On May 12, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its ratings, including the 'BBB+' corporate credit rating, on Sabre Holdings Corp. on CreditWatch with negative implications. The CreditWatch placement follows Sabre's announcement that its subsidiary, Sabre Inc., has reached an agreement to acquire lastminute.com, a leading European on-line travel provider, for approximately £577 million (approximately $1.1 billion). The proposed acquisition of last.minute.com will likely negatively affect Sabre's relatively strong financial profile, but it should strengthen Sabre's market position in Europe. However, any potential ratings downgrade is expected to result in Sabre's maintaining its investment-grade ratings. The ratings on Sabre Holdings Corp. reflect its leading position within several of its major businesses and its relatively strong financial profile. Sabre is
