Month: January 2025

DBRS has announced (on 2025-1-31):

DBRS Limited (Morningstar DBRS) withdrew its credit rating on the Cumulative Redeemable Series 1 Preferred Units (the Series 1 Preferred Units) and confirmed its credit rating of Pfd-2 (high) on the Cumulative Redeemable Series 2 Preferred Units (the Series 2 Preferred Units; collectively with the Series 1 Preferred Units, the Preferred Units) issued by Canoe EIT Income Fund (the Fund).

Series 1 Preferred Units:

In March 2017, the Fund issued 5,635,000 Series 1 Preferred Units at a price of $25.00 per unit for gross proceeds of approximately $140.9 million. Under the terms of the issuance, the Series 1 Preferred Units are retractable for cash at $25.00 per unit at the option of the holder on or after March 15, 2024. Morningstar DBRS withdrew its credit rating on the Series 1 Preferred Units as the credit rating assigned reflects the credit risk up to the beginning date of the retraction option of March 15, 2024. On and after March 15, 2024, investors have been able to submit for retraction their Series 1 Preferred Units and have received their principal back and related accrued and unpaid distributions in accordance with the terms of issuance. There are still approximately 3.4 million Series 1 Preferred Units outstanding, as not all investors have exercised their retraction option.

Series 1 is EIT.PR.A. This post has been posted 2026-01-30, as I missed it last year!

Enbridge Inc. has announced:

that it does not intend to exercise its right to redeem its currently outstanding Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares, Series 11 (Series 11 Shares) (TSX: ENB.PF.C) on March 1, 2025. As a result, subject to certain conditions, the holders of the Series 11 Shares have the right to convert all or part of their Series 11 Shares on a one-for-one basis into Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares, Series 12 of Enbridge (Series 12 Shares) on March 1, 2025. Holders who do not exercise their right to convert their Series 11 Shares into Series 12 Shares will retain their Series 11 Shares.

The foregoing conversion right is subject to the conditions that: (i) if Enbridge determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series 11 Shares outstanding after March 1, 2025, then all remaining Series 11 Shares will automatically be converted into Series 12 Shares on a one-for-one basis on March 1, 2025; and (ii) alternatively, if Enbridge determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series 12 Shares outstanding after March 1, 2025, no Series 11 Shares will be converted into Series 12 Shares. There are currently 20,000,000 Series 11 Shares outstanding.

With respect to any Series 11 Shares that remain outstanding after March 1, 2025, holders thereof will be entitled to receive quarterly fixed cumulative preferential cash dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge. The new annual dividend rate applicable to the Series 11 Shares for the five-year period commencing on March 1, 2025 to, but excluding, March 1, 2030 will be 5.477 percent, being equal to the five-year Government of Canada bond yield of 2.837 percent determined as of today plus 2.64 percent in accordance with the terms of the Series 11 Shares.

With respect to any Series 12 Shares that may be issued on March 1, 2025, holders thereof will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate cumulative preferential cash dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge. The dividend rate applicable to the Series 12 Shares for the three-month floating rate period commencing on March 1, 2025 to, but excluding, June 1, 2025 will be 1.41151 percent, based on the annual rate on three month Government of Canada treasury bills for the most recent treasury bills auction of 2.96 percent plus 2.64 percent in accordance with the terms of the Series 12 Shares (the Floating Quarterly Dividend Rate). The Floating Quarterly Dividend Rate will be reset every quarter.

Beneficial holders of Series 11 Shares who wish to exercise their right of conversion during the conversion period, which runs from January 30, 2025 until 5:00 p.m. (EST) on February 14, 2025, should communicate as soon as possible with their broker or other intermediary for more information. It is recommended that this be done well in advance of the deadline in order to provide the broker or other intermediary time to complete the necessary steps. Any notices received after this deadline will not be valid.

ENB.PF.C was issued a FixedReset, 4.40%+264, that commenced trading 2014-5-22 after being announced 2014-5-12. ENB.PF.C will reset at 3.938% effective March 1, 2020. I recommended against conversion and there was no conversion. The issue is tracked by HIMIPref™ but was originally relegated to the Scraps – FixedReset – Discount subindex on credit concerns; it was upgraded to Pfd-2(low) by DBRS in mid-2024.

Update, 2025-02-14: Enbridge has announced:

that none of its outstanding Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares, Series 11 (Series 11 Shares) will be converted into Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares, Series 12 (Series 12 Shares) on March 1, 2025.

After taking into account all conversion notices received from holders of its outstanding Series 11 Shares by the February 14, 2025 deadline for the conversion of the Series 11 Shares into Series 12 Shares, less than the 1,000,000 Series 11 Shares required to give effect to conversions into Series 12 Shares were tendered for conversion.

