Archive for May, 2013

New Issue: BIR 7.00% 7-Year Retractible

Friday, May 31st, 2013

Birchcliff Energy has announced:

that in connection with its previously announced marketed offering of cumulative redeemable preferred shares, Series C (“Preferred Shares, Series C”), it has entered into an underwriting agreement with a syndicate of underwriters and has filed an amended and restated preliminary short form prospectus (the “Amended Preliminary Prospectus”), which amends and restates the Corporation’s preliminary short form prospectus dated May 28, 2013 (the “Preliminary Prospectus”).

The underwriting agreement provides for the sale of 2,000,000 Preferred Shares, Series C, with a 7% yield, at a price of $25.00 per Preferred Share, Series C, for gross proceeds of $50,000,000 (the “Offering”). Holders of the Preferred Shares, Series C will be entitled to receive, as and when declared by the Board of Directors, cumulative annual dividends of $1.75 per Preferred Share, Series C, payable quarterly. The Preferred Shares, Series C will not be redeemable by the Corporation prior to June 30, 2018 and will not be redeemable by the holders of the Preferred Shares, Series C prior to June 30, 2020, in accordance with their terms.

The Amended Preliminary Prospectus reflects the updated terms of the Offering and was filed by the Corporation on May 30, 2013 in all provinces of Canada, except Quebec. The Amended Preliminary Prospectus will be available on Birchcliff’s website at www.birchcliffenergy.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The Offering is being conducted through a syndicate of underwriters co-led by National Bank Financial Inc., Cormark Securities Inc. and GMP Securities L.P., on their own behalf and on behalf of CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd., Peters & Co. Limited, Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. and Integral Wealth Securities Limited (collectively, the “Underwriters”).

Net proceeds of the Offering will be used to initially reduce indebtedness under the Corporation’s revolving credit facilities, which will be subsequently redrawn and applied as needed to fund the Corporation’s ongoing exploration and development programs and for general working capital purposes.

The Offering is scheduled to close on or about June 14, 2013 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, completion of a satisfactory due diligence investigation by the Underwriters and the receipt of all necessary third party and regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

According to the prospectus:

The Preferred Shares, Series C will not be redeemable by the Corporation prior to June 30, 2018. On and after June 30, 2018, the Corporation may, at its option, upon not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days prior written notice, redeem for cash, all or any number of the outstanding Preferred Shares, Series C at $25.75 per share if redeemed before June 30, 2019, at $25.50 per share if redeemed on or after June 30, 2019 but before June 30, 2020 and at $25.00 per share if redeemed on or after June 30, 2020 (each, a “Redemption Price”), in each case together with all accrued and unpaid dividends (less any tax required to be deducted or withheld by Birchcliff) to but excluding the date fixed for redemption. See “Details of the Offering”.

The Preferred Shares, Series C will not be redeemable by the holders thereof prior to June 30, 2020. On and after June 30, 2020, a holder of Preferred Shares, Series C may, at its option, upon not less than 30 days prior written notice to the Corporation (the “Notice of Redemption”), redeem for cash, all or any number of Preferred Shares, Series C held by such holder on the last day of March, June, September and December of each year at $25.00 per share (being the then applicable Redemption Price), together with all accrued and unpaid dividends (less any tax required to be deducted or withheld by Birchcliff) to but excluding the date fixed for redemption. Upon receipt of the Notice of Redemption, the Corporation may, at its option (subject, if required, to stock exchange approval), upon not less than 20 days prior written notice, elect to convert such Preferred Shares, Series C into common shares (“Common Shares”) of the Corporation. The number of Common Shares into which each Preferred Share, Series C may be so converted will be determined by dividing the amount of $25.00 (being the then applicable Redemption Price) together with all accrued and unpaid dividends to but excluding the date fixed for conversion, by the greater of $2.00 and 95% of the weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) for a period of 20 consecutive trading days ending on the fourth day prior to the date specified for conversion, or, if that fourth day is not a trading day, on the immediately preceding trading day (the “Current Market Price”). See “Details of the Offering”.

