DBRS Morningstar Assigns Rating of A (low) With Under Review with Negative Implications Status to TransCanada PipeLines Limited’s $2.25 Billion Medium-Term Notes Offerings

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) assigned a rating of A (low) with Under Review with Negative Implications status to TransCanada PipeLines Limited’s (TCPL or the Company) offerings of (1) $1.25 billion 5.277% % Medium-Term Note Debentures due July 15, 2030; (2) $600 million 5.419% Medium-Term Note Debentures due March 10, 2026; and (3) $400 million Floating Rate Medium-Term Note Debentures due March 10, 2026. DBRS Morningstar notes that the Company plans to use the net proceeds from the offerings to repay indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. DBRS Morningstar based the assigned ratings on the rating of the already-outstanding series of the above-mentioned debt instrument.

TCPL’s ratings are currently Under Review with Negative Implications (see the DBRS Morningstar press release dated February 3, 2023). DBRS Morningstar expects to resolve the Under Review status after reviewing the Company’s updated financing plan and having more certainty with regard to the scope of the asset divestiture program. DBRS Morningstar expects any negative rating action likely to be limited to, at most, one notch lower from the current ratings.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

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/396929 (May 17, 2022).

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodologies are Global Methodology for Rating Companies in the Pipeline and Midstream Energy Industry (November 3, 2022; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/404917), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Commercial Paper Liquidity Support for Nonbank Issuers (March 1, 2022; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/393065), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (April 4, 2022; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/394683) and DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Preferred Share and Hybrid Security Criteria for Corporate Issuers (October 20, 2022; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/404248), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

The rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/about/methodologies.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar analyzes corporate finance transactions and how the methodologies are collectively applied can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/397223.

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.

Information regarding DBRS Morningstar ratings, including definitions, policies, and methodologies, is available on www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

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