S&P Raises Rogers' Credit Rating, Places BCE On CreditWatch

Standard & Poor’s said that it raised its long-term corporate credit ratings on Rogers Communications Inc. (RG) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries to BBB- from BB+.

This reflects the company’s strong performance and cash flow growth, its ability to absorb a meaningful acquisition while keeping to S&P’s debt leverage target and finally, its asset base growth that has led to a focus on medium-term internal growth, the ratings agency said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, S&P placed its ratings on BCE Inc. (BCE) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bell Canada, on CreditWatch with negative implications after the company confirmed it was in discussions with several groups to explore a privatization plan.

“The CreditWatch placement is based on our view that a privatization of BCE/Bell Canada would not only lead to a marked deterioration of the company’s financial risk profile, but could also hurt its business strategy, potentially weakening is long-term competitiveness," S&P said in a separate statement.