DBRS Morningstar Assigns Provisional Ratings of BBB With Stable Trends to Stellantis Finance US Inc.’s New Debt Issuance

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) assigned provisional ratings of BBB with Stable trends to the following securities to be issued by Stellantis Finance US Inc. (Stellantis Finance US):

-- USD 1.0 billion 1.711% senior notes due January 29, 2027; and
-- USD 1.0 billion 2.691% senior notes due September 15, 2031 (collectively, the Notes).

The Notes are guaranteed by Stellantis Finance US’ ultimate parent, Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis). The use of proceeds of the Notes is for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment or refinancing of other indebtedness. DBRS Morningstar anticipates, however, that the proceeds of the Notes will be substantially applied toward such refinancing, as substituting the Notes for Stellantis’ other obligations will result in an associated reduction in interest expense. Additionally, as of June 31, 2021, Stellantis’s liquidity was substantial, in the amount of EUR 51.4 billion, consisting of cash/cash equivalents balances of EUR 40.9 billion and availability of EUR 10.5 billion of undrawn committed credit lines.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodologies are Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries (October 22, 2020; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/368670), and DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/379424), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria. Other applicable methodologies include the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (February 3, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262).

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom, and by DBRS Ratings GmbH for use in the European Union, respectively. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed ratings:

This rating concerns an expected to be issued new financial instrument. This is the first DBRS Morningstar rating on this financial instrument.

Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are generally resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar trends and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. DBRS Morningstar understands further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates may be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its webpage: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/credit-rating-agencies.

Lead Analyst: Robert Streda, Senior Vice President, Autos
Rating Committee Chair: Charles Halam-Andres, Managing Director, Diversified Industries & Sports Finance
Initial Rating Date: September 10, 2021

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

DBRS Limited
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Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada
Tel. +1 416 593-5577

-- Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries (October 22, 2020)
https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/368670/rating-companies-in-the-automotive-manufacturing-and-supplier-industries
-- DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021)
https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/379424/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-guarantees-and-other-forms-of-support