S&P rates Rogers Communications notes BBB

Standard & Poor's said it assigned a BBB debt rating to Rogers Communications Inc.'s (BBB/stable) proposed C$1 billion 5.8% senior unsecured notes due May 26, 2016.

The notes are being issued under the company's $2 billion short-form base shelf prospectus filed Nov. 8, 2007.

Proceeds will be used for general company purposes, including the repayment of debt outstanding under the company's revolving bank credit facility.

"The BBB long-term corporate credit rating and stable outlook on RCI reflect what we view as the company's position as the leading wireless provider in Canada; the strong business risk profile of its sizable cable operations in Ontario and Atlantic Canada; the added business diversity provided by a smaller, but profitable, media segment; and our expectations that the company will remain competitive," S&P analyst Madhav Hari said in a statement.

Supporting ratings are the company's substantively improved credit metrics in recent years driven primarily by solid cash flow generation at the wireless division and expectations that the company will adhere to a moderate financial policy, which includes limiting adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio to within the 3x target, S&P said.

Tempering factors include the near-term threat of increased wireless competition, the medium-term risk of cable subscriber losses, historically acquisitive growth strategy and historically aggressive financial polices, and high capital expenditures in the company's cable and wireless operations, the agency said.

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