S&P: Western Gas unaffected

Standard & Poor's said its ratings and outlook on Western Gas Resources Inc. (BB+/stable/--) are not affected by the April 25 SEC schedule 13D filing, in which Third Point LLC (unrated) announced that it has acquired a 5.9% interest in Western.

In that filing, Third Point recommends Western monetize its midstream assets and refocus some of its planned exploration spending to improve shareholder returns.

As of Dec. 31, S&P said Western's midstream operations represented about 50% of operating earnings, and any sale that did not include debt repayment would likely result in weaker financial metrics and negative rating implications.

In addition, S&P said any plan to sell the midstream assets and use the proceeds to repurchase stock or other similar returns to equity investors would likely result in negative rating actions.

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