TORONTO (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 16, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its preliminary single-'A' rating to Loblaw Companies Ltd.'s C$1.5 billion medium-term note shelf registration. At the same time, the 'A-1(Mid)' Canadian scale and 'A-1' global scale ratings were assigned to the company's C$1.2 billion commercial paper program. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its single-'A' corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Loblaw. The outlook is stable. The notes will be direct unsecured obligations of the company and will rank pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Loblaw. Proceeds will be used to repay maturing commercial paper and medium-term notes, to refinance other debt, and for general corporate purposes, particularly as it relates to the
