NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 18, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on Dallas-based Brinker International Inc. (BBB-/Stable/--) remain unchanged after the company's announcement today that it has reached an agreement to sell a majority interest in its Romano's Macaroni Grill restaurant chain to Mac Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Brinker expects to receive about $131.5 million in cash for the sale and will contribute $6 million of that to Mac Acquisition LLC; Brinker will retain 19.9% ownership in Macaroni Grill. Brinker has not yet disclosed how it intends to use proceeds from the sale of Macaroni Grill. If none of the proceeds are used to reduce debt but are instead used for share
