On Dec. 15, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A/A-1' long- and short-term corporate credit ratings on French toll-road operator Sanef, and removed it from CreditWatch, where it had been placed with negative implications on April 24, 2006. The outlook, which was stable before the CreditWatch listing, is now negative. The affirmation follows the announcement that Spain-based infrastructure operator Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (A/Negative/--) and Autostrade SpA (A/Negative/A-1), Italy's largest toll road operator, have decided not to proceed with their merger process, as they believe that the lack of necessary authorization for the merger and recent regulatory developments in Italy make the transaction unfeasible at present. For further details, please see our research update on Autostrade published today "Italian