On and after June 30, 2018, the Corporation may, at its option (subject, if required, to stock exchange approval), upon not less than 30 and not more than 60 days prior written notice, convert all or any number of the outstanding Preferred Shares, Series C into Common Shares. The number of Common Shares into which each Preferred Share, Series C may be so converted will be determined by dividing the then applicable Redemption Price, together with all accrued and unpaid dividends to but excluding the date fixed for conversion, by the greater of $2.00 and 95% of the Current Market Price. See “Details of the Offering”.

Also in the prospectus is:

The Preferred Shares, Series C and the Common Shares are not rated by any credit rating agency.

As there is no rating, the issue will not be tracked by HIMIPref™. As has been previously explained, this is not because I worship the rating agencies, but because a credit rating is a newsworthy item; downgrades will attract public attention which may serve to focus the directors’ attention on improving the situation in bad times.

Update, 2014-4-19: Trades as BIR.PR.C

May 30, 2013

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

S&P has a negative outlook on Ontario:

  • •In our view, Ontario continues to have a large, wealthy, and well-diversified economy; ongoing transfer payment support from the federal government for various social programs; adequate liquidity support; and exceptional access to capital markets.
  • •We are affirming our ratings, including our ‘AA-‘ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term issuer credit ratings on the province.
  • •The negative outlook reflects our view regarding the minority legislature’s ability in the next one to two years to meet what we view as aggressive cost containment targets necessary for the debt burden to peak in fiscal 2015 as planned.


The provincial government estimates that real GDP growth slowed to 1.6% in 2012 from a 1.8% gain in 2011. The government is forecasting real GDP growth to advance at a more tepid pace of 1.5% in 2013.

Ontario’s large budgetary deficits since the recession have significantly boosted its debt burden. At the end of fiscal 2013, Ontario’s tax-supported debt totaled C$259.7 billion, representing 230% of consolidated operating revenues (or about 39% of GDP). This is a sharp increase from 134% of consolidated operating revenues in fiscal 2008. Owing to the still-large after-capital deficits expected for fiscal 2014, the province projects its tax-supported debt burden will increase further to 235% of projected consolidated operating revenues (or about C$271.3 billion) this year, which represents an improvement from its forecast level in the fiscal 2013 budget. However, in our opinion, the rate of growth of Ontario’s debt burden remains a concern, as it is already at the high end of the range for similarly rated domestic and international peers.

The negative outlook reflects our view that there is at least a one-in-three likelihood that we could lower the long-term rating one notch in the next year.

Additionally, DPS.UN is officially defunct:

DBRS has today discontinued the stability rating on the retractable units (the Units) issued by Diversified Preferred Share Trust following completion of its restructuring into an open-end mutual fund on May 24, 2013.

The announcement of the conversion was discussed on PrefBlog.

Of far greater interest was a new visitor to my garden:


