Stanley Black&Decker Inc.'s Senior Unsecured Notes Rated 'A'

TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A' issue-level rating to New Britain, Conn.-based Stanley Black&Decker Inc.'s senior unsecured notes. We expect the company to use the proceeds from the notes for general corporate purposes, including to repay debt. These notes will replace the $400 million junior subordinated notes that the company is calling, which could increase its debt leverage by a small amount because we treat subordinated notes as 50% equity for our ratio calculations. All of our other ratings on the company remain unchanged. Our 'A/A-1' issuer credit rating and stable outlook on Stanley reflect our view that the company's solid earnings amid good market conditions and its moderate use of

...TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A' issue-level rating to New Britain, Conn.-based Stanley Black & Decker Inc.'s senior unsecured notes. We expect the company to use the proceeds from the notes for general corporate purposes, including to repay debt. These notes will replace the $400 million junior subordinated notes that the company is calling, which could increase its debt leverage by a small amount because we treat subordinated notes as 50% equity for our ratio calculations. All of our other ratings on the company remain unchanged. Our 'A/A-1' issuer credit rating and stable outlook on Stanley reflect our view that the company's solid earnings amid good market conditions and its moderate use of debt will allow it to maintain adjusted debt to EBITDA of less than 2x over the next several years. This level of leverage will enable management to maintain its current balance of acquisitions and shareholder returns. Our rating on Stanley also...

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