MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) July 14, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had affirmed its 'BBB-/A-3' ratings on Leighton Holdings Ltd. and removed them from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on March 11, 2014. The outlook is stable. "The ratings affirmation partly reflects our assessment that there has been no change in the underlying credit quality of Leighton or its parent's (Hochtief AG) ultimate controlling shareholder, Spanish firm Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (Grupo ACS)," Standard&Poor's credit analyst May Zhong said. "Our credit estimate on the unrated German-based Hochtief AG takes into account the debt ring-fencing arrangements that have been implemented and remain in force, which justify a limited separation of
