On March 7, 2005, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A+' long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings to France-based toll-road operator Sanef, which operates Europe's fourth-largest interconnected toll-highway network, principally located in northern, western, and eastern France. The outlook is stable. The ratings reflect Sanef's low-traffic-risk and well diversified toll-road network operations in France, with above-average traffic growth rates, a supportive regulatory regime with favorable toll-escalation indices, and steady recurring cash flows. The ratings also take into account a net cash injection of about Ç0.8 billion ($1.1 billion) that will follow the planned IPO of about 30% of the company by its 99.6% owner, the French state, at the end of March 2005. These strengths are offset by
