PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 29, 2000-- Standard&Poor's today placed its triple-'B'-plus long-term corporate credit rating on Cap Gemini S.A. on CreditWatch with positive implications, following the announcement that the French company--which is the largest European management consulting and information-technology (IT) services provider--and Ernst&Young have reached an agreement on the terms and conditions for combining their consulting and IT services. Completion of the transaction will be realized mainly through the issue of new Cap Gemini shares to Ernst&Young and is subject to final approval from Cap Gemini's shareholders and Ernst&Young's partners. The initial agreement covers Ernst&Young's consulting businesses in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Italy;
