NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 5, 2007--The announcement that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (AA/Stable/A-1+) has increased its ownership in Japanese department store Seiyu to 95.1% from 50.9% has no immediate impact on the company's credit rating or outlook. We view the action as part of Wal-Mart's plans to accelerate its international expansion. Japan is a strategic market for the company, and Wal-Mart has been gradually increasing its ownership of Seiyu, which has 400 stores, since 2002. Wal-Mart had already put in place plans to invest and make changes in Seiyu's merchandising, store renovations and distribution, and logistics. Given Seiyu's small size, we believe the business will likely have a minimal impact on Wal-Mart's consolidated results in the near term.
