On Oct. 19, 2004, Standard&Poor's Rating Services placed its 'BB' corporate credit rating and other ratings on beverage alcohol producer and distributor Constellation Brands Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications. Constellation Brands announced its all-cash offer to acquire The Robert Mondavi Corp. for approximately $1.3 billion, including approximately $333 million of Mondavi net debt. Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands had about $2 billion of debt outstanding at Aug. 31, 2004. The CreditWatch placement reflects Standard&Poor's concern that Constellation Brands' announcement could start a competitive bidding process for Mondavi, which in turn could lead to a significant escalation of the current offering price. Standard&Poor's will continue to monitor developments, including assessing the ultimate impact upon the