Click for Big


Click for Big

It was another negative day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums losing 15bp, FixedResets off 6bp and DeemedRetractibles down 9bp. Volatility was minimal – the only highlight is RY.PR.H, which was called today. Volume was high.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.6414 % 2,548.0
FixedFloater 3.92 % 3.15 % 40,072 18.76 1 0.2479 % 4,195.7
Floater 2.73 % 2.97 % 77,718 19.75 4 0.6414 % 2,751.2
OpRet 4.82 % 1.00 % 68,765 0.09 5 0.1165 % 2,617.4
SplitShare 4.63 % 4.16 % 99,884 4.06 6 0.0386 % 2,986.0
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1165 % 2,393.4
Perpetual-Premium 5.21 % 3.82 % 97,837 0.74 32 -0.1494 % 2,374.7
Perpetual-Discount 4.90 % 4.96 % 198,075 15.47 4 -0.4291 % 2,655.9
FixedReset 4.89 % 2.71 % 244,741 3.31 81 -0.0589 % 2,516.6
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 3.60 % 139,004 1.43 44 -0.0949 % 2,456.0
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
RY.PR.H Deemed-Retractible -1.10 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-29
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.10
Bid-YTW : 1.84 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
CGI.PR.D SplitShare 435,750 new issue settled today.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Soft Maturity
Maturity Date : 2023-06-14
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.25
Bid-YTW : 3.65 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 120,350 National crossed blocks of 75,000 and 39,400, both at 24.82.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.72
Bid-YTW : 2.97 %
SLF.PR.F FixedReset 115,300 National crossed 75,000 at 25.89 and bought 20,000 from RBC at the same price. RBC crossed 13,200 at the same price again.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.88
Bid-YTW : 2.25 %
TRP.PR.D FixedReset 105,457 Scotia crossed blocks of 25,000 and 60,000, both at 25.90.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.85
Bid-YTW : 3.44 %
TD.PR.Q Deemed-Retractible 103,400 RBC crossed 98,300 at 26.60.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-29
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.53
Bid-YTW : -13.38 %
BNS.PR.T FixedReset 54,087 Scotia crossed 25,000 at 26.05. Nesbitt crossed 25,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.01
Bid-YTW : 2.28 %
There were 51 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
PWF.PR.P FixedReset Quote: 25.52 – 25.85
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2331

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-30
Maturity Price : 23.61
Evaluated at bid price : 25.52
Bid-YTW : 2.91 %

BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.54 – 24.86
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2417

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-30
Maturity Price : 24.17
Evaluated at bid price : 24.54
Bid-YTW : 5.00 %

BAM.PR.N Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.23 – 24.46
Spot Rate : 0.2300
Average : 0.1576

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-30
Maturity Price : 23.94
Evaluated at bid price : 24.23
Bid-YTW : 4.96 %

W.PR.H Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.57 – 25.78
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1396

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-29
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.57
Bid-YTW : -13.31 %

ELF.PR.H Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.29 – 26.50
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1450

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-17
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.29
Bid-YTW : 4.84 %

HSE.PR.A FixedReset Quote: 25.48 – 25.83
Spot Rate : 0.3500
Average : 0.2895

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-30
Maturity Price : 23.57
Evaluated at bid price : 25.48
Bid-YTW : 3.01 %

CGI.PR.D Closes at Solid Premium on Excellent Volume

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Morgan Meighen & Associates has announced:

that it has completed its public offering of $75,000,000 (3,000,000 shares), 3.75% Cumulative Redeemable Class A Preference Shares, Series 4 (TSX symbol: CGI.PR.D).

The net proceeds of this offering will be used, together with available cash, to repay a short-term loan used to fund the previously announced redemption of its $75,000,000, 4.65% Cumulative Redeemable Class A Preference Shares, Series 2 (TSX symbol: CGI.PR.B), which was completed on May 29, 2013 for an aggregate amount of $75,716,610 (including accrued and unpaid dividends from March 15, 2013 to May 28, 2013). This redemption was in accordance with the terms of the governing short form prospectus.

CGI.PR.D is a SplitShare, 10-Year Retractible, 3.75%, announced April 29. The issue will be tracked by HIMIPref™ and is assigned to the SplitShares subindex.

CGI.PR.D traded 435,750 shares today in a range of 25.20-30 before closing at 25.25-35, 76×30. Vital statistics are:

CGI.PR.D SplitShare YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Soft Maturity
Maturity Date : 2023-06-14
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.25
Bid-YTW : 3.65 %

New Issue: EMA Straight Perpetual 4.50%

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Emera Incorporated has announced (although not yet on their website):

that it will issue four million Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series E (the “Series E Shares”) at a price of $25.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $100 million on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of underwriters in Canada led by RBC Capital Markets, CIBC, Scotiabank and TD Securities Inc. RBC Capital Markets and CIBC are acting as joint bookrunners for the offering.

