PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 22, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on French power company Electricité de France S.A. (EDF; A+/Negative/A-1) are not affected for now by the announcement of an agreement, in principle, with Chinese partner CGN to finalize terms for CGN's buy of a 33.5% stake in the Hinkley Point C nuclear new build project. We view the announcement as a step forward for the launch of Hinkley, but we understand the project remains nonbinding for EDF at this stage. We also understand that the transaction remains subject to several conditions, in particular the approval of the relevant competition authorities and the finalization of the shareholder agreement. The final contractual terms remain crucial
