Telus 2007 Annual Report Download - page 36

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special meeting. Each Series B Right, other than those held by an Acquiring Person (as
defined in the Rights Plan) and certain of its related parties, entitles the holder in certain
circumstances following the acquisition by an Acquiring Person of 20 per cent or more of
the voting shares of TELUS (otherwise than through the “Permitted Bid” requirements of
the Rights Plan) to purchase from TELUS $320 worth of Non-Voting Shares for $160
(i.e. at a 50 per cent discount).
RATINGS
Ratings information contained in Management’s Discussion and Analysis -- Section 7.7
Credit Ratings in TELUS’ 2007 Annual Report – Financial Review is hereby incorporated
by reference. Management’s Discussion and Analysis is available at www.sedar.com.
Credit ratings are not recommendations to purchase, hold or sell securities and do not
address the market price or suitability of a specific security for a particular investor. In
addition, real or anticipated changes in the rating assigned to a security will generally
affect the market value of that security. There can be no assurance that a rating will
remain in effect for any given period of time or that a rating will not be revised or
withdrawn entirely by a rating agency in the future.
A description of the rating categories applied to TELUS as at December 31, 2007 from
each agency is below. The outlook or trend for TELUS from four agencies was stable.
Institution Rating Outlook
Fitch “BBB” ratings indicate that there is
currently expectation of low credit
risk. The capacity for payment of
financial commitments is considered
adequate but adverse changes in
circumstances and economic
conditions are more likely to impair
this capacity. This is the lowest
investment grade category.
The modifiers "+" or "-" may be
appended to ratings “AA” to “CCC”
to denote relative status within major
rating categories.
An Outlook indicates the direction a rating
is likely to move over a one to two-year
period. Outlooks may be positive, stable
or negative. A positive or negative Rating
Outlook does not imply a rating change is
inevitable. Similarly, ratings for which
outlooks are 'stable' could be upgraded or
downgraded before an outlook moves to
positive or negative if circumstances
warrant such an action.
DBRS Long-term debt rated "A" is of
satisfactory credit quality. Protection
of interest and principal is still
substantial, but the degree of
strength is less than that of AA rated
entities.
While "A" is a respectable rating,
entities in this category are
considered to be more susceptible to
adverse economic conditions and
have greater cyclical tendencies
Each DBRS rating category is appended
with one of three rating trends - "Positive",
"Stable", or "Negative". The rating trend
helps to give the investor an
understanding of DBRS's opinion
regarding the outlook for the rating in
question. However, the investor must not
assume that a positive or negative trend
necessarily indicates that a rating change
is imminent.