NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 27, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it placed its 'A' corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on Ecolab Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications. This follows Ecolab's announcement today that it is considering the repurchase of some of its shares that Henkel KGaA (A/Stable/A-1) intends to divest. Earlier today, Henkel announced its intention to divest all or part of its approximately 29% stake in Ecolab. As of Feb. 26, 2008, the market value of the shares held by Henkel was substantial at over $3 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2007, Ecolab had $1.4 billion in adjusted debt (including the present value of operating leases and tax-adjusted unfunded postretirement obligations). "The CreditWatch
