CHICAGO (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 17, 2016--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'A' issue-level rating to Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s proposed senior unsecured note issuance. The offering will be drawn off Kimberly-Clark's Rule 415 shelf registration statement filed June 27, 2013. We expect the company to use the net proceeds from the issuance for general corporate purposes, including providing funds to retire debt. Debt outstanding as of Dec. 31, 2015, was about $7.8 billion. All of our existing ratings on the company, including the 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term corporate credit ratings, remain unchanged. The outlook is negative. Our ratings and outlook on Kimberly-Clark incorporate the company's solid market shares in North American tissue and global diapers, incontinence care,
