LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 14, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'A+' long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings, and its 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings, on U.K.-based food retailer Tesco PLC, following a review of the company's possible bid for the U.K. number-four food retailer Safeway PLC (BBB+/Watch Dev/A-2). At the same time, the ratings on Tesco were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed on Jan. 22, 2003. The outlook is negative. "The affirmation is based on Standard&Poor's belief that Tesco's chances of acquiring Safeway outright are now remote following the decision by the U.K. Competition Commission to scrutinize the bids of all four trade buyers based on local market
