LA-based CB Richard Ellis, one of the world's largest commercialreal estate firms, announced earlier this week that it is weighinga $15.50-per-share buyout offer from Blum Capital Partners LP,which already owns about 38% of the company's stock. Privately heldBlum Capital includes a number of current CB Richard Ellisexecutives and directors, among them CEO Ray Wirta and Brett White,the company's "Chairman of the Americas."

When a company on S&P's CreditWatch list is given a"negative" designation, it means that the rating may be lowered inthe future. S&P currently has assigned a B+ rating to CBRichard Ellis' subordinated debt. Its long-term counterparty creditrating is BB.

Though S&P noted that CB Richard Ellis is undertaking aseries of cost-cutting measures, it said the company's current debtlevels remain high and that its debt-coverage ability hasn'timproved since the brokerage company's ratings outlook was firstchanged to negative in August 1999. Much of that debt was taken onas part of the firm's aggressive expansion efforts in the '90s, thecredit-rating company said.