On Dec. 15, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings on Italian toll-road operator Autostrade SpA. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed, with negative implications, on April 24, 2006. The outlook, which had been stable before the CreditWatch listing, is now negative. Standard&Poor's also withdrew its 'A-' senior unsecured debt rating on a proposed €2,144 million loan to Autostrade, the proceeds of which had been designated to bridge finance an extraordinary dividend connected with the company's proposed merger with Spanish infrastructure company, Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (A/Negative/--). The rating actions follow Autostrade and Abertis' decision to halt the merger process, deeming
