On Jan. 25, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B+' corporate credit ratings on Ashton Woods USA LLC (Ashton Woods) and its subsidiary, Ashton Woods Finance Co. At the same time, we affirmed our 'B-' rating on the company's $125 million senior subordinated notes. Concurrently, we revised our outlook on Ashton Woods to negative from stable (see list). The outlook revision reflects our expectation that the deepening housing market downturn will pressure Ashton Wood's key credit metrics and potentially reduce currently adequate liquidity. In addition, the recently announced departure of the company's chief financial officer (CFO) could place more demands on an already lean management team. The affirmed ratings acknowledge the company's smaller, less-diversified platform (relative to peers).