Emera has granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable at any time up to 48 hours prior to the date of closing, to purchase up to an additional one million Series E Shares at the same offering price, for additional gross proceeds of up to $25 million.

The holders of Series E Shares will be entitled to receive fixed cumulative preferential cash dividends at an annual rate of $1.125 per share, payable quarterly, as and when declared by the board of directors of the Company yielding 4.5% per annum. The initial dividend, if declared, will be payable on August 15, 2013 and will be $0.2034 per share, based on an anticipated closing date of June 10, 2013.

The Series E Shares will not be redeemable by the Company prior to August 15, 2018. On or after August 15, 2018 the Company may redeem all or any part of the then outstanding Series E Shares, at the Company’s option without the consent of the holder, by the payment of: $26.00 per share if redeemed before August 15, 2019; $25.75 per share if redeemed on or after August 15, 2019 but before August 15, 2020; $25.50 per share if redeemed on or after August 15, 2020 but before August 15, 2021; $25.25 per share if redeemed on or after August 15, 2021 but before August 15, 2022; and $25.00 per share if redeemed on or after August 15, 2022, together, in each case, with all accrued and unpaid dividends up to but excluding the date fixed for redemption. The Series E Shares do not have a fixed maturity date and are not redeemable at the option of the holders of Series E Shares.

The offering is subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes.

The Series E Shares will be offered to the public in Canada by way of prospectus supplement to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated May 2, 2013.

Update, 2013-6-10: Emera announced on June 4:

that in connection with its recently announced public offering of 4,000,000 Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series E (the “Series E Shares”), the underwriters have exercised their option (the “Underwriters’ Option”) to purchase an additional 1,000,000 Series E Shares at a price of $25.00 per share. Emera will receive additional gross proceeds of $25 million from the exercise of the Underwriters’ Option, increasing the total size of the offering to $125 million. Closing of the Underwriters’ Option is expected to occur concurrently with the scheduled closing of the public offering on June 10, 2013.

RY.PR.H To Be Redeemed

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Royal Bank of Canada has announced:

its intention, subject to the approval of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), to redeem all of its issued and outstanding Non-Cumulative First Preferred Shares Series AH (the “Series AH shares”) on July 2, 2013, for cash at a redemption price of $26.00 per share. This is comprised of the $25.00 per share original issue price plus a $1.00 per share redemption premium.

In addition, the Bank has also declared a 39-day dividend of $0.150925 per Series AH share covering the period from May 24, 2013 (the date of the last dividend payment), up to but excluding the redemption date of July 2, 2013. This results in a total amount of $26.150925 per share to be paid upon surrender of the Series AH shares.

There are 8,500,000 shares of Series AH outstanding, representing $212.5 million of capital. The redemption of the Series AH shares will be financed out of the general corporate funds of Royal Bank of Canada.

Please visit www.rbc.com/investorrelations/share-information to view tax Questions & Answers relating to this redemption.

The tax Questions & Answers make the point that for tax purposes the redemption price is $25.00 with a $1.00 Deemed Dividend; for many individuals this will make a big difference in their decision as to whether to hold the issue until redemption or to sell it into the market.

Update, 2013-6-25: Removed from TXPR.

May 29, 2013

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Nothing happened today.

PerpetualDiscounts now yield 4.94%, equivalent to 6.42% interest at the standard equivalency factor of 1.3x. Long corporates now yield 4.16% so the pre-tax interest-equivalent spread (in this context, the “Seniority Spread”) is now about 225bp, a slight increase from the 220bp reported May 15.

