PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 7, 2000--Standard&Poor's today lowered its long-term ratings on France-based glassmaker and building materials group Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Saint-Gobain) and its Netherlands-based guaranteed subsidiary Saint Gobain Nederland B.V. to single-'A' from single-'A'-plus, following the completion of the acquisition of U.K.-based Meyer International PLC. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on Feb. 1, 2000, when the bid was announced. The outlook on Saint-Gobain is negative following the company's announced bid on April 6, 2000, for Raab Karcher, Germany's leading building materials merchant. Saint-Gobain's short-term ratings were affirmed (see list below for all ratings affected). With 1999 sales of euro (Eur) 22.9
