On March 22, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Germany-based aviation group Deutsche Lufthansa AG to negative from stable, following the group's announcement that it would launch a formal offer for Swiss International Airlines AG (Swiss). At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB' long-term corporate credit rating on Lufthansa and its 'BBB' senior unsecured debt rating on related entity Lufthansa International Finance N.V. In addition, the short-term corporate credit rating on the group was lowered to 'A-3' from 'A-2'. The negative outlook primarily reflects Standard&Poor's expectation that the additional challenge of acquiring and integrating Swiss is likely to heighten Lufthansa's business risk in an already difficult business environment. The affirmation of
