NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 3, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered its corporate credit rating on International Flavors&Fragrances Inc. (IFF) to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed the 'A-2' short-term commercial paper rating on the company. All the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on July 26, 2007. The outlook is stable. "The downgrade is based on the company's more aggressive financial policy and weaker credit protection measures as a result of the new share repurchase program and resulting increased leverage," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Patrick Jeffrey. Total debt to EBITDA is expected to weaken to about 3x in fiscal
