Houston-based oil and gas pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) has agreed to merge with its general partner, Enterprise GP Holdings LP (EPE). The merger simplifies the Enterprise family corporate structure and should result in a lower cost of capital due to the elimination of incentive distribution rights (IDRs). We are affirming our ratings, including our 'BBB-' corporate credit rating on EPD. The outlook remains positive. While EPD's debt to EBITDA measures will worsen slightly in the near term due to the merger, we expect them to remain relatively conservative. The Enterprise system's debt leverage should modestly improve. We are also affirming our ratings on EPE, including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating. We expect all the EPE debt will
