NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 26, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'AA-' issue-level rating to NIKE Inc.'s proposed senior unsecured notes. The notes will rank equally with all of the company's other senior unsecured indebtedness outstanding. The company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes. Our ratings on NIKE reflect its top market positions in sportswear products, its good geographic diversification, and its continued strong operating performance, despite global economic and foreign exchange headwinds. It also reflects the company's solid cash flow generation and very modest debt leverage given NIKE's surplus cash, which to some extent offsets our lease-adjusted debt levels. NIKE's credit metrics remain very strong. Pro forma for
