Archie's Corner

[EZ2]

Kmart Directors Meet Amid Another Debt Downgrade

By TSC Staff

01/15/2002 08:02 AM EST

Directors of Kmart (KM:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) were scheduled to meet for a second straight day Tuesday to consider options following another ratings downgrade.

The troubled discounter saw its corporate bond rating slashed thee notches to B-minus by Standard & Poor's, following a steep downgrade Friday by Moody's. S&P cited "heightened concerns about Kmart's loss of financial flexibility."

Kmart's shares were recently trading down 14 cents at $2.70 on Instinet after dropping 14% in regular trading Monday. The swoon began two weeks ago when a securities analyst issued a report saying the company could eventually face a bankruptcy filing. A Kmart spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that he couldn't discuss the agenda of the board meeting, which was convened last night.

Kmart said Friday it was in talks with lenders for supplemental financing. Several of the company's suppliers have publicly said Kmart is current with its payments and its chief executive recently claimed Kmart has a minimum of $300 million of cash on hand.