On Sept. 28, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BB' corporate credit rating and other ratings on beverage alcohol producer and distributor Constellation Brands Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications. CreditWatch with negative implications means that the ratings could be affirmed or lowered following the completion of Standard&Poor's review. Fairport, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands had about $3.1 billion of debt outstanding at May 31, 2005. The CreditWatch placement follows Constellation Brands' announcement that it has made an unsolicited offer to buy Vincor International Inc. (unrated) for C$31.00 ($26.45) per share, plus the assumption of debt, which represents a transaction value of C$1.4 billion (about $1.2 billion). Vincor is Canada's largest and one of the world's top 10
