On April 4, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A' long-term senior unsecured debt rating to the €1 billion, seven-year bonds issued by Saint-Gobain Nederland B.V., a 100%-owned finance subsidiary of France-based Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Saint-Gobain; A/Negative/A-1), which operates in diversified industries such as glass and industrial products manufacturing, and building-materials distribution. The bond issue has been made for refinancing purposes and in order to lengthen the debt maturity of the Saint-Gobain group as a whole. The rating is the same as the long-term corporate credit rating on Saint-Gobain, despite the expectation that the ratio of priority liabilities to total adjusted assets at year-end 2002 (about 30%) will have exceeded the 20% investment-grade threshold beyond which Standard