A more severe drop for the Canadian preferred share market today, with PerpetualPremiums down 10bp, FixedResets off 6bp and DeemedRetractibles losing 22bp. Volatility was good, skewed to the downside. Volume was very high.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.4560 % 2,531.8
FixedFloater 3.93 % 3.16 % 37,953 18.74 1 -0.2473 % 4,185.3
Floater 2.75 % 2.99 % 75,607 19.69 4 -0.4560 % 2,733.6
OpRet 4.83 % 0.97 % 69,360 0.09 5 -0.0776 % 2,614.3
SplitShare 4.81 % 4.16 % 100,910 4.07 5 -0.1728 % 2,984.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0776 % 2,390.6
Perpetual-Premium 5.20 % 4.05 % 98,696 0.74 32 -0.0971 % 2,378.3
Perpetual-Discount 4.88 % 4.94 % 197,272 15.52 4 -0.4475 % 2,667.4
FixedReset 4.89 % 2.66 % 246,907 3.14 81 -0.0580 % 2,518.1
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 3.57 % 139,179 1.51 44 -0.2175 % 2,458.3
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible -1.37 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.32
Bid-YTW : 4.89 %
BAM.PR.T FixedReset -1.22 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 23.52
Evaluated at bid price : 25.83
Bid-YTW : 3.55 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount -1.13 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 24.22
Evaluated at bid price : 24.60
Bid-YTW : 4.99 %
BAM.PF.A FixedReset -1.10 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2018-09-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.16
Bid-YTW : 3.70 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 1.04 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.79
Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
SLF.PR.F FixedReset 257,480 RBC crossed three blocks: 50,400 shares, 99,400 and 75,000, all at 25.89. TD sold 11,000 to anonymous at 25.88.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.85
Bid-YTW : 2.35 %
BNS.PR.T FixedReset 189,900 Nesbitt crossed blocks of 80,500 and 100,000 at 26.05.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.03
Bid-YTW : 2.19 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 68,240 National crossed 47,000 at 24.82.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.79
Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
ENB.PR.H FixedReset 61,021 Scotia bought 20,000 from National at 25.35.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 23.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.32
Bid-YTW : 3.38 %
RY.PR.X FixedReset 58,950 TD crossed 50,000 at 26.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-08-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.23
Bid-YTW : 2.29 %
MFC.PR.D FixedReset 46,857 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.98
Bid-YTW : 2.49 %
There were 54 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
ENB.PR.D FixedReset Quote: 25.46 – 25.90
Spot Rate : 0.4400
Average : 0.2621

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 23.32
Evaluated at bid price : 25.46
Bid-YTW : 3.54 %

PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.64 – 27.00
Spot Rate : 0.3600
Average : 0.2381

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.64
Bid-YTW : 4.60 %

BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.60 – 24.87
Spot Rate : 0.2700
Average : 0.1559

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 24.22
Evaluated at bid price : 24.60
Bid-YTW : 4.99 %

TRP.PR.B FixedReset Quote: 24.50 – 24.78
Spot Rate : 0.2800
Average : 0.1664

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-29
Maturity Price : 23.37
Evaluated at bid price : 24.50
Bid-YTW : 2.66 %

IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.32 – 24.74
Spot Rate : 0.4200
Average : 0.3205

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.32
Bid-YTW : 4.89 %

CU.PR.E Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.09 – 26.45
Spot Rate : 0.3600
Average : 0.2733

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.09
Bid-YTW : 4.29 %

May 28, 2013

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Great news! The Ontario Securities Commission is poised to use its awesome power for some good old-fashioned top-down social engineering:

Ontario is crafting new rules requiring public companies to set targets for the number of women in senior roles, a move with national implications that could reverse Canada’s decline in global standings for gender diversity in the corporate world.

Laurel Broten, Ontario’s minister responsible for women’s issues, revealed in an interview that the provincial government is working with the Ontario Securities Commission on ways to compel companies to set goals for boosting the number of women sitting as corporate directors, as well as in senior management.

