NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) March 24, 2000--Standard & Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term corporate credit, senior unsecured debt, and bank loan ratings on Darden Restaurants Inc. and its triple-'B'-plus preliminary senior unsecured shelf rating on the company. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'A-2' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on Darden. The outlook is stable. The ratings affirmation follows Darden's announcement that its board of directors has authorized a 20 million share buyback program ($295 million based on March 23, 2000, stock price). Standard & Poor's expects the program to be funded with a mixture of debt and free cash flow. Although the share buyback could divert funds which could be used for debt reduction,
