"All of the ratings on Tyson Foods and Tyson Fresh Meats remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where we placed them on June 19, 2008, reflecting our concerns that Tyson Foods may face even higher near-term commodity costs than our previous expectations," the rating agency said in a news release.

Last week Moody's Investors Service put Tyson on credit watch for a possible downgrade.

As of June 28, 2008, the company had about $3.1 billion of debt.

On Thursday, Tyson announced it plans to offer for sale 20 million shares of common stock and $450 million in convertible senior notes due 2013. 

"If Tyson Foods does not complete these transactions in a timely fashion, we would review the ratings and could consider a downgrade if market conditions weaken further," S&P credit analyst Patrick Jeffrey warned in the news release.

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