W.R. Berkley offers $100 million $25-par subordinated debentures due 2056; price talk 6% area

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, May 18 – W.R. Berkley Corp. is hitting the market with a $100 million offering of $25-par subordinated debentures due 2056 (expected ratings: Baa3/BBB-/BBB-), according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

Price talk is in the 6% area, a market source said.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the joint bookrunners.

Interest will be payable quarterly on the first day of March, June, September and December, beginning Sept. 1. The company has the option to defer the interest payments for up to five consecutive years.

The notes become redeemable in 2021 at par plus accrued interest. The company can also call the notes, in whole, within 90 days of a tax event, also at par plus accrued interest.

In the event of a rating agency event, the company can also redeem the issue in whole at a price equal to the greater of their principal amount or a make-whole amount plus accrued interest.

The new notes will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “WRBPD.”

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

W.R. Berkley is a Greenwich, Conn.-based commercial lines property and casualty insurance holding company.

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