On March 6, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on HeidelbergCement AG to 'B-' from 'B+'. The 'B' short-term corporate credit rating was affirmed. At the same time, the senior unsecured debt ratings were lowered to 'CCC+' from 'B'. All ratings remain on CreditWatch negative where they were placed on Oct. 24, 2008. Our recovery rating on the senior unsecured bonds issued by HeidelbergCement AG and subsidiaries remains unchanged at '5', indicating our expectation of modest (10%-30%) recovery in the event of a payment default. The action reflects our opinion that there is a material risk that a default--according to our criteria definition--could occur by May 2010. In our view this risk is nearing
