...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) April 10, 2017--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '###' issue-level rating to U.S.-based casual dining restaurant operator Darden Restaurants Inc.'s proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes due 2027. The company plans to use the proceeds from this offering to fund its recently announced acquisition of Cheddar's Restaurant Holdings Corp. (B/Watch Pos/--) and for general corporate purposes. The pending acquisition has no impact on the existing ratings on Darden. We expect the operating performance at Darden to remain solid despite some general industry headwind in the casual dining space. The Cheddar's acquisition, while small, could enhance the company's brand diversity and increase presence in the value-driven casual-dining restaurant segment, but we expect the integration and potential performance improvement to only gather momentum over time. In addition, we continue to expect the company to maintain its financial policy and adjusted leverage in the...
