BellSouth Corp’s BellSouth Capital Funding Corp has had its triple-A senior debt and A1-plus commercial paper ratings placed on on Creditwatch for possible downgrade by Standard & Poor’s Corp, which said the review reflects BellSouth Funding’s stategic direction after the Baby Bell’s agreement to invest $1,500m in QVC Network Inc contingent on QVC’s bid for Paramount Communications Inc succeeding. BellSouth and QVC plan to form a joint venture to develop and offer interactive television service worldwide, and this agreement marks a departure from BellSouth’s past investment practices, which have been extremely conservative, raising questions about management’s risk tolerance, the agency said.
