On July 11, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BBB-' long-term corporate credit rating on Brazil-based steel maker Gerdau S.A. (Gerdau) on CreditWatch with negative implications. We also placed our 'BB+' long-term corporate credit rating on Gerdau's North American subsidiary, Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. (Gerdau Ameristeel), on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, we put our 'B+' long-term corporate credit rating on Chaparral Steel Co. (Chaparral) on CreditWatch with positive implications. The rating actions follow the announcement that Gerdau Ameristeel has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chaparral for $86/share. The total amounts to $4.22 billion. Gerdau reported actual consolidated total debt of approximately $4.4 billion as of March 2007. The rating actions reflect the expected
