DBRS quietly announced on June 29 that it:
has today discontinued the Issuer Rating, Senior Unsecured Debt and Preferred Shares ratings of RONA inc. (RONA or the Company). The ratings are being discontinued at the request of the Company, prior to resolving the Under Review with Positive Implications status, as DBRS did not have sufficient information at this time regarding Lowe’s Companies, Inc.’s (Lowe’s; rated A (low), Stable by DBRS) financial management intentions as it relates to RONA.
On February 3, 2016, DBRS placed RONA’s ratings Under Review with Positive Implications after the Company’s announcement that it had entered into a definitive under which RONA would be acquired by Lowe’s for a total transaction value of $3.2 billion. On May 20, 2016, Lowe’s announced that it had completed its acquisition of RONA.
Thus, S&P’s rating of P-2(low) is the only agency opinion on these issues, following the closing of the Plan of Arrangement earlier this year.
Should we expecting the company doing the same thing with the remaining S&P rating? Isn’t it an obligation of the issuer and its successors to have credit agency(s) rating its prefs?
No, it’s not an obligation to maintain a rating; if you have no plans to raise funds in the future there’s really nothing forcing you to pay the money and reserve management time for discussions with the agencies.
Dundee Corporation terminated its ratings in 2012; this played a role in my opposition to the term extension of DC.PR.C.