NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 12, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today 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," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Betsy Snyder. "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
