NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 6, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its preliminary 'BBB-' senior unsecured debt rating to Whirlpool Corp.'s well-known seasoned issuer (WKSI) shelf registration for debt securities filed on Feb. 19, 2009 in accordance with Rule 415 of the SEC. At the same time, we assigned our preliminary 'BB+' subordinated debt rating to Whirlpool for securities filed under the same shelf registration. The ratings on Whirlpool reflect its strong brand recognition, global leadership position in the mature and concentrated major appliance industry, and geographic diversity. We believe exposure to deteriorating economic conditions in key markets will likely hamper the company's operating performance, resulting in weakened credit measures over the near term.
