On Aug. 26, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its ratings, including the 'BBB/A-2' corporate credit ratings, on Precision Castparts Corp. following the announcement of the planned acquisition of Special Metals Corp. (SMC) for $540 million in cash. The outlook is stable. The affirmation reflects expectations that Precision Castparts will maintain an appropriate overall financial profile following the pending acquisition, despite a modest increase in leverage. SMC is a leading supplier of high-performance nickel-based alloys, which are used in Precision Castparts' forging operations, and had about $475 million in revenues in the six months ending June 30, 2005. The acquisition will be funded with cash on hand and existing credit facilities, resulting in debt to capital increasing to about
