FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 29, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its double-'A'-minus long-term and its 'A-1'-plus short-term corporate credit ratings on Germany-based chemicals producer BASF AG, following the company's announcement that it has reached an agreement to acquire a package of crop protection products from Bayer AG (A+/Stable/A-1) for about €1.2 billion in cash. The outlook is stable. "The transaction is part of the BASF group's long-term strategy to gradually reduce its strong dependence on the core chemicals cycle by investing in activities that follow different cycles, in particular agrochemicals, and oil and gas," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Ralf Kortuem. To that end, the acquired portfolio of products, which generated sales of about
