Potential bidders wishing to rely on the financial standing of a Guarantor will have to provide information for their Guarantor with the Part 1 Application, including credit ratings and certain financial information. 

 

As described in Section 6.2 of the BGS-CIEP Supplier Master Agreement (“SMA”) and Section 6.4 of the BGS-RSCP SMA, to rely on the financial standing of a Guarantor and to receive unsecured credit under the BGS SMAs, the Guarantor must: 

 

1) be rated by at least two of the following rating agencies: S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”), Moody’s Investors Services, Inc (“Moody’s”), Fitch, Inc (“Fitch”), or A.M. Best Company (“A.M. Best); and

2) have a minimum senior unsecured debt rating (or, if unavailable, corporate issuer rating discounted one notch) of at least “BBB-” from S&P, “Baa3” from Moody’s, “BBB-” from Fitch, or “bbb” from A.M. Best. 

 

To rely on the financial standing of a foreign Guarantor (a Guarantor that has not been incorporated or otherwise formed under the laws of a state of the United States or of the District of Columbia) and to receive unsecured credit under the BGS SMAs, the foreign Guarantor must have comparable assurances of creditworthiness to the aforementioned rating requirements for Guarantors that have been incorporated or otherwise formed under the laws of a state of the United States or of the District of Columbia. 

 

The EDCS shall have full discretion, without liability or recourse to the foreign Guarantor or the BGS Supplier, to evaluate the evidence of creditworthiness submitted for such foreign Guarantor. The EDCs may also re-evaluate a potential bidder’s and/or their Guarantor’s creditworthiness should the Bidder be a winner in the BGS Auctions. If creditworthiness for the foreign Guarantor cannot be met, the winning Bidder (“BGS Supplier”) will be required to post cash or letter of credit for the Total Exposure Amount. 

 

Additionally, as also described in Section 6.2 of the BGS-CIEP SMA and Section 6.4 of the BGS-RSCP SMA, the following documentation for foreign Guarantors must be provided upon execution of the BGS SMAs: 

 

(i) a legal opinion of counsel qualified to practice in the foreign jurisdiction in which the foreign Guarantor is incorporated or otherwise formed that the Guaranty has been duly authorized, executed and delivered and is the legal, valid and binding obligation of the foreign Guarantor in the jurisdiction in which it has been incorporated or otherwise formed; 

(ii) the sworn certificate of the corporate secretary (or similar officer) of such foreign Guarantor that the person executing the Guaranty on behalf of the foreign Guarantor has the authority to execute the Guaranty and that the governing board of such foreign Guarantor has approved the execution of the Guaranty; and 

(iii) the sworn certificate of the corporate secretary (or similar officer) of such foreign Guarantor that the foreign Guarantor has been authorized by its governing board to enter into agreements of the same type as this Guaranty. 

 

The EDCs shall have full discretion, without liability or obligation to the foreign Guarantor or the BGS Supplier, to evaluate the sufficiency of the documents submitted by such foreign Guarantor.

Foreign Guarantors have the option, but not the obligation, to submit drafts of these documents for review by the EDCs by December 1, 2026. The EDCs will provide their review by December 18, 2026 and foreign Guarantors have the further option to provide revised draft documents for further review by the EDCs. The schedule of events in this review process is included in the calendar posted to the BGS Auction website