S&P lifts, withdraws Rice Energy

S&P said it raised the corporate credit rating on Rice Energy Inc. to BBB from B+ and removed all the ratings on the company from CreditWatch, where they were with positive implications on June 19.

The agency subsequently withdrew the corporate credit rating on Rice at EQT Corp.'s request.

EQT retired all of Rice's outstanding debt, and as a result, S&P also withdrew the issue-level ratings on Rice's senior unsecured notes.

The actions follow EQT's announcement that it has closed its acquisition of Rice.

“The upgrade reflects our assessment that Rice is a core subsidiary of EQT. Rice operates in a line of business that is integral to EQT's strategy, and we believe that Rice will be fully integrated into EQT's assets,” the agency said in a news release.

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