LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 9, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'BBB/A-2' corporate credit and its 'BBB' senior unsecured debt ratings on the U.K.-based hotel operator InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG), and related-entity Six Continents PLC, following an announcement by IHG that it intends to pay a £500 million ($887 million) special dividend in December 2004, as well as buy back £250 million worth of shares in 2005. The outlook for both companies is stable. "The shareholder distributions are part of IHG's strategy to reduce its capital base and improve returns on capital by selling a number of hotel properties and concentrating on the less capital-intensive managed and franchised hotel businesses," said Standard&Poor's
