Mexico-based building materials company, Elementia, will acquire the minority ownership of 47% of its cement joint venture with Lafarge that it did not previously own for $225 million. We are assigning our 'BB+' rating to Elementia. The stable outlook reflects our view that Elementia's operating performance will remain adequate across its four business lines. We expect cement operations to bolster EBITDA and profitability, leading to EBITDA margins above 17% by the end of 2014 and gradually improving as this segment weights heavier in consolidated EBITDA. Moreover, we expect debt metrics to improve as investments are integrated in the company's results. On Nov. 13, 2014, Standard&Poor's Rating Services assigned its 'BB+' corporate credit rating to Elementia S.A. The outlook
