PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 13, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its 'BBB-' senior unsecured debt and 'A-3' short-term debt ratings on Germany-based cement manufacturer HeidelbergCement AG (HC), following a review of mitigating factors relating to the structural subordination of the group's senior unsecured debt. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on May 4, 2007. "The affirmation of the senior unsecured debt rating at the same level as the corporate credit rating reflects our view that the company has sufficient satisfactory factors mitigating structural subordination to eliminate a rating distinction between the two," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Xavier Buffon. The
