FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 16, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Germany-based chemicals producer BASF AG (AA-/Stable/A-1+) are unchanged by the group's announcement that it will make an offer for Degussa's construction chemicals division. Standard&Poor's believes that the purchase of Degussa's construction chemicals division could result in an increase in BASF's debt position of up to an estimated €2.5 billion. Taking into account the cash flow generation of the construction chemicals division, Standard&Poor's expects that funds from operations to fully adjusted net debt will drop to about 80%, but remain above the required level of about 60% through the cycle. BASF's cash flow generation is expected to remain
