The parent holding companies of specialty chemical makers Momentive Performance Materials Inc. and Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc., both owned by affiliates of private equity firm Apollo Management L.P., plan to merge. Because we expect the impact of this transaction on Hexion to be only slightly positive, we are affirming all our ratings, including the 'B-' corporate credit rating, on Hexion. The stable outlook on Hexion primarily reflects our expectation that demand in key end markets will continue to strengthen, bolstering credit metrics gradually to support the current ratings. Based on Momentive's improving operating performance and strengthening liquidity, as well as modest expected cost savings resulting from the merger, we are placing all our ratings on Momentive, including the 'CCC+' corporate
