Fitch puts Williams Cos. on positive watch

Fitch Ratings said it placed The Williams Cos. Inc.'s BB senior unsecured debt and issuer default ratings and the BB+ senior unsecured debt and issuer default ratings of its two subsidiaries, Northwest Pipeline Corp. and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., on Rating Watch positive.

The rating action reflects the significant progress Williams has made toward achieving its stated debt-reduction goals and reducing overall credit risk, the agency said. Since the end of 2002, the company has paid down more than $6.0 billion of debt, using cash raised from asset sales to fund scheduled debt maturities, tender offers and open market purchases.

At the same time, Williams continues to expand the cash flow production of its retained integrated natural gas businesses, effectively offsetting a substantial portion of income forfeited under asset sales, Fitch noted. Based on preliminary year-end 2005 results, total debt to EBITDA is below 4.0x.

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