On Oct. 21, 2013, Telekom Austria announced that it had acquired spectrum for €1.03 billion, which will increase its Standard&Poor's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio by about 0.8x to roughly 3.6x at year-end 2013. We are consequently lowering our assessment of the group's financial risk profile to "significant" from "intermediate." We are also lowering our long- and short-term ratings on Telekom Austria to 'BBB-/A-3' from 'BBB/A-2'. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the group's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio will decline to less than 3.25x in the next 24 months, as a result of strengthening EBITDA generation on its improving competitive position and less intense competition in the Austrian mobile market. FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 23, 2013--Standard&Poor's Ratings
