On May 9, 2012, the Irish government announced that it planned to separate Shannon Airport from Dublin Airport Authority PLC (DAA) and join it with Shannon Development to form a single entity. On Dec. 3, 2012, the Irish government announced its decision to proceed with the separation of Shannon Airport, on Dec. 31, 2012, and merge it with a restructured Shannon Development to form a new, publicly owned, commercial entity in 2013. We do not think that DAA's financial and business profiles will be materially affected by the separation, and are therefore affirming our 'BBB' long-term and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings on DAA. The negative outlook reflects the risk that we could lower our rating on DAA if the
