Standard&Poor's long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Eastman Chemical Co remain on CreditWatch with negative implications following the disclosure of additional information related to the company's proposed plan to split its business into two independent publicly traded companies by the end of 2001. Standard&Poor's 'A-2' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on Eastman have been removed from CreditWatch, where they where placed on Feb. 5, 2001. The CreditWatch listing indicates that the long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings will likely be lowered upon the successful completion of the proposed transaction. Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman will complete the transaction through a tax-free distribution to existing shareholders, in order to separate its specialty
