Fitch assigns A- to AT&T notes

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an A- rating to AT&T Inc.'s benchmark euro senior unsecured note offering.

The senior unsecured offering will be in five tranches: €750 million 1.05% notes due in 2023, €1.75 billion 1.8% notes due 2026, €1.5 billion 2.35% notes due 2029, €1.75 billion 3.15% notes due 2036 and €1.25 billion floating-rate notes due 2023.

AT&T's long-term issuer default rating is A-. The company's issuer default rating and debt securities remain on Rating Watch Negative, where they were placed in October 2016 upon the announcement of the acquisition of Time Warner Inc. (long-term issuer default rating BBB+).

Proceeds are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of the cash consideration for the Time Warner transaction.

Fitch said it believes AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner provides AT&T with a strong foothold in the evolving communications and media landscape. The acquisition, combined with AT&T's 2015 acquisition of DirecTV, offers the potential to capitalize on emerging trends for mobile video and over-the-top (OTT) video delivery. Other benefits include the diversification of AT&T's revenue stream, and additional financial flexibility owing to Time Warner's strong free cash flow (FCF).

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