U.S.-based oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company Hilcorp Energy I L.P. announced its intent to purchase all of British Petroleum's (BP) Alaska operations for $5.6 billion. Hilcorp is currently in discussions with its banks and has not yet disclosed its plans to finance the transaction, but we believe that the company will have higher leverage once the transaction closes. As a result of the likely increase in leverage, we are placing our ratings on Hilcorp, including the 'BB+' issuer credit rating and 'BB+' senior unsecured debt ratings, on CreditWatch with negative implications. Hilcorp Energy I LP announced its intention to acquire all of BP's Alaska operations. The transaction, which we expect to close early to mid-2020, will allow