Emera Incorporated announced (on 2025-1-8):

that it does not intend to exercise its right to redeem all or any part of the currently outstanding Cumulative Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series F of the Company (the “Series F Shares”) on February 15, 2025. There are currently 8,000,000 Series F Shares outstanding.

Subject to certain conditions set out in the prospectus supplement of the Company dated June 2, 2014, to the short form base shelf prospectus dated May 2, 2013, relating to the issuance of the Series F Shares (collectively, the “Prospectus”), the holders of the Series F Shares have the right, at their option, to convert all or any of their Series F Shares, on a one-for-one basis, into Cumulative Floating Rate First Preferred Shares, Series G of the Company (the “Series G Shares”) on February 15, 2025 (the “Conversion Date”).

On such date, holders who do not exercise their right to convert their Series F Shares into Series G Shares will continue to hold their Series F Shares.

The foregoing conversion right is subject to the following:

if the Company determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series G Shares outstanding on the Conversion Date, then holders of Series F Shares will not be entitled to convert their shares into Series G Shares, and
alternatively, if the Company determines that there would remain outstanding less than 1,000,000 Series F Shares on the Conversion Date, then all remaining Series F Shares will automatically be converted into Series G Shares on a one-for-one basis on the Conversion Date.
In either case, Emera will give written notice to that effect to holders of Series F Shares at least seven days prior to the Conversion Date, subject to the terms set out in the Prospectus.

The dividend rate applicable for the Series F Shares for the five-year period commencing on February 15, 2025 and ending on (and inclusive of) February 14, 2030, and the dividend rate applicable to the Series G Shares for the 3-month period commencing on February 15, 2025 and ending on (and inclusive of) May 14, 2025, will be determined on January 16, 2025 and notice of such dividend rates shall be provided to the holders of the Series F Shares on that day.

Holders of Series F Shares who wish to exercise their conversion right should communicate with their broker or other nominee to obtain instructions for exercising such right during the conversion period, which runs from January 16, 2025 until 5:00 p.m. (EST) on January 31, 2025. Any notices received after this deadline will not be valid. As such, it is recommended that this be done well in advance of the deadline in order to provide their broker or other nominee with adequate time to complete the necessary steps.

Holders of Series F Shares who do not provide notice or communicate with their broker or other nominee by the deadline will retain their Series F Shares and receive the new annual fixed dividend rate applicable to the Series F Shares, subject to the conditions stated above. Holders of Series F Shares will have the opportunity to convert their shares again on February 15, 2030 and every five years thereafter as long as the shares remain outstanding. For more information on the terms of, and risks associated with, an investment in Series F Shares and Series G Shares, please see the Company’s Prospectus, which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

They further announced (on 2025-01-16):

the applicable dividend rates for its Cumulative Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series F (the “Series F Shares”) and Cumulative Floating Rate First Preferred Shares, Series G (the “Series G Shares”), in each case, payable if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of the Company:

5.749% per annum on the Series F Shares ($0.35931 per Series F Share per quarter), being equal to the sum of the Government of Canada bond yield as at January 16, 2025, plus 2.63%, payable quarterly on the 15th of February, May, August and November of each year during the five-year period commencing on February 15, 2025 and ending on (and inclusive of) February 14, 2030; and

5.764% on the Series G Shares for the three-month period commencing on February 15, 2025 and ending on (and inclusive of) May 14, 2025 ($0.35137 per Series G Share for the quarter), being equal to the sum of the three-month Government of Canada treasury bill yield rate as at January 16, 2025, plus 2.63% (calculated on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed during the quarter divided by 365), payable on the 15th of May, 2025. The quarterly floating dividend rate will be reset every quarter.
Subject to certain conditions set out in the prospectus supplement of the Company dated June 2, 2014, to the short form base shelf prospectus dated May 2, 2013, relating to the issuance of the Series F Shares (collectively, the “Prospectus”), holders of the Series F Shares have the right, at their option, to convert all or any of their Series F Shares, on a one-for-one basis, into Series G Shares on February 15, 2025 (the “Conversion Date”). On such date, holders who do not exercise their right to convert their Series F Shares into Series G Shares will continue to hold their Series F Shares. The foregoing conversion right is subject to the following:

if the Company determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series G Shares outstanding on the Conversion Date, then holders of Series F Shares will not be entitled to convert their shares into Series G Shares, and

alternatively, if the Company determines that there would remain outstanding less than 1,000,000 Series F Shares on the Conversion Date, then all remaining Series F Shares will automatically be converted into Series G Shares on a one-for-one basis on the Conversion Date.
Holders of Series F Shares who wish to exercise their conversion right should communicate with their broker or other nominee to obtain instructions for exercising such right during the conversion period, which runs from January 16, 2025 until 5:00 p.m. (EST) on January 31, 2025. Any notices received after this deadline will not be valid. Holders of Series F Shares who wish to exercise their conversion right must carefully follow the procedures and instructions received from their broker or other nominee and contact their broker or other nominee if they need assistance. Such broker or other nominee may set deadlines for the return of instructions that are well in advance of the 5:00 p.m. (EST) deadline on January 31, 2025. As such, it is recommended that holders of Series F Shares communicate instructions to their broker or other nominee well in advance of the deadline in order to provide their broker or other nominee with adequate time to complete the necessary steps prior to the deadline.

