preferred share issue...The green sheet stated that the use of the capital was to pay down debt and for geneneral corp purposes.
I like it when a company moves interest debt to preferreds. Why. On a preferred there is only an obligation to pay a dividend, not to repay the capital. The dividend has to be paid out of profits, and is not tax deductible where interest is an operational expense and a tax deduction. You can cut dividends, but you should never miss a interest payment. the interest saved will more than cover the dividend expense. It is good for the balance sheet and for existing shareholders. The fact that it was oversubcribed shows support for the company long term. In fact some people may have sold their trust units and picked up the preferreds because the trust units are considered high risk and the preferreds are only medium risk thereby rebalancing the risk in thier portfolios. cheers rythman