On. Dec. 29, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its ratings on Appleton, Wis.-based Appleton Paper Inc. (see list below). The outlook remains stable. The affirmation follows Appleton's announcement that it has acquired BemroseBooth by acquiring all the shares of Bemrose Group Limited for about $60 million. BemroseBooth, based in Derby, England, has about $100 million in annual revenues. It is a leading UK provider of secure and specialized print services whose products include security printed vouchers and payment cards as well as mass transit and car parking tickets. The transaction broadens Appleton's security product line and geographic diversity and helps offset declining carbonless paper sales without significantly increasing debt leverage. At the same time, Standard&Poor's assigned
