NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 26, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit rating on Lawrence, Kan.-based Protection One Alarm Monitoring Inc. (PONE) to 'B' from 'B+'. The outlook is stable. At the same time Standard&Poor's lowered PONE's first–lien debt rating to 'BB-' from 'BB', and its second-lien debt rating to 'B' from 'B+'. "The ratings were lowered due to continued high leverage since its April 2007 acquisition of Integrated Alarm Services Group," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Joseph Spence. "The ratings reflect PONE's highly leveraged financial profile and second-tier position in the highly competitive and fragmented U.S. security alarm monitoring industry." These factors are further compounded by a weak economic environment. These are
