ROSH HAAYIN, Israel, February 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blue
Square-Israel Ltd. (NYSE: BSI) (hereinafter: 'Blue Square') announced that it
has received from Standard & Poor's Maalot notice regarding the AA rating
report of the debentures issued by Blue Square on August 2003.
The report is enclosed.
Blue Square-Israel Ltd. is a leading retailer in Israel. A pioneer of
modern food retailing, in the region. Blue Square currently operates 195
supermarkets under different formats, each offering varying levels of
services and prices. For more information, please refer to the Blue
Square-Israel Ltd. website at http://www.bsi.co.il.
Forward Looking Statements
The statements contained in this release, except for historical facts,
which are forward-looking with respect to plans, projections, or future
performance of the Company, involve certain risks and uncertainties.
Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risk of
market acceptance, the effect of economic conditions, the impact of
competitive pricing, supply constrains, the effect of the Company's
accounting policies, as well as certain other risks and uncertainties which
are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, particularly the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2007.
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Blue Square Israel LTD
Analyst: Tamar Stein tamars@maalot.co.il
Standard & Poor's Maalot announces that the rating (ilAA) given to bonds
(Series A and B) issued by Blue Square Israel ('the company') has been placed
on Credit Watch Negative.
This action reflects the possible implications of the planned
reorganization for the company and subsidiaries, which may affect the credit
rating, as well as the erosion of the company's financial position during
2008.
The company recently announced a comprehensive reorganization, bringing
together all its real estate activities under one subsidiary (80%) Blue
Square Real Estate Ltd. rated ilAA- by S&P Maalot and the concentration of
its retail activities under the fully owned subsidiary Blue Square Assets and
Investments Ltd. The non-food activities will be concentrated under the BEE
group, with the company above them all, as a holding company.
