Bulletin: BULLETIN: Cendant Corp.'s Proposed Acquisition of Orbitz Inc. Does Not Affect Ratings

NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 29, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its credit rating and outlook on Cendant Corp. (BBB/Positive/--) are unchanged following the company's announcement that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Orbitz Inc. (unrated entity). The purchase price for Orbitz is approximately $1.05 billion, net of $200 million in cash on hand and is payable by Cendant in cash. While both boards of directors have approved the deal, it is still subject to regulatory and other approvals. The deal is expected to close in November 2004. The acquisition enhances Cendant's presence in the rapidly growing online travel distribution business by combining the Orbitz brand with Cendant's existing Cheap Tickets brand. Despite the

...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Sept. 29, 2004--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its credit rating and outlook on Cendant Corp. (###/Positive/--) are unchanged following the company's announcement that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Orbitz Inc. (unrated entity). The purchase price for Orbitz is approximately $1.05 billion, net of $200 million in cash on hand and is payable by Cendant in cash. While both boards of directors have approved the deal, it is still subject to regulatory and other approvals. The deal is expected to close in November 2004. The acquisition enhances Cendant's presence in the rapidly growing online travel distribution business by combining the Orbitz brand with Cendant's existing Cheap Tickets brand. Despite the acquisition utilizing a majority of Cendant's excess cash, Standard & Poor's continues to be comfortable with its previous expectation that Cendant will be successful in reducing total debt by approximately $2 billion during...

Bulletin