NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) April 12, 2001--Standard & Poor's today assigned its triple-'B'-plus rating to Darden Restaurants Inc.'s $65 million medium term note issue due in 2011. The notes were drawn down under the company's shelf registration. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term corporate credit, senior unsecured debt, and bank loan ratings on Darden and affirmed its preliminary triple-'B'-plus senior unsecured rating on the company's shelf registration. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'A-2' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on Darden. The outlook is stable. The ratings on Darden reflect the company's relatively good position in the casual dining industry, financial conservatism demonstrated by its solid cash flow protection measures, and