It was a distinctly negative day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums down 9bp, FixedResets losing 15bp and DeemedRetractibles off 5bp. A distinct tilt in the Performance Highlights table towards losing FixedResets was lead by ENB issues, which are experiencing competitition from an attractive new issue. Volume was high.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.8144 % 2,543.4
FixedFloater 3.92 % 3.15 % 35,120 18.76 1 -1.3821 % 4,195.7
Floater 2.74 % 2.99 % 75,415 19.70 4 0.8144 % 2,746.1
OpRet 4.82 % 0.94 % 68,236 0.10 5 0.0932 % 2,616.4
SplitShare 4.80 % 3.98 % 101,017 4.07 5 0.0550 % 2,990.0
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0932 % 2,392.4
Perpetual-Premium 5.19 % 3.61 % 95,040 0.75 32 -0.0903 % 2,380.6
Perpetual-Discount 4.86 % 4.92 % 195,477 15.55 4 -0.3648 % 2,679.3
FixedReset 4.88 % 2.70 % 248,056 3.10 81 -0.1536 % 2,519.5
Deemed-Retractible 4.87 % 3.45 % 132,186 0.73 44 -0.0485 % 2,463.7
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
HSE.PR.A FixedReset -1.89 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.57
Evaluated at bid price : 25.50
Bid-YTW : 3.05 %
BAM.PR.G FixedFloater -1.38 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.07
Evaluated at bid price : 24.26
Bid-YTW : 3.15 %
ENB.PR.H FixedReset -1.29 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.26
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : 3.37 %
ENB.PR.T FixedReset -1.20 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 3.65 %
ENB.PR.P FixedReset -1.20 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.26
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 3.65 %
ENB.PR.D FixedReset -1.16 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.34
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 3.53 %
BAM.PF.B FixedReset -1.11 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-03-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.94
Bid-YTW : 3.62 %
TRI.PR.B Floater 1.06 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.48
Evaluated at bid price : 23.75
Bid-YTW : 2.20 %
MFC.PR.F FixedReset 1.59 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.50
Bid-YTW : 2.92 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BAM.PR.O OpRet 197,490 Nesbitt crossed blocks of 91,200 and 100,000, both at 25.27.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Option Certainty
Maturity Date : 2013-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.27
Bid-YTW : 1.67 %
HSB.PR.E FixedReset 131,695 RBC crossed blocks of 64,300 and 50,000, both at 26.50.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.47
Bid-YTW : 2.10 %
RY.PR.X FixedReset 111,336 TD crossed 99,300 at 26.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-08-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.23
Bid-YTW : 2.28 %
ENB.PR.T FixedReset 99,570 RBC bought 12,000 from Scotia at 25.44.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-28
Maturity Price : 23.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 3.65 %
ENB.PR.B FixedReset 70,302 Nesbitt bought 10,000 from RBC at 25.40.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 3.46 %
GWO.PR.Q Deemed-Retractible 69,596 Scotia sold 24,300 to National at 26.33, then crossed 35,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.30
Bid-YTW : 4.54 %
There were 43 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
MFC.PR.G FixedReset Quote: 26.16 – 26.70
Spot Rate : 0.5400
Average : 0.4022

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-12-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.16
Bid-YTW : 2.95 %

CU.PR.E Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.35 – 26.64
Spot Rate : 0.2900
Average : 0.1783

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.35
Bid-YTW : 4.14 %

CU.PR.C FixedReset Quote: 26.54 – 26.91
Spot Rate : 0.3700
Average : 0.2790

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.54
Bid-YTW : 2.38 %

BAM.PR.R FixedReset Quote: 26.74 – 26.97
Spot Rate : 0.2300
Average : 0.1459

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.74
Bid-YTW : 3.32 %

BNS.PR.K Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.40 – 25.61
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1339

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-27
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : 1.95 %

PWF.PR.E Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.61 – 25.82
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1427

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-27
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.61
Bid-YTW : -17.91 %

DBRS Places AZP.PR.A, AZP.PR.B On Review-Negative

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

DBRS has announced that it:

has today placed the Issuer Rating and the Senior Unsecured Debt & Medium-Term Notes rating, both BB, of Atlantic Power Limited Partnership (APLP) and the Cumulative Preferred Shares rating of Pdf-4 of Atlantic Power Preferred Equity Ltd. Under Review with Negative Implications. The ratings of APLP are based on the credit quality of Atlantic Power Corporation (ATP or the Company; not rated by DBRS) given that APLP guarantees the majority of ATP’s debt at the holding company level (24% of consolidated debt as at April 20, 2013).

