On April 8, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB-' corporate credit rating on Office Depot Inc. At the same time, Standard&Poor's revised its outlook to stable from positive. Approximately $428 million of debt is affected by this action. The revised outlook is based on Office Depot's announcement that it intends to buy Guilbert S.A.'s contract stationery business from Pinault-Printemps-Redoute Group for Euro 815 million, and negative sales trends in its North American retail business segment. Although the acquisition is anticipated to be funded primarily with cash on hand, some incremental borrowings are expected to initially fund the transaction. Even though Standard&Poor's views the acquisition positively in terms of enhancing Office Depot's market position
