S&P assigns Ausol B-

Standard & Poor's said it revised its corporate credit rating on Autopistas del Sol SA (Ausol)

to selective default from B- after the company's recent completion of a cash tender offer on its $119 million notes with final maturity in 2009, with 81.96% acceptance, as part of the company's debt refinancing plan.

Immediately after, the agency said it assigned its B- corporate credit rating on Ausol, and affirmed all of its B- senior unsecured ratings, reflecting its forward-looking assessment of the company's credit quality.

According to S&P, the ratings on Ausol reflect high regulatory risk, the uncertainties associated with renegotiating the company's concession contract, high leverage, significant mismatch between revenues and financial debt and a small tail for refinancing because it expects the $155 million notes to mature in 2017, and Ausol's concession ends in 2020.

Partially offsetting these factors are the increasing amount of traffic, which is in line with economic growth and a more favorable debt maturity schedule, the agency said.

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