CHICAGO, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. (DCR) has
reaffirmed the rating of Transportadora de Gas del Norte's (TGN) Trust
Certificates and TGN's local currency obligations at 'BBB' (Triple-B)
following the announcement by TGN operator and major shareholder, TransCanada
Pipelines Ltd. (TransCanada), of its intent to divest its non-core assets.
TransCanada owns an indirect 19.2 percent of TGN and is the technical
operator under a Technical Assistance Agreement that expires on December 28,
2000. Until that time, the complete sale of TransCanada's ownership interest
must be approved by ENARGAS. Since 1992, TransCanada (formerly NovaGas) has
been the technical operator and has transferred its technical expertise to
TGN's management. As a result, DCR does not believe that the sale by
TransCanada and introduction of a new technical operator will disrupt the
ongoing operations or strategy of TGN.
Additionally, some of the financings, including IFC Trust Certificates,
that support this asset have change of control clauses and various other
provisions and arrangements that will have to be dealt with. DCR expects
TransCanada to work through thecourse of
selling off its interest so as to protect the financial integrity of TGN.
TGN is a natural gas pipeline company serving the northern and central
regions of Argentina. TGN is currently operated and partially owned by
TransCanada Corporation, North America's largest transporter of natural gas by
volume with a proven track record of successfully operating pipelines. CMS
Energy, a large U.S. diversified utility, also owns a 29.4 percent stake in
the company.
Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. is a leading global rating agency with
34 local market offices providing ratings and research on debt issuances and
insurance claims paying ability in more than 50 countries. For additional
research on TGN, visit DCR's Web site at http://www.dcrco.com (Quick Search:
TGN). DCR's research is also available on Bloomberg at DCR and First
Call's BondCall Direct/Research Direct at http://www.firstcall.com, as well as
through other third-party providers.
SOURCE Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co.
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http://www.dcrco.com
CONTACT:
Jason T. Todd, 312-368-3217, todd@dcrco.com,
or Daniel R. Kastholm, CFA, 312-368-2070, kastholm@dcrco.com, or
Sergio Bonacossa, +5411-4311-3833, bonacossa@dcrargentina.com,
Cecilia Minguillon, +5411-4311-3833, minguillon@dcrargentina.com
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