NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 18, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Co. to 'AA-' from 'AA'. At the same time, we affirmed the 'A-1+' short-term credit rating. The outlook is stable. "The downgrade reflects a decline in still very strong debt-protection measures as a result of the weakened global economic environment that has trimmed EBITDA levels," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Philip Schrank, "along with rising debt levels." With the recent issuance of about $1.7 billion of debt, which enhanced liquidity, and significant growth in its tax-adjusted unfunded pension liabilities, the company's total debt to EBITDA rose to 1.4x at year-end 2008
