Outlook on Compagnie de Saint-Gobain Revised to Negative; Furon Placed on CreditWatch Positive

PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Sept. 22, 1999--Standard&Poor's today revised its outlook on Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Saint-Gobain) to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its long- and short-term ratings on the group and its subsidiary Saint Gobain Nederland B.V. This decision reflects the further deterioration of Saint-Gobain's financial profile following the announcement of the acquisition of the U.S. company Furon Co. for a total of $617 million. Simultaneously, as a result of this acquisition, Standard&Poor's placed its long-term ratings on Furon Co. on CreditWatch with positive implications. (See list below for all rating details.) Furon is a leading designer, developer, and manufacturer of highly engineered products made primarily from specialty

...PARIS (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) Sept. 22, 1999--Standard & Poor's today revised its outlook on Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Saint-Gobain) to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its long- and short-term ratings on the group and its subsidiary Saint Gobain Nederland B.V. This decision reflects the further deterioration of Saint-Gobain's financial profile following the announcement of the acquisition of the U.S. company Furon Co. for a total of $617 million. Simultaneously, as a result of this acquisition, Standard & Poor's placed its long-term ratings on Furon Co. on CreditWatch with positive implications. (See list below for all rating details.) Furon is a leading designer, developer, and manufacturer of highly engineered products made primarily from specialty formulated high-performance polymer materials. Furon's integration with Norton, Saint-Gobain's plastics division, will create a global leader in performance plastics, with revenues of $830 million....

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