NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 27, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc. (BBB/Stable/A-2) are not currently affected following the company's announcement that its Board of Directors has approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Altria suspended its repurchase program in January 2009, following the completion of its acquisition of UST Inc. Although specific financing details have not been disclosed, Standard&Poor's believes that the resumption of share repurchases in the near term will not result in meaningful weakening of credit protection measures, and that the company will maintain lease- and pension-adjusted total debt to EBITDA in the low-2x area throughout 2011. We expect that the
