S&P affirms Knight

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its BB- corporate credit rating on Knight Inc. (formerly Kinder Morgan Inc.) following the company's announcement that it will sell an 80% equity interest in MidCon LLC - principally, the Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America - to Myria Acquisition Inc., which is made up of a consortium of investors.

The outlook on Knight is stable.

Knight expects to receive about $5.3 billion in after-tax proceeds from the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter. S&P said the sale will accelerate Knight's deleveraging plan, which is occurring earlier than expected since the management buyout and due mainly to asset sales, and debt reduction associated with the MidCon sale is likely to be significant, although a decline in Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America's steady cash flows may only result in a slight improvement in key credit protection measures.

The agency said the ratings on privately held Knight continue to reflect the company's weak business risk profile and highly leveraged financial position.

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