...LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) July 3, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings and outlook on LafargeHolcim Ltd. (###/Negative/A-2) are unchanged following the very recent announcement by the French authorities that the group's core subsidiary, Lafarge S.A., has been placed under formal investigation. So far, the investigation has focused on several previous employees and senior executives of the group, relating to activity in Syria from 2013 to 2014, before the 2015 merger between Lafarge and Holcim. We continue to monitor the potential implications on the group's financials of the investigation (for more details see "LafargeHolcim Ltd." published on April 11, 2018, on RatingsDirect). We understand that, so far, there is no evidence that the investigation's findings will materially hurt the group financially. However, we believe that a significant disbursement, in case of an adverse outcome, would result in higher debt and could put further pressure on the ratings. Only a rating...
