The transaction relating to the purchase of Italian bank ICBPI by a private equity consortium comprising Bain Capital, Advent International, and Clessidra, has not yet been finalized, with regulatory approval pending. In our view, following the acquisition, the ratings on ICBPI will be sensitive to the leverage structure of the transaction and the future business strategy for ICBPI. Therefore, we are keeping our 'BB+' long-term rating on ICBPI on CreditWatch negative. Upon completion of our review, we could lower the rating if we were to anticipate that ICBPI's financial or business profiles were set to deteriorate as a result of the transaction. On Sept. 22, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services kept its 'BB+' long-term corporate credit ratings on Istituto
