S&P released the following statement

Overview

We expect lower prices in the European stainless steel industry to push Luxembourg-based stainless steel producer Aperam's 2012 EBITDA well below our previous projections.

Even though we expect some EBITDA recovery in 2013, we still see the medium-term outlook for stainless steel markets as bleak, and project that Aperam's debt-to-EBITDA ratio is likely to remain high at 4.5x-5.0x in 2013-2014.

We are lowering our long-term rating on Aperam to 'B+' from 'BB-'.

The negative outlook reflects the lack of visibility on the stainless steel pricing environment and our forecast for sluggish demand in Europe in 2013, as well as what we see as Aperam's less than adequate liquidity.

Rating Action

On November 30, 2012, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Luxembourg based stainless steel producer Aperam to 'B+' from 'BB-'. The outlook is negative.

We also lowered our ratings on the USD 500 million senior notes due 2016 and 2018 issued by Aperam to 'B+'. The recovery rating on the notes is unchanged at '4', indicating our expectation of average (30%-50%) recovery for noteholders in the event of a payment default.