...On Aug. 23, 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed travel and real estate services provider Cendant Corp.'s '###' corporate credit rating, its wholly owned subsidiary PHH Corp.'s 'A-' counterparty credit rating, and all other affiliated ratings (see list below). The affirmations follow Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant's announcement that it will acquire the assets of Budget Group Inc. for $107.5 million in cash, the assumption of $2.7 billion in vehicle debt, the payment of certain transaction-related expenses, and the assumption of certain contracts and trade payables. Standard & Poor's withdrew its ratings from Budget on Aug. 14, 2002, following Budget's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 29, 2002. The rating outlooks for Cendant and PHH remain negative. About $6.7 billion in Cendant debt was outstanding on June 30, 2002. The debt includes the upper DECS and the company's mandatory redeemable preferred interest in a subsidiary, but does not include debt associated...
