8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): December 16, 2008

Bowne & Co., Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	1-05842	13-2618477
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission	(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)

55 Water Street, New York, New York	10041
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-924-5500

Not Applicable

Former name or former address, if changed since last report

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o     Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o     Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o     Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o     Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item 8.01 Other Events
	Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
SIGNATURES
EX-99.1: PRESS RELEASE

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On December 16, 2008, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“Standard & Poor’s) lowered its corporate credit rating on Bowne & Co., Inc. (“the Company”) to ‘B’ from ‘BB-’, and also lowered its issue-level rating on the Company’s convertible subordinated debentures to ‘CCC+’ from ‘B’. These ratings remain on Credit Watch, where they were placed with negative implications on November 12, 2008.

A copy of the press release released by Standard & Poor’s is being furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibits

99.1   Standard & Poor’s press release dated December 16, 2008

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	Bowne & Co., Inc.
December 19, 2008	By:	/s/ John J. Walker   Name:   John J. Walker
		Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit Index

Exhibit
Number	Description
99.1	Standard & Poor’s press release dated December 16, 2008.

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Ratings

Back

Bowne & Co. Rating Cut To ‘B’ From ‘BB-’, Still On CreditWatch Negative

Primary Credit Analyst:
Michael Listner, New York (1) 212-438-2788;
michael_listner@standardandpoors.com
Secondary Credit Analyst:
Ariel Silverberg, New York (1) 212-438-1807;	Publication date: 16-Dec-08, 14:36:04 EST
ariel_silverberg@standardandpoors.com	Reprinted from RatingsDirect

• Current Ratings

NEW YORK (Standard & Poor’s) Dec. 16, 2008—Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today lowered its corporate credit rating on Bowne & Co. Inc. to ‘B’ from ‘BB-’. We also lowered the issue-level rating on Bowne’s convertible subordinated debentures to ‘CCC+’ (two notches lower than the ‘B’ corporate credit rating), from ‘B’. These ratings remain on CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications Nov. 12, 2008. The recovery rating on the subordinated debt remains at ‘6’, indicating our expectation of negligible (0% to 10%) recovery for lenders in the event of a payment default.

          “The ratings downgrade reflects the rapid deterioration in Bowne’s operating performance and, consequently, the potential for a near-term covenant violation,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Michael Listner.

          Although our expectations for Bowne’s operating performance have always factored in the highly cyclical nature of revenue and profitability for the firm, the current operating trends have exceeded our earlier expectations given the extent of the credit freeze and its impact on transaction volume. We anticipate that transactional revenue will continue to be depressed into 2009, putting further pressure on Bowne’s profitability and credit measures.

          The continued CreditWatch listing reflects our concern over the possibility of a near-term violation of the total leverage covenant and an expectation for heightened leverage and limited liquidity during the first half of 2009, as the company typically uses cash for working capital purposes in the first half of the year and repays debt in the latter half. In resolving the CreditWatch listing, Standard & Poor’s will monitor the progress and resulting terms of an expected required amendment to the company’s senior credit facility. Ratings may be lowered further in the near term if a resolution is not put in place to address pressures on the capital structure and covenant compliance.

          Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor’s credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor’s public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit Ratings Search.

Analytic services provided by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (Ratings Services) are the result of separate activities designed to preserve the independence and objectivity of ratings opinions. The credit ratings and observations contained herein are solely statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or make any other investment decisions. Accordingly,

any user of the information contained herein should not rely on any credit rating or other opinion contained herein in making any investment decision. Ratings are based on information received by Ratings Services. Other divisions of Standard & Poor’s may have information that is not available to Ratings Services. Standard & Poor’s has established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of non-public information received during the ratings process.

Ratings Services receives compensation for its ratings. Such compensation is normally paid either by the issuers of such securities or third parties participating in marketing the securities. While Standard & Poor’s reserves the right to disseminate the rating, it receives no payment for doing so, except for subscriptions to its publications. Additional information about our ratings fees is available at www.standardandpoors.com/usratingsfees.