Fitch Rates Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.'s $275MM Floating- Rate Notes 'A'; Outlook Stable

Business Wire, May 7, 2008

CHICAGO -- Fitch has assigned an 'A' rating to Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.'s (NYSE:CCE) $275 million floating-rate senior unsecured notes due May 6, 2011. The notes' coupon will be based on 3-month LIBOR plus 60 basis points. Fitch's ratings for CCE and its subsidiaries are as follows:

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.:

--Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) 'A';

--Bank credit facility 'A';

--Senior unsecured debt 'A';

--Short-term IDR 'F1';

--CP 'F1'.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Finance LT 1 Commandite S.C.A.:

--Long-term IDR 'A';

--Senior unsecured debt 'A'.

Bottling Holdings (Luxembourg) Commandite S.C.A.:

--Short-term IDR 'F1';

--CP 'F1'.

The Ratings Outlook is Stable.

CCE plans to use the issuance proceeds to refinance a portion of its commercial paper. Any remaining proceeds are to be used for general corporate purposes. The notes are being issued under the company's existing indenture dated July 30, 2007. Significant covenants include, but are not limited to, limitations on liens and restrictions on sale-leaseback transactions. At March 28, 2008, CCE's total debt was approximately $9.7 billion.

The ratings reflects CCE's continued importance within the Coca-Cola bottling system, its ongoing debt reduction and its strengthening non-carbonated beverage line-up. Given the prominence of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) in CCE's beverage portfolio, the ratings acknowledge the declining CSD volumes in the U.S. and modest CSD growth in CCE's European territories. Despite a difficult commodity cost environment, which is negatively impacting the company's margins, CCE continues to generate substantial discretionary cash flow.

For the last twelve months ended March 28, 2007, the company's credit statistics were in line with Fitch's expectations. Total debt-to-operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization(EBITDA) was 3.7 times (x), operating EBITDA-to-gross interest expense was 4.2x, and the funds from operations (FFO) fixed charge coverage was 2.8x. While CCE's credit metrics are weaker than similarly rated food and beverage companies, CCE's ratings are reflective of the credit metrics of the Coca-Cola system and CCE's relative importance in the Coca-Cola system, which comprises the Coca-Cola Company and its significant and/or strategic bottlers. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, total debt-to-operating EBITDA on an aggregated basis was 1.8x for the Coca-Cola system. The system's FFO fixed charge coverage on an aggregated basis was 6.8x.

CCE is the Coca-Cola Company's largest bottler, accounting for 18% of the Coca-Cola Company's volume in 2007. CCE's North American bottling territory includes 46 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the ten provinces of Canada. As of December 31, 2007, the company's bottling agreements covered a population of approximately 267 million people comprising 79% of the population of the U.S. and 98% of Canada. CCE's European bottling agreements govern the following territory: Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the Netherlands. As of December 31, 2007, CCE's European bottling agreements covered a population of approximately 147 million people. During 2007, North American operations contributed 70% of the company's revenues and European operations accounted for 30%.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.