Stanley Works plans to acquire toolmaker Black&Decker in a 100% equity-financed acquisition. We are placing our ratings on Stanley, including the 'A' corporate credit and 'A-1' commercial paper ratings, on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, we are placing our ratings on Black&Decker, including the 'BBB' corporate credit rating, on CreditWatch with positive implications. Based on our preliminary analysis, if the proposed acquisition closes as outlined, we would expect to affirm Stanley's 'A' corporate credit rating and lower the commercial paper rating to 'A-2'. We expect to assign a negative rating outlook to Stanley based on pro forma credit measures that we would consider to be weak for the current rating, potential integration risks,
