Cott Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Dunkirk, N.Y.-based Cliffstar Corp., the leading North American private label manufacturer of shelf stable juices. As a result, we are affirming our 'B' long-term corporate credit rating on Cott. We are also placing our 'B' rating on Cott's wholly owned U.S. subsidiary Cott Beverages Inc.'s senior unsecured debt on CreditWatch with negative implications. The CreditWatch placement reflects our possible lowering of the rating on the senior unsecured debt depending on the ultimate capital structure at closing, including the amount of priority debt ahead of the proposed total senior unsecured debt. We will resolve the CreditWatch placement following our analysis of the proposed capital structure based on draft terms and
