On Dec. 6, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings on Netherlands-based mail, express, and logistics group TNT N.V. on CreditWatch with negative implications following the company's announcement today of a broad range of initiatives to change its strategic focus. Standard&Poor's is concerned that TNT's financial profile may no longer be adequate for the 'A' rating following the company's announcement of a €1 billion share repurchase program, which commences today. The group's credit ratios are currently below our expectations for the 'A' rating category and, with annualized funds from operations (FFO) to pension-and lease adjusted net debt at about 38% at September 30, 2005, the rating can only accommodate
