TEXT-S&P raises Millennium Inorganic Chemicals debt rating

OVERVIEW
-- Hunt Valley, Md.-based titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Millennium
Inorganic Chemicals has reduced its reported debt, resulting in improved
recovery prospects on its debt.
-- We are raising our issue-level ratings on the company's second-lien
debt to 'BB-' from 'B+' and revising our recovery ratings to '4' from '5'.
-- All of our other ratings, including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating,
remain unchanged. The outlook is stable.
-- The stable outlook reflects our expectations that TiO2 market
conditions and operating performance will support consistent free cash flow
generation and that the company will not increase debt to fund growth or
distributions to shareholders.

BOSTON (Standard & Poor's) Dec. 18, 2012--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
today raised its issue-level rating on the Millennium Inorganic Chemicals'
second-lien debt to 'BB-' from 'B+' and revised its recovery rating to '4'
from '5', indicating our expectation for an average (30% to 50%) recovery in
the event of a payment default.

All of our other ratings, including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating, remain
unchanged. The outlook is stable.

The ratings on Millennium reflect the company's limited focus on cyclical
markets subject to commodity product cycles and our limited visibility into
its financial policy. Our expectation that the company will maintain good free
cash flow and adequate liquidity partially offsets these risks. We
characterize Millennium's business risk profile as "weak" and its financial
risk profile as "significant".

For the latest complete corporate credit rating rationale, see Standard &
Poor's research update on Millennium Inorganic Chemicals dated Dec. 12, 2012.

RATINGS LIST

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals
Corporate Credit Rating BB-/Stable/--

Rating Raised
To From
Cristal Inorganic Chemicals US, Inc.
Senior Secured BB- B+
Recovery rating 4 5

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