...Standard & Poor's said today that Cendant Corp.'s (###/Negative/--) announcement that it completed the sale of its National Car Parks unit, for total cash consideration of $820 million pounds sterling (about $1.2 billion), has no effect on the company's credit rating or outlook. The company intends to use the proceeds from the sale to expand Cendant's core businesses in travel and residential real estate services in Europe, and to fund the remaining class action liability. The transaction is expected to bolster the company's near-term liquidity position in advance of the final payout related to the litigation settlement. The final payment of about $940 million is expected to be made in July 2002. Standard & Poor's expects that the company will continue to opportunistically pursue its external growth strategy, but in a manner consistent with current ratings....
