S&P rates AutoZone notes BBB-

Standard & Poor's said it assigned BBB ratings to AutoZone Inc.'s (BBB/stable/A-2) senior debt and BBB- ratings to its subordinated debt securities.

The company's BBB corporate credit rating remains unchanged.

Proceeds will be used for share repurchase and debt refinancing, consistent with AutoZone's June announcement that it would expand its share repurchase program and increase leverage to at least 2.5 times.

Ratings reflect the company's leading position in the stable but highly competitive retail automobile parts aftermarket, consistent operating performance and strong profitability measures, the agency said.

These strengths are somewhat tempered by management's aggressive share repurchase activity and expectations for continued flat-to-negative same-store sales performance resulting from difficult macroeconomic conditions, S&P noted.

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