On May 28, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BBB+' rating to Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s (ADM) proposed $1.75 billion of senior unsecured notes due 2041 (or as early as June 1, 2013, upon a successful remarketing) to be issued as part of $1.75 billion of equity units. This is a drawdown from the company's universal shelf registration of unspecified amount of securities for well-known issuers. In the prospectus, there is an overallotment provision to issue up to an additional $250 million of equity units. Standard&Poor's expects that proceeds will be used initially for repaying short-term debt originally incurred for meeting the company's increased working capital needs and then to fund the company's ambitious capital expenditure