The rating action reflects DBRS’s concern over the deterioration of ATP’s credit metrics this past year, which are no longer commensurate with the current ratings, and the challenges facing the Company with respect to carrying out its long-term strategy given its limited financial flexibility. There is a possibility that ATP could breach the consolidated EBITDA-to-interest covenant of 2.25 times (x) and net debt-to-consolidated EBITDA covenant (total leverage ratio) of 7.50x for one or more quarters in 2013 and early 2014, respectively, under its senior credit facility, which could further constrain liquidity. The Company is currently in discussion with the lenders for a waiver to the senior credit facility. ATP also plans to seek a broader amendment to take into account changes in its long-term business development plans after successfully concluding the current discussions. Even if the Company successfully obtains a waiver and/or amendment, DBRS believes that the Company still faces a number of challenges in implementing its long-term business strategy of deleveraging the consolidated balance sheet and financing future project development with 50% debt and 50% equity in the midst of a weak wholesale pricing environment. If the current bank discussions are not successful, the Company plans to cash collateralize the outstanding letters of credit under the facility and terminate the facility prior to any default, in which case, a negative rating action could immediately follow.

DBRS acknowledges that the Company benefits from long-term power contracts (over 90% of ATP’s generation assets), providing cash flow stability. In addition, during 2013, ATP completed the sale of certain projects (see the rating report for more detail). DBRS views the divestitures as a moderately positive factor as the majority of the projects sold had power purchase agreements expiring in 2013 and a portion of the proceeds were used to repay the outstanding borrowings under the senior credit facility.

This follows a similar announcement by S&P.

AZP.PR.A and AZP.PR.B are both tracked by HIMIPref™ but relegated to the Scraps index on credit concerns.

BAM.PR.O To Be Redeemed

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Brookfield Asset Management has announced:

its intention to redeem all of its outstanding Class A Preference Shares, Series 21 (“Preferred Shares, Series 21”) (TSX:BAM.PR.O) for cash on June 30, 2013. The redemption price for each share will be C$25.00. Holders of Preferred Shares, Series 21 will separately receive all accrued and unpaid interest outstanding on the redemption date. Brookfield intends to use the net proceeds of the issue of Preferred Shares, Series 37 to redeem its Preferred Shares, Series 21 and, to the extent the underwriters’ option is exercised, for general corporate purposes.

The issue of the Series 37 shares has been reported on PrefBlog.

So … they’re refunding a 5.00% Retractible with a 4.90% Straight Perpetual. A nice day’s work!

New Issue: BAM Straight Perpetual, 4.90%

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Brookfield Asset Management has announced:

that it has agreed to issue 6,000,000 4.9% perpetual Class A Preference Shares, Series 37 (“Preferred Shares, Series 37”) on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC, RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank and TD Securities for distribution to the public. The Preferred Shares, Series 37 will be issued at a price of C$25.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$150,000,000.

Brookfield has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable until 48 hours prior to closing, to purchase up to an additional 2,000,000 Preferred Shares, Series 37 which, if exercised, would increase the gross offering size to C$200,000,000. The Preferred Shares, Series 37 will be offered in all provinces of Canada by way of a supplement to Brookfield Asset Management’s existing short form base shelf prospectus dated June 7, 2011 as amended on June 13, 2012 and December 10, 2012.

Brookfield intends to use the net proceeds of the issue of Preferred Shares, Series 37 to redeem its Preferred Shares, Series 21 and, to the extent the underwriters’ option is exercised, for general corporate purposes. The offering of Preferred Shares, Series 37 is expected to close on or about June 13, 2013.