STOCKHOLM (Standard&Poor's) May 14, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on U.K.-based catering services provider Compass Group PLC (BBB+/Stable/--) are unaffected by the group's announced sale of Selecta, its European vending business, for £772.5 million (subject to regulatory approval). Despite resulting in the loss of operational diversity and an overall reduction in profitability, the sale of Selecta will enable Compass to refocus on its core catering operations, continue its cost cutting efforts, and improve its cash flow generation. Compass also announced that it will allocate about £200 million and £45 million of the net proceeds for debt repayment and pension contributions respectively, which will compensate for the loss of related cash flows and support
