LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 15, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips). At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with positive implications on May 14, 1998. The outlook is stable. The CreditWatch placement was a result of Philips' proposed disposal of its 75% stake in PolyGram N.V., a leading music group, for a total of Dutch guilder (DFL) 11.5 billion ($5.6 billion) in cash and a 12% stake in the acquirer, The Seagram Co. Ltd. (triple-'B'-minus/Stable/--). The ratings affirmation follows the publication of weaker 1998 results and the announcement of a bid for the U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer, VLSI
