NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 15, 2006--Boeing Co. (A/Positive/A-1) has agreed to pay $615 million to end several Justice Department investigations into procurement violations. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said this development has no impact on its ratings or outlook on Boeing; the outlook was revised to positive from stable on May 11, 2006. The tentative agreement involves the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a military contractor, but allows the company to avoid criminal charges or any admission of wrongdoing. Standard&Poor's stated recently that the contemplated fines, although material, would be manageable within current credit quality, especially given Boeing's cash resources of almost $10 billion and continued strong financial performance.
