On Aug. 2, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its single-'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings on France-based Schneider Electric S.A., a major world player in electrical distribution, industrial control, and automation. The outlook is stable. The rating action followed Schneider's recent announcement that it will sell its stake in Legrand (A-/Watch Neg/A-2) and is likely to launch a share buyback. If completed, the €3.6 billion disposal of its 98% stake in Legrand will considerably strengthen Schneider's financial profile and allow adequate room for financial investments at the current rating level. Standard&Poor's believes Schneider will use the disposal proceeds to resume external growth initiatives and, possibly, to finance substantial share buybacks, while maintaining an adequate
