NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 19, 2004-- Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it placed its 'BB' corporate credit rating and other ratings on alcoholic beverage producer and distributor Constellation Brands Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications. Constellation Brands announced its all-cash offer to acquire The Robert Mondavi Corp. for approximately $1.3 billion, including approximately $333 million of Mondavi net debt. Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands had about $2 billion of debt outstanding at Aug. 31, 2004. "The CreditWatch placement reflects Standard&Poor's concern that Constellation Brands' announcement could start a competitive bidding process for Mondavi, which in turn could lead to a significant escalation of the current offering price," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Jean
