CHICAGO (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 23, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB; A/Stable/A-1) are unaffected by the company's announcement that it has entered into purchase agreements with two insurance companies for group annuity contracts that will transfer payment responsibility for retirement pension benefits owed to approximately 21,000 U.S. retirees to insurers. KMB expects to make a $400 million to $475 million debt-financed contribution to its U.S. pension plan to support the transaction. We view the proposed pension settlement and debt-financing as a modest credit positive since pension volatility will be reduced, notwithstanding the slight weakening in credit ratios, including estimated pro forma financial leverage and funds from operations (FFO)
