KBRA Affirms the Ratings on the Outstanding Senior Notes and Outstanding Mandatory Redeemable Preferred Shares Issued by Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. and Assigns Ratings on New Issuances of Senior Notes and Mandatory Redeemable Preferred Shares
15 Jul 2026 | New York
KBRA affirms the 'AAA' ratings assigned to the Senior Notes and affirms the 'A+' ratings assigned to the Mandatory Redeemable Preferred Shares ("MRPS") issued by Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. (the "Fund" or "TYG") managed by Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. ("Tortoise"). Additionally, KBRA assigns a 'AAA' rating to Senior Notes Series XX and Series YY and an 'A+" rating to MRPS Series K and Series L. The Outlook for all ratings is Stable.
The Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and is a closed-end investment fund sponsored by Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. (“Tortoise”). The Fund had its initial public offering in February 2004, and its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TYG. TYG invests primarily in energy infrastructure companies that process, store, distribute, and market natural gas, natural gas liquids refined products, and crude oil, and also generate, transport, and distribute electricity.
The ratings are driven primarily by TYG’s strong asset coverage, liquidity, and management experience. Furthermore, TYG has demonstrated its willingness and ability to remain in compliance with '40 Act leverage thresholds with a goal to consistently exceed these levels and maintain downside cushion. The proceeds of the new issuances are expected to be used for repayment of existing debt on the Fund's credit facility, new portfolio investments, and general corporate purposes.
Key Credit Considerations
■ Asset Coverage: The Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “’40 Act”) which imposes minimum asset coverage requirements on leverage. The Fund must maintain at least 200% coverage on total leverage (including senior debt and MRPS) and 300% on senior debt in order to issue additional debt or preferred shares. Furthermore, under the terms of the MRPS agreements, distributions to common shareholders are only permitted so long as total asset coverage is greater than 225%, which incentivizes the Fund to maintain its asset coverage cushion. As of May 31, 2026, the senior asset coverage and total leverage coverage were 466% and 376%. At previous surveillance which was based on data as of November 10, 2025, senior asset coverage and total leverage coverage were 610% and 457%, respectively. The change in the asset coverage is driven by both the change in the net asset value and the increase in leverage. The average senior and total asset coverage over the last 12 months ending May 2026 were 584% and 438%, respectively. The pro-forma senior asset coverage and total asset coverage, including the issuance of Senior Notes Series XX and Series YY and MRPS Series K and Series L, will be 588% and 376%, respectively.
■ Liquidity: At least 90% of TYG’s total investments (including assets obtained through leverage) are invested in securities of energy infrastructure companies. TYG may also invest up to 30% of its total investments in restricted securities which are less liquid than securities trading in the open market because of statutory and contractual restrictions on resale. As of May 31, 2026, 5.0% of the total investments were in restricted securities. As the portfolio is primarily invested in publicly traded securities, the liquidity of the Fund’s assets is relatively strong. Despite the strong liquidity profile, the Fund is largely reliant on sales into public markets, which may not always reflect the intrinsic value of the underlying companies.
■ Non-Diversified Investments: TYG is a non-diversified closed-end fund that focuses primarily on energy infrastructure companies. As a non-diversified fund in the energy infrastructure space, the Fund faces idiosyncratic risk that cannot be mitigated through industry diversification.
■ Volatility of Underlying Portfolio: In addition to the risks associated with TYG’s non-diversified investment strategy, the Fund also faces systematic risks which can have a direct impact on valuations of the underlying portfolio. Although movements in underlying commodity prices impact midstream companies less than their upstream counterparts, midstream companies are still vulnerable to these valuation fluctuations.
■ Sponsor Experience: Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. (“Tortoise” or the “Firm”) was founded in 2002 and as of May 31, 2026, the Firm manages approximately $10.4 billion AUM with approximately 35 employees domiciled in Kansas City. Tortoise provides investors with access to active and passive investment solutions across the capital structure through a variety of investment vehicles including separately managed accounts, closed-end funds, open-end funds and exchange-traded products. Investments are focused on energy and power infrastructure, energy transition, sustainable infrastructure, water & AI and AI data center energy infrastructure.
Rating Sensitivities
■ Asset Coverage: A deterioration in asset coverage levels below '40 Act requirements and the Fund manager’s inability to liquidate assets and demonstrate intention to cure within the 30-day time-period could result in negative rating changes.
■ Asset Quality: A trend of stable asset performance coupled with improvements to asset coverage could result in positive rating changes.
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