NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 30, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that there would be no effect on the ratings or outlook on Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc. (BBB+/Stable/A-2) following the company's announcement that it has agreed to sell United Agri Products (UAP), its U.S. and Canadian crop inputs, to Apollo Management L.P. The sales price is about $600 million. ConAgra will receive about $540 million in cash and about $60 million to $75 million in preferred stock. UAP represented about $2.55 billion in sales. The planned divestiture is consistent with ConAgra's strategy of divesting commodity-oriented operations and focusing on its branded and value-added food business. Standard&Poor's expects that the proceeds from this transaction will
