NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 2, 2001--Standard&Poor's today lowered its corporate credit and senior secured bank loan ratings on PetsMart Inc. to single–'B'-plus from double–'B'-minus, and lowered its subordinated debt rating to single–'B'-minus from single–'B'. The outlook is stable. The ratings downgrade is based on PetsMart's lower-than-expected EBITDA for fiscal 2000, the result of a slowing U.S. economy and continued operating difficulties, and Standard&Poor's concern that the company may have difficulty significantly improving operations if the economy continues to slow down in 2001. The ratings on PetsMart reflect inconsistent historic operating performance, a highly competitive and fragmented pet food supplies and services industry, and the company's highly leveraged capital structure. These risks are mitigated,
