PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 15, 2001--Standard&Poor's today lowered its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on France-based Schneider Electric S.A. (Schneider), the leading player worldwide in electrical distribution devices and industrial control and automation, to single-'A' from single-'A'-plus. At the same time, the short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings were affirmed at 'A-1'. The long-term ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on Jan. 16, 2001, after a merger with Legrand (A-/Watch Pos/A-2; the leading manufacturer worldwide of low-voltage electrical fittings) was announced. The outlook is stable. The downgrade reflects Standard&Poor's opinion that the group's decreasingly conservative financial profile, combined with the financial impact of the
