Crum Forster gets needed consents for 10 3/8% notes

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, May 7 - Crum & Forster Holdings Corp. said it accepted for purchase tenders from holders of $295.7 million or 98.6% of its $300 million of 10 3/8% senior notes due 2013 at the early deadline.

The consent solicitation ended at midnight ET on May 4.

The company solicited consents to eliminate substantially all the covenants, some events of default and selected other provisions in the note indenture and to modify other provisions.

The tender offer will end at midnight ET on May 18. It began on April 23.

The tender consideration was $1,101.21, which was calculated using the yield to the first call date - June 15, 2008 - equal to the sum of the bid-side yield of the 4 7/8% Treasury note due May 31, 2008 at 2 p.m. ET on May 4 plus 50 basis points. The consideration included a consent payment of $30.00 per $1,000 principal amount of notes tendered before the consent solicitation expiration.

The company will also pay accrued interest up to but excluding the settlement date.

As already reported, Crum & Forster planned to fund the offer with cash on hand and with proceeds from a new issue of senior debt securities. The company closed an offering of $330 million of 7¾% senior notes due May 1, 2017, the proceeds of which went towards early settlement in the tender offer. Crum & Forster paid $325.7 million for the notes, plus accrued interest of $12.1 million.

Merrill Lynch & Co. (888 654-8637 or 212 449-4914) is the dealer manager and solicitation agent, and D.F. King & Co., Inc. (800 290-6429) is the tender agent and information agent.

The tender offer is subject to the receipt of consents from holders of a majority of the notes and sufficient funding to pay for the tendered notes.

Crum & Forster is an insurance company based in Morristown, N.J., and a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., which is a Toronto-based financial services holding company.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.