Moody’s upgrades PNG

Moody’s Investors Service said it upgraded PNG Cos. LLC’s senior secured rating to Baa1 from Baa2 and changed the outlook to stable from positive.

PNG’s acquisition by Essential Utilities, Inc., which Moody’s rates Baa2, for $4.3 billion received its final required approval on Jan. 16 from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and is expected to close imminently. PNG’s senior secured notes are secured only by the capital stock of its subsidiaries and not by the assets.

"The acquisition by Essential is credit positive for PNG because PNG will become part of a larger, lower-risk corporate family," said Nana Hamilton, a Moody’s assistant vice president, in a press release. "We expect PNG to have less pressure to support parent-level debt obligations and to exhibit more dividend flexibility due to the diversity of a larger number of affiliate utilities.”

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