LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) June 7, 2000--Standard&Poor's today announced that its triple-'A' long-term and its 'A-1'-plus short-term ratings on Unilever PLC, Unilever N.V., and related entities remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on May 3, 2000. The single-'A'-plus long-term and 'A-1' short-term ratings on Bestfoods remain on CreditWatch with developing implications. This follows Unilever's announcement that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with U.S.-based Bestfoods, whereby Unilever will acquire all the outstanding shares of Bestfoods and assume about US$4 billion of Bestfoods' debt. (See below for full ratings list.) Unilever is likely to finance the transaction--valued at about US$20.3 billion--by debt. Although the proposed transaction would add a portfolio of strong brands
