Middlefield (the sponsor of STW) has announced:
its intention to make a normal course issuer bid for its Capital Units and Preferred Securities through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”). This normal course issuer bid is intended to commence on March 10, 2008 and will terminate on March 9, 2009. In accordance with the Declaration of Trust by which STRATA is governed, market purchases pursuant to its normal course issuer bid may be effected by the Fund.
The Fund had 8,499,344 Capital Units and 5,929,455 Preferred Securities issued and outstanding as at February 28, 2008. STRATA may, during the 12 month period commencing March 10, 2008 purchase on the TSX up to 849,034 Capital Units and 586,648 Preferred Securities, being 10% of the public floats of 8,490,344 Capital Units and 5,866,484 Preferred Securities, respectively, and may not, in any 30 day period, purchase more than 169,986 Capital Units and 118,589 Preferred Securities, being 2% of the respective securities issued and outstanding. As at February 28, 2008, STRATA has purchased 3,100 Capital Units at an average price of $7.91 per Capital Unit under its previously approved normal course issuer bid. STRATA believes that its Capital Units and Preferred Securities represent good value for the Fund and purchases under the normal course issuer bid may serve to enhance returns to securityholders.
It’s hard to take this bid very seriously, seeing as they spent less than $25,000 on the previous issuer bid, but you never know! The NAV of STW.UN is $8.08 as of February 28, so the market price of $7.30 is favourable for buy-backs.
STW.PR.A was last mentioned on PrefBlog in December, 2006, in connection with their stealth redemption.
[…] will also be most interested to learn whether Middlefield purchased preferred according to the issuer bid. I will suggest that, given that STW.PR.A has not closed above 9.60 in at least a month, it would […]