S&P assigns PDVSA notes B+

Standard & Poor's said it assigned its B+ senior unsecured debt rating to the $2.4 billion in exchange notes due 2021 proposed by Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

The agency said the notes benefit from the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of payment by PDVSA Petroleo SA, PDVSA's exploration-and-production subsidiary.

The company will exchange its outstanding 8% senior unsecured notes due 2013 for new senior unsecured notes due 2021, according to an S&P news release. The exchange will take place as a private transaction and will be par for par, with a coupon that is 100 basis points higher than that on the 2013 notes.

S&P said it views the offer as opportunistic and believes that it will benefit the company's debt maturity profile. The ratings on PDVSA also reflect S&P's opinion that there is an "extremely high" likelihood that the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela would provide timely and sufficient support to PDVSA in the event of financial distress, the agency said.

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