...August 11, 2020 NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 11, 2020--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '###' issue-level rating to American Electric Power Co. Inc.'s (AEP) $750 million equity units due Aug. 15, 2023. The equity units consist of a purchase contract that obligates the owner to purchase AEP's common stock in August 2023 and a remarketable junior subordinated note. The company intends to use the net proceeds to support its overall capital expenditure plan, to repay debt, or for other general corporate purposes. We view these hybrid securities as having high (100%) equity content. The rating on the equity units applies to AEP's obligation to issue common shares under the forward contract. Under our criteria, we rate these securities '###', two notches below our 'A-' issuer credit rating on the company. We notch the equity units two notches below the issuer credit rating to reflect the subordination and deferability on the instruments. AEP is a holding company that owns vertically...
