NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 28, 1999--Standard&Poor's today revised its outlook on Eastman Chemical Co. to stable from positive. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its triple-'B' plus corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on the company. The rating actions follow Eastman's announcement that it will tender to acquire unrated Lawter International Inc., a major supplier of printing ink vehicles and resins for printing inks, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $500 million (including the assumption of about $100 million of debt). The addition of Lawter would be consistent with Eastman's strategic objective to expand its presence in more stable and less capital-intensive specialty chemical
