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Tuesday 9 November 12:38 PM
PRESS RELEASE: S&P Puts Stockland Rtgs On Watch Positive(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires November 08, 2004 20:32 ET (01:32 GMT) S&P Puts Australia Stockland's Rtgs On Watch Positive (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires November 08, 2004 20:34 ET (01:34 GMT) S&P Keeps Australia General Property Trust On Watch Neg (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires November 08, 2004 20:34 ET (01:34 GMT) PRESS RELEASE: S&P Puts Stockland Rtgs On Watch Positive
MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) Nov. 9, 2004--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that, following the announcement of Stockland Trust Group's competing off-market takeover bid for General Property Trust (GPT), it has placed Stockland's 'A-/A-2' ratings on CreditWatch with positive implications. The 'A+/A-1' ratings on GPT remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on May 25, 2004, after announcement of impending merger with Lend Lease Corp. Ltd. (LLC). Stockland is offering GPT unitholders 0.608 Stockland stapled securities for each GPT unit. The bid remains subject to unitholder and regulatory approvals, as well as competing bids. The CreditWatch Positive on Stockland reflects the company's prospects for a stronger business profile, which would be boosted by the strong and stable cash flows from GPT's large, high-quality, diversified asset portfolio. Currently, Stockland benefits from the good market position and asset quality of its properties, and has a diversified investment portfolio by property sector, geographic mix, and number of assets. The stability of Stockland's cash flows are underpinned by its well-diversified investment portfolio, which helps alleviate the more cyclical, lumpy, and smaller cash flows from Stockland Corp.'s development activities. If successful, the combined entity would become Australia's largest diversified property group, and the corporate credit rating is likely to be raised by one or two notches. To resolve the CreditWatches Standard & Poor's will seek to understand the following: --The combined group's financial policy in more detail; --Clarification of the future composition and sector weighting for the investment portfolio; and --Management's strategy for the size and future direction of its development business. In addition, Standard & Poor's considers that, based on the information provided to date, the long-term rating on GPT may remain at 'A+' and is unlikely to fall by more than one notch under the Stockland proposal, compared with a fall of up to two notches under the LLC proposal. Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find a Rating, then Credit Ratings Search. Ratings are statements of opinion, not statements of fact or recommendations to buy, hold, or sell any securities. Standard & Poor's (Australia) Pty. Ltd. doesn't hold an Australian financial services license under the Corporations Act 2001. Any rating and the information contained in any research report published by Standard & Poor's is of a general nature. It has been prepared without taking into account any recipient's particular financial needs, circumstances, and objectives. Therefore, a recipient should assess the appropriateness of such information to it before making an investment decision based on this information. Primary Credit Analyst: Lucie Kistler, Melbourne (61) 3-9631-2072; lucie_kistler@standardandpoors.com Secondary Credit Analyst: Paul Draffin, Melbourne (61) 3-9631-2122; paul_draffin@standardandpoors.com Copyright (c) 2004, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
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