PARIS (Standard&Poor's) July 29, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Klépierre S.A. (BBB+/Positive/A-2) were unchanged following the company's announcement of its first-half 2008 results and of its €605 million acquisition of a 56.1% stake in Scandinavia's leading shopping-center owner Steen&Strom ASA (S&S). Klépierre's first-half 2008 results highlighted robust rental income growth despite the weak revenues of tenants of its Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese shopping centers. At June 30, 2008, Klépierre's loan-to-value ratio marginally exceeded 40%. Almost half of Klépierre's investment could be financed with new equity. S&S carries almost €1.6 billion of debt. The acquisition would somewhat strengthen Klépierre's business profile while weakening its key credit measures to a
