TEXT-S&P revises AmerCable watch to positive

-- U.S. electric cable manufacturer Amercable Inc. has agreed to be
acquired by France-based cable manufacturer Nexans S.A. for approximately $275
million.
-- We are revising our CreditWatch listing on Amercable's ratings to
CreditWatch positive from CreditWatch negative, where we placed them on Jan.
26, 2012, based on the higher rating on Nexans.
-- In resolving the CreditWatch listing, we will monitor the progress
that the companies have made toward closing the transaction, which they
anticipate to occur within the next 30 days.

Feb 15 - Standard & Poor's Rating Services revised its CreditWatch
implications on El Dorado, Ark.-based AmerCable Inc. to positive from negative
following the announcement that the company had agreed to be acquired by Nexans
S.A..

"The action reflects Amercable being acquired by a higher-rated entity and our
expectation that its existing debt will likely be refinanced by Nexans at the
closing of the transaction," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Gayle
Bowerman.

The CreditWatch listing follows the announcement that AmerCable has agreed to
be acquired by higher-rated Nexans. Under the terms of the agreement, Nexans
will pay $275 million in cash for AmerCable, funding the acquisition out of
existing available cash. We expect that AmerCable's existing debt will likely
be repaid by Nexans as part of the acquisition.

The 'B-' rating on AmerCable reflects our assessment of the company's business
risk profile as "vulnerable" and financial risk profile as "highly leveraged"
(as our criteria define the terms). The company maintains thin cash balances
and may be unable to fund daily operations if their revolver is not
refinanced. We expect that even small fluctuations in EBTIDA may result in a
covenant violation without a contribution from the company's private equity
sponsor.

In resolving the CreditWatch listing, we will monitor the progress that the
companies make toward closing the transaction, which they anticipate doing
within the next 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions. We expect,
upon closing, to raise our corporate credit rating on AmerCable, aligning it
with our rating on Nexans and, subsequently, to withdraw both our corporate
credit and issue-level ratings on the company.

RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
-- Methodology and Assumptions: Liquidity Descriptors For Global
Corporate Issuers, Sept. 28, 2011
-- Criteria Guidelines For Recovery Ratings On Global Industrials
Issuers' Speculative-Grade Debt, Aug. 10, 2009
-- 2008 Corporate Criteria: Analytical Methodology, April 15, 2008

Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on
the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings referenced
herein can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at
www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left
column.

Primary Credit Analyst: Gayle Bowerman, New York (1) 212-438-1706;
gayle_bowerman@standardandpoors.com
Secondary Contact: Antoine Cornu, Paris (33) 1-4420-6796;
antoine_cornu@standardandpoors.com