PrefBlog

BCE Inc. has announced:

BCE Inc. will, on December 1, 2020, continue to have Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series R (“Series R Preferred Shares”) outstanding if, following the end of the conversion period on November 17, 2020, BCE Inc. determines that at least one million Series R Preferred Shares would remain outstanding. In such a case, as of December 1, 2020, the Series R Preferred Shares will pay, on a quarterly basis, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of BCE Inc., a fixed cash dividend for the following five years that will be based on a fixed rate equal to the product of: (a) the average of the yields to maturity compounded semiannually, determined on November 10, 2020 by two investment dealers selected by BCE
Inc., that would be carried by non-callable Government of Canada bonds with a 5-year maturity (the “Government of Canada Yield”), multiplied by (b) a percentage rate determined by BCE Inc. (the “Selected Percentage Rate”) for such period. The “Selected Percentage Rate” determined by BCE Inc. for such period is 600%. The “Government of Canada Yield” is 0.503%. Accordingly, the annual dividend rate applicable to the Series R Preferred Shares for the period of five years beginning on December 1, 2020 will be 3.018%.

This follows an earlier announcement (2020-10-15):

Holders of fixed-rate BCE Inc. Series R Preferred Shares have the right to convert all or part of their shares, effective on December 1, 2020, on a one-for-one basis into floating-rate Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series Q of BCE Inc. (the “Series Q Preferred Shares”). In order to convert their shares, holders must exercise their right of conversion during the conversion period which runs from October 17, 2020 until 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on November 17, 2020.
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Should Series Q Preferred Shares be issued following the conversion on December 1, 2020 of Series R Preferred Shares, the Series Q Preferred Shares so issued will begin trading under the symbol BCE.PF.Q. This is not to be confused with BCE Inc.’s Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series AQ which currently trade under the symbol BCE.PR.Q. Should any Series R Preferred Shares remain outstanding after December 1, 2020, they will continue to trade under the symbol BCE.PR.R.

Series Q, if issued, will be a Ratchet Rate Preferred, which in current conditions may be expected to pay dividends at 100% of Canada Prime paid on par … although if the price should exceed $25, this percentage will be reduced, with a minimum of 50% of Canada Prime.

As explained in the article on such pairs (which are interconvertible on a set schedule) the expected prices of each element of the pair are related by the level of their expected dividends. Alternatively, the break-even dividend rate for the Ratchet Rate element of the pair can be determined given knowledge of the other three variables (price #1, price #2 and dividend #1). These break even dividend rates are plotted for each FixedFloater / RatchetRate pair in the following graph:

Click for Big

The average breakeven prime for the BCE issues (seven pairs) currently trading is 3.07% (the outlying point is BAM.PR.G / BAM.PR.E, both of which trade with miniscule volumes). If we assume that the new pair, if created, will trade with the same relative valuation, the current bid of 13.41 for BCE.PR.R will imply a bid of 13.46 for BCE.PF.Q.

Therefore, I make no recommendation regarding whether or not to convert; holders should determine their preference according to their own financial position and their own views regarding the probable level of Canada Prime over the next five years.

Those who wish to convert must act quickly! The deadline is 5pm on November 17 and brokers’ internal deadlines could well occur before then – although they will generally take instructions on a ‘best efforts’ basis if you grovel in a sufficiently entertaining fashion.

Scotia Managed Companies has announced (on October 23):

today that all of its issued and outstanding Class A Capital Shares (“Capital Shares”) and Class B Preferred Shares, Series 2 (“Preferred Shares”) will be redeemed by the Company in accordance with their terms on February 26, 2021 and that the Company will wind up and terminate as soon as practicable after such date.

The redemption price for each Preferred Share will be an amount equal to the Series 2 Preferred Share Redemption Price (as defined in the provisions attaching to the Preferred Shares). The Series 2 Preferred Share Redemption Price will equal the lesser of (i) $25.67; and (ii) Unit Value (as defined in the provisions attaching to the Preferred Shares). The redemption price (the “Capital Share Redemption Price”) for every two Capital Shares redeemed will be an amount equal to the amount, if any, by which the Unit Value exceeds $25.67.

Holders of Capital Shares who wish to receive a redemption payment equal to the Capital Share Redemption Price in portfolio shares (rounded down to the nearest whole share) rather than cash must give notice to this effect to the Company and tender $25.67 for every two Capital Shares redeemed to the Company no later than January 29, 2021. Dealers and CDS may have deadlines earlier than January 29, 2021 for receiving such notice. Accordingly, a holder who wishes to receive portfolio shares on the final redemption should contact their dealer sufficiently in advance of January 29, 2021 to ensure that their dealer is provided sufficient time to deliver such notice to CDS before the deadline set by CDS for receiving those notices. Holders of Capital Shares who do not give the required 20 business days’ notice will be deemed to have chosen to be paid in cash.

The payment of the amount due to holders of the redeemed Capital Shares and Preferred Shares will be made by the Company on February 26, 2021.

The Capital Shares and Preferred Shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on or about February 26, 2021.

Allbanc Split Corp. II is a mutual fund corporation created to hold a portfolio of publicly listed common shares of selected Canadian chartered banks. Capital Shares and Preferred Shares of Allbanc Split Corp. II are listed for trading on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols ALB and ALB.PR.C respectively.

ALB.PR.C is a SplitShare, ~4.75%, maturing 2021-2-28, that commenced trading 2016-2-29. It is tracked by HIMIPref™ but relegated to the Scraps – SplitShare subindex on volume concerns.

Royal Bank of Canada has announced:

that during the conversion notice period, which ran from October 26, 2020 to November 9, 2020, 52,464 Non-Viability Contingent Capital (NVCC) Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series BF (the “Series BF shares”) were tendered for conversion, on a one-for-one basis, into NVCC Non-Cumulative Floating Rate First Preferred Shares, Series BG (the “Series BG shares”). As per the conditions set out in the prospectus supplement dated March 9, 2015, since less than 1,000,000 Series BG shares would be outstanding after November 24, 2020, holders of Series BF shares will not be entitled to convert their shares into Series BG shares. As a result, Series BG shares will not be issued at this time and holders of Series BF shares will retain their shares.

On November 24, 2020, Royal Bank of Canada will have 12,000,000 Series BF shares issued and outstanding. The Series BF shares are currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol RY.PR.M.

RY.PR.M is a FixedReset, 3.60%+262, NVCC-compliant, that commenced trading 2015-3-15 after being announced 2015-3-5. The company announced extension earlier in October. The issue will reset to 3.00% effective 2020-11-24. The issue is tracked by HIMIPref™ and is assigned to the FixedReset-Discount subindex.