U.S.-based glass manufacturer Guardian Industries Corp. has disclosed it has reached an agreement in principle for KGIC LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc. (unrated; collectively Koch) to purchase a minority stake in Guardian. We expect the sale of the minority interest, along with a planned partial re-capitalization of Guardian's balance sheet, will weaken Guardian's credit metrics as a result of a large increase in debt. We are placing our ratings on Guardian Industries only on CreditWatch with negative implications, including the 'A' corporate credit rating. We will resolve our CreditWatch after reviewing the terms and implications of Koch's investment in Guardian. On Oct. 4, 2012, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its ratings, including the 'A' corporate credit rating,
