German heavy building materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement has announced refinancing of €8.7 billion of its bank debt, enabling it to extend maturities to late 2011 and to ease pressure on covenants. We think liquidity concerns are less pressing for the company and that refinancing has removed the imminent risk of a covenant breach. We are affirming the 'B-/B' long- and short-term corporate credit ratings On HeidelbergCement, and removing them from CreditWatch negative. The negative outlook highlights our belief that, in the current difficult economic and financial environment, it could be difficult for HeidelbergCement to execute significant asset disposals or significantly reduce debt leverage, and that headroom under financial covenants could become tight again. On June 24, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings
