FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 21, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term corporate credit ratings on Germany-based cement manufacturer HeidelbergCement AG (HC). At the same time, Standard&Poor's lowered its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on U.K.-based building materials group Hanson PLC to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and its short-term rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'. This follows a U.K. court sanction on Aug. 20, 2007, for HC's acquisition of Hanson. All ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were originally placed with negative implications on May 4, 2007. The outlook on both companies is negative. The senior unsecured debt rating on HC remains on CreditWatch with negative implications,
