NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 22, 2013--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BBB-' senior unsecured debt rating to Whirlpool Corp.'s (BBB-/Stable/A-3) proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes offering, consisting of 10-year and 30-year notes. The company will issue the notes off of its Rule 415 universal shelf registration for debt securities. Whirlpool intends to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of its $500 million 5.5% notes that mature on March 1, 2013. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company had about $2.46 billion in reported debt outstanding. Our corporate credit rating reflects Whirlpool's "satisfactory" business risk profile and "intermediate" financial risk profile. Key
