ACE Limited (NYSE: ACL) announced today that it has completed a public offering of $300 million of FELINE PRIDES sm (consisting initially of Income PRIDES sm ) of ACE Limited. The Income PRIDES sm will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACLPrI."
This issuance completes the replacement of the interim financing related to ACE Limited's July 1999 acquisition of ACE INA, formerly the domestic and international property casualty businesses of CIGNA Corporation. The net proceeds from this issuance, estimated at $290 million, will be used to repay commercial paper at ACE Limited.
Each Income PRIDES sm consists of one Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Share, Series A of ACE Limited and a purchase contract under which the holder will be obligated to purchase by May 16, 2003 a number of ordinary shares of ACE Limited determined as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering of the FELINE PRIDES sm .
Each preferred share will initially pay cumulative cash dividends quarterly in arrears at the annual rate of 8.25% of the liquidation preference of $50 per preferred share up to, but excluding, May 16, 2003.
On May 16, 2003, ACE will issue a total number of ordinary shares under the purchase contracts equal to (i) $300 million divided by (ii) the average closing prices of ACE's ordinary shares for the twenty consecutive trading days ending on the third trading day immediately prior to May 16, 2003, subject to a maximum of approximately 15.8 million ordinary shares (average closing price 10% below $21.0625) and a minimum of approximately 11.4 million ordinary shares (average closing price 25% above $21.0625).
The FELINE PRIDES sm are rated "BBB" by Standard & Poor's rating services and "a2" by Moody's Investors Service.
The offering was underwritten by a syndicate lead-managed by Merrill Lynch & Co., and co-managed by Banc of America Securities, LLC and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
The ACE Group of Companies provides insurance and reinsurance for a diverse group of clients. The ACE Group conducts its business on a global basis with operating subsidiaries in nearly 50 countries. Additional information can be found at www.acelimited.com .