns BBB(high) to Enbridge notes

DBRS said it assigned BBB(high) ratings to four series of Enbridge Inc. senior unsecured notes and placed their ratings under review with developing implications. Subsidiaries Enbridge Energy Partners LP and Spectra Energy Partners, LP guarantee the notes.

The notes are $750 million of 5.9% notes due Nov. 15, 2026, $750 million of 6% notes due Nov. 15, 2028, $750 million of 6.2% notes due Nov. 15, 2030 and $1.25 billion of 6.7% notes due Nov. 15, 2053.

The ratings are based on the credit rating of an outstanding series of senior unsecured notes, the agency said.

S&P assigns BBB+ to Mitsubishi loan

S&P said it has assigned its BBB+ issue credit rating to Mitsubishi Corp.'s planned subordinated loans.

The agency said it based the rating on Mitsubishi’s issuer rating. It then deducted a notch for subordination and another for the option to defer interest payments.

The company plans to use all ¥46 billion to be raised through the subordinated loans to refinance part of an existing ¥100 billion in subordinated loans borrowed in November 2016 that it plans to repay before maturity on Nov. 16. It plans to repay the remaining ¥54 billion without any refinancing.

The outlook is stable.

DBRS rates Inter Pipeline notes BBB(low)

DBRS said it assigned a BBB(low) rating Inter Pipeline Ltd.’s C$750 million of senior unsecured notes, series 18.

The rating is based upon the rating of an already-outstanding series of senior unsecured notes, the agency said.

IPL plans to use the proceeds to repay indebtedness under its credit facilities and for general corporate purposes.

The trend is stable.

S&P rates Sandoz notes BBB

S&P said it assigned its BBB issue rating to the €2 billion senior unsecured bonds issued by Sandoz Finance BV and guaranteed by Sandoz Group AG. The issuance is a triple-tranche transaction with maturities due 2027, 2030 and 2033, respectively.

The rating is the same as S&P’s ratings on Sandoz’s outstanding senior unsecured loans and notes.

The proceeds will be used to refinance the bridge loan facility and for general corporate purposes.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch rates Suncor notes BBB+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned BBB+ ratings to Suncor Energy, Inc.'s planned senior unsecured notes due 2025 and 2026. The combined issuance size is expected to be around C$1.5 billion.

Fitch last reviewed Suncor’s ratings, its BBB+ senior unsecured rating, on Oct. 12 and took no action.

The proceeds will be primarily used to fund Suncor's acquisition of TotalEnergies SE's stake in the Fort Hills oil sands mining project.

The outlook is stable.

S&P hikes Exor

S&P said it raised Exor NV’s long-term issuer and issue credit unsecured debt ratings to A- from BBB+.

“Our upgrade of Exor to A- reflects the investment holding's improved portfolio quality. Exor has almost completed its capital allocation after it sold Bermuda-based reinsurance company PartnerRe in 2022 for net proceeds of €8.6 billion,” S&P said in a press release.

The company increased its healthcare, luxury, and technology holdings while lowering its exposure to cyclical industries, such as autos and industrials.

The agency added, “We think Exor remains strongly committed to maintaining its S&P Global Ratings-adjusted loan-to-value (LTV) ratio well below 20%, supported by its financial policy. Its adjusted LTV ratio, pro forma the full capital redeployment, was about 12% as of June 30, 2023.”

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s snips Knorr-Bremse

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Knorr-Bremse AG the long-term issuer and the senior unsecured ratings to A3 from A2. The agency also changed the outlook to stable from negative.

"Continued weakness in Knorr-Bremse's end-markets, especially China, and adverse inflationary effects have reduced Knorr-Bremse's profitability and leverage to levels that are no longer commensurate with our demanding requirements for the previous A2 rating," said Matthias Heck, a Moody's vice president, senior credit officer and lead analyst for Knorr-Bremse, in a press release.

Knorr-Bremse's third-quarter operating margin reached 11.5%, marginally above the prior year's third quarter of 11.3%. For the full year, Knorr-Bremse confirmed its guidance of 10.5%-12%, mostly in line with the 11.1% reached in 2022, and below the 13.5% achieved in 2021.

"The stable outlook on the A3 rating is a reflection of the resilience of Knorr-Bremse's business model and strong market position, which should allow for margins of comfortably above 10%, whilst maintaining moderate leverage levels," Heck added.

Moody’s downgrades JetBlue Airways

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded JetBlue Airways Corp.’s ratings, including the corporate family rating to B1 from Ba2 and the probability of default rating to B1-PD from Ba2-PD. The agency also downgraded the company's senior secured revolving credit facility to Ba2 from Baa3.

Each of the company's enhanced equipment trust certificate ratings were downgraded by one notch as follows: pass-through certificates series 2019-1 class AA to A3 from A2, pass-through certificates series 2020 class A to A3 from A2, pass-through certificates series 2019-1 class A to Baa3 from Baa2, pass-through certificates series 2020 class B to Baa3 from Baa2 and pass-through certificates. series 2019-1B to Ba1 from Baa3.

Moody’s placed the ratings on review for further downgrade. Previously, the outlook was stable. Moody's downgraded the speculative grade liquidity rating to SGL-3 from SGL-1.

“The downgrade of the corporate family rating reflects the sharp decline in Moody's expectations for the company's financial results for 2023 and 2024. Moody's had expected earnings and operating cash flow to strengthen in the second half of 2023, leading to improving credit metrics and a solid foundation heading into 2024.

“However, the imbalance of capacity and demand in the U.S. domestic market in the third quarter pushed down JetBlue's average fare to $201.73 from $229.95 in the prior-year quarter. Operating cash flow for the third quarter missed Moody's projection by $300 million. Passenger revenue trailed Moody's projection by $200 million and that in the 2022 3rd quarter by $314 million,” the agency said in a statement.

The review reflects a further downgrade if JetBlue goes ahead with its planned acquisition of Spirit Airlines, Inc. Moody’s said.

Moody's reviews FirstEnergy for upgrade

Moody's Investors Service said it placed FirstEnergy Corp.'s ratings under review for upgrade, including its Ba1 corporate family rating, Ba1-PD probability of default rating and Ba1 senior unsecured ratings. FirstEnergy's SGL-1 speculative grade liquidity rating is unchanged. Previously, the outlook was positive.

"The review for upgrade will assess FirstEnergy's ability to improve its financial metrics including maintaining a cash flow from operations before changes in working capital (CFO pre-WC) to debt ratio above 11% on a sustained basis," said Jairo Chung, a Moody's vice president and senior credit officer, in a press release.

The agency noted FirstEnergy expects to get most of the proceeds from the sale of an equity interest in subsidiary FirstEnergy Transmission in early 2024 and the rest before year-end 2024. The company plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet by repaying some parent debt and avoiding additional debt issuance.

S&P turns SiriusPoint outlook to stable

S&P said it changed its outlook for SiriusPoint Ltd. to stable from negative and affirmed its core subsidiaries’ A- ratings.

“The stable outlook reflects the recovery in SiriusPoint's underwriting performance and our expectation of more to come in 2023-2024. It also recognizes the management actions taken to stabilize earnings volatility focusing on de-risking of its balance sheet on the underwriting and investment side. Its plan to shift to a higher proportion of insurance to reinsurance business (compared with 40:60 historically) has been achieved,” S&P said in a press release.

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