...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) Aug. 15, 2000--Standard & Poor's today affirmed its ratings for Cendant Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, PHH Corp. (see list below). The ratings affirmation is based on Cendant's announcement that it has made a preliminary proposal to acquire the outstanding shares of Avis Group Holdings Inc. that it does not already own for $29 per share or about $750 million. As part of the transaction, Avis's North American fleet leasing business is expected to be acquired by PHH. At the same time, Standard & Poor's placed its ratings for Avis Group Holdings on CreditWatch with positive implications (see list). It is expected that the rating on Avis's subordinated notes will be raised to triple-'B'-minus upon closing of the transaction, and that the Avis bank loan rating will be withdrawn as Avis's existing bank facilities are expected to be terminated. The affirmation of PHH's single-'A'-minus senior debt rating and 'A-2' commercial paper rating reflects...
