Standard&Poor's lowered credit rating of WHX Corp. to B-

Standard&Poor’s lowered credit rating of WHX Corp. to B-

Last week the rating agency Standard&Poor's' announced that they have lowered WHX Corp.'s corporate credit rating from “B” to “B-” due to rising worries regarding Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) pending determination about involuntarily terminating WHX's pension plan. The PBGC recently announced that it is seeking to involuntarily terminate the WHX pension plan because of its concern that WHX's plan could increase the potential negative impact to the company's liquidity significantly if it is not terminated. WHX's subsidiary, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. (WPC) filed for bankruptcy Nov. 16, 2000. WPC has continued to operate since that time and recently obtained approval of a $250 million loan guarantee that would help it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The approval of the guaranty is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions including a resolution of the treatment of the WHX pension plan acceptable to the PBGC. According to the PBGC's estimations, the WHX pension plan has $300 million in assets to cover more than $443 million in benefit liabilities, resulting in a funding shortfall of roughly $143 million. WHX is opposing the PBGC's termination plan and argues its calculation of liabilities and shutdown claims, predicting that the actual amount of these liabilities may be substantially less. The dispute is expected to be resolved by June 30, 2003 and progress of the dispute will be monitored by Standard & Poor's until then. WHX's operations are limited to its Handy & Harman subsidiary, both a seller and a manufacturer of precious metals, plating and fabricated products, and electrogalvinized products. The company has $358 million in debt.