New Issue: FFH FixedReset 5.00%+285

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has announced:

that it will issue in Canada 8 million Preferred Shares, Series I at a price of $25.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $200 million, on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of Canadian underwriters.

Holders of the Preferred Shares, Series I will be entitled to receive a cumulative quarterly fixed dividend yielding 5.0% annually for the initial five year period ending December 31, 2015. Thereafter, the dividend rate will be reset every five years at a rate equal to the then current 5-year Government of Canada bond yield plus 2.85%.

Holders of Preferred Shares, Series I will have the right, at their option, to convert their shares into Preferred Shares, Series J, subject to certain conditions, on December 31, 2015, and on December 31 every five years thereafter. Holders of the Preferred Shares, Series J will be entitled to receive cumulative quarterly floating dividends at a rate equal to the then current three-month Government of Canada Treasury Bill yield plus 2.85%.

Fairfax has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 9:00 am on the date that is two business days prior to the closing date, to purchase an additional 2 million Preferred Shares, Series I at the same offering price for additional gross proceeds of $50 million.

Fairfax intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to augment its cash position, to increase short term investments and marketable securities held at the holding company level, to retire outstanding debt and other corporate obligations from time to time, and for general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on or about October 5, 2010.

Fairfax intends to file a prospectus supplement to its short form base shelf prospectus dated September 25, 2009, in respect of this offering with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Details of this offering will be set out in the prospectus supplement, which will be available on the SEDAR website for the Company at www.sedar.com.

It is my understanding that the deal has been biggie-sized to $250-million, with a $50-million greenshoe. The junk just keeps coming!

Update: Fairfax has announced:

that as a result of strong investor demand for its previously announced offering of Preferred Shares, Series I, the size of the offering has been increased to 10 million shares. The aggregate gross proceeds will now be $250 million. The offering will be underwritten on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of Canadian underwriters.

Fairfax has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 9:00 am on the date that is two business days prior to the closing date, to purchase an additional 2 million Preferred Shares, Series I at the same offering price for additional gross proceeds of $50 million.

5 Responses to “New Issue: FFH FixedReset 5.00%+285”

  1. […] James Hymas, Fairfax Financial is issuing $250M in preferred shares, with a 5% yield, and 2.85% above 5-year […]

  2. Louis says:

    Hello James:

    I haven`t written you for a while but I keep reading your blog regularly. Prefs do well so nothing to comply about.

    I would say though that Fairfax is better junk then others. I even bought some. This issue is slighthly better than the one of this Summer 5% + 256bps IIRC which, last time I checked, traded at about $25.25.

    Question for you: Assuming a pfd 3 (high) straight perp was to be upgraded one notch to Pfd 2 (low), what would you expect to be the resulting increase of yield caused by the market for the resulting move from “junk” to “investment grade”. I would think that this would cause a significant increase in demand from institutionnal buyers who can only buy pfd 2 and better. In other words, for the same return, I now tend to prefer buying the “promiseful” pfd 3 (not many though other than George Weston, FFH, IIRC) to the pfd 2(low). Holding BAM.PR.M or N gave me a wonderful return but time has come to move from overweight with those to normal weight. I am thus tempted by pfd 3 issues. What do you think?

  3. Louis says:

    P.S. Jeez I should have read myself over before pressing the post button… I meant “nothing to complain about” in the 1st paragraph and, obviously, and increase of rating should cause the price to increase and effective yield to decrease not to increase as I mistakenly wrote. Sorry.

  4. jiHymas says:

    Credit anticipation can be a wonderful game, but it is not something in which I indulge.

    Moving from Pfd-3(high) to Pfd-2(low) should be worth around 40-50bp, but that is very much an estimated and average figure.

    The junk issues exhibit highly idiosyncratic returns, much more dependent upon the fortunes of the issuer than the investment grade issues. The lower you go in quality, the more equity-style analysis you have to do.

    My rule of thumb is that no more than 10% of a diversified portfolio be in junk, with no more than 5% in any single name.

  5. […] $300-million? That means the greenshoe was fully exercised. FFH.PR.I is a FixedReset 5.00%+285, announced September 27. […]

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