S&P affirms Walgreen

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed Walgreen Co.'s A+ corporate credit rating and removed it from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Sept. 15.

The affirmation follows Walgreen's withdrawal of its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Longs Drug Stores Corp. for $3 billion, including the assumption of debt.

The outlook is stable.

S&P noted that although Walgreen has withdrawn its offer to acquire Longs, the agency now views Walgreen's financial policy as somewhat more aggressive.

Ratings reflect the company's leading position in an industry with good business characteristics and management's commitment to maintaining financial strength, the agency said.

Leverage rose to 3.1x after the acquisition of Option Care in September 2007 but has declined to about 2.8x and is expected to fall to about 2.7x over the next year, the agency said.

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