Our 'A+' long-term corporate credit rating and senior unsecured ratings on U.S.-based diversified industrial manufacturer Danaher Corp. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications. We placed the ratings on CreditWatch following Danaher's announcement on Feb. 7, 2011, that it agreed to acquire Beckman Coulter Inc. for $6.8 billion (funded with a combination of stock, cash, and debt). The CreditWatch Negative listing reflects the potential for a downgrade, which we expect would be limited to one notch. On May 4, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that our 'A+' long-term corporate credit ratings and senior unsecured debt ratings on Washington, D.C-based Danaher Corp. remain on CreditWatch, where we placed them with negative implications on Feb. 7, 2011. The CreditWatch placement followed