Holders of Series F Shares who do not provide notice or communicate with their broker or other nominee by the deadline will retain their Series F Shares and receive the new annual fixed dividend rate applicable to the Series F Shares, subject to the conditions stated above. Holders of Series F Shares will have the opportunity to convert their shares again on February 15, 2030 and every five years thereafter as long as the shares remain outstanding. For more information on the terms of, and risks associated with, an investment in Series F Shares and Series G Shares, please see the Company’s Prospectus, which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

EMA.PR.F was issued as a FixedReset, 4.25%+263, that commenced trading 2014-6-9 after being being announced 2014-5-29. The company announced the extension on 2020-1-7. EMA.PR.F will reset at 4.202% effective February 15, 2020. I recommended against conversion and there was no conversion. EMA.PR.F is tracked by HIMIPref™ and assigned to the FixedReset Discount subindex.

Update, 2025-02-06: They have announced:

that after having taken into account all conversion notices received from holders of its outstanding Cumulative Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series F (the “Series F Shares”) by the January 31, 2025 deadline for conversion notices, less than the 1,000,000 Series F Shares required to give effect to conversions into Cumulative Floating Rate First Preferred Shares, Series G (the “Series G Shares”) were tendered for conversion. As a result, none of Emera’s outstanding Series F Shares will be converted into Series G Shares on February 15, 2025. The Series F Shares will continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol EMA.PR.F.

Aimia Inc. has announced:

that due to the impact of Canada Post workers’ strike in delaying the mailout of documents related to the Company’s previously announced substantial issuer bid (the “Offers”) to purchase for cancellation all of its preferred shares in consideration for 9.75% senior unsecured notes (the “2030 Notes”), it has extended the expiry date of the Offers to 5:00 pm (Eastern time) on January 30, 2025, unless further extended, varied or withdrawn by the Company. All other terms of the Offers remain unchanged.

Details of the Offers, including instructions for tendering the Preferred Shares, are included in the formal offers to purchase (the “Offers to Purchase”) and issuer bid circular dated November 21, 2024 (the “Circular”), as same will be amended by the notice of variation and extension dated January 10, 2025 (the “Notice of Variation” and, collectively with the Circular, the letter of transmittal and the notice of guaranteed delivery, the “Offer Documents”). The Notice of Variation will be mailed to preferred shareholders, filed with applicable Canadian securities authorities and made available without charge on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Preferred shareholders should carefully read the Offer Documents prior to making a decision with respect to the Offers.

Preferred Shareholders who have already deposited their Preferred Shares validly using the letter of transmittal and, if applicable, a notice of guaranteed delivery, and have not withdrawn such Preferred Shares, do not need to take any further action to accept the applicable Offers and receive the applicable purchase price (as detailed in the Offer Documents). The Company will take up and pay for Preferred Shares validly deposited under the Offers pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Offer Documents. Preferred Shares validly deposited and not withdrawn as of the initial expiry date, being 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) on January 10, 2025 will be taken up and paid for by the Company on or about January 14, 2025.

The Substantial Issuer Bid marks the first initiative introduced as a result of Aimia’s strategic review process designed to unlock the Company’s value. The Offers provide preferred shareholders with an opportunity to realize all or a portion of their investment in the Company based on (i) the limited liquidity and perpetual nature of the Preferred Shares, (ii) the higher annual yield the 2030 Notes will provide relative to the current dividend (annualized) of each series of Preferred Shares, (iii) the fixed maturity date of the 2030 Notes, and (iv) the accelerated liquidity available to holders of 2030 Notes in certain events. The Strategic Review Committee and the Board of Directors believe that the exchange of Preferred Shares for the 2030 Notes under the Offers for the purchase price (as detailed in the Offer Documents) represents an effective recapitalization of the Company and is in the best interests of the Company and its security holders.

Shareholders with questions about the Offers or how to tender can contact Aimia’s information agent, Shorecrest Group at 1-888-637-5789 (North American Toll-Free Number) or +1 647-931-7454 (outside North America) or email: contact@shorecrestgroup.com for assistance.

This news release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of offers to sell Preferred Shares. The formal offers to purchase the Preferred Shares in consideration for 2030 Notes are detailed in the Offer Documents.

The prior announcement of this Substantial Issuer Bid was previously reported on PrefBlog.