NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 27, 2002--Standard & Poor's said today it assigned its double-'B'-plus rating to apparel retailer The Gap Inc.'s proposed $1 billion senior unsecured convertible notes due in 2009. It said that the rating on the unsecured debt incorporates the pending $1.3 billion secured bank facility. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its double-'B'-plus long-term and 'B' short-term corporate credit ratings on the San Francisco, Calif.-based company. The outlook is stable. The Gap had about $2 billion of funded debt as of Feb. 2, 2002. "The note offering is part of the company's strategy to assure sufficient liquidity," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand said. "In addition, the completion of the offering satisfies a condition for
