RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. $250M Preferred Stock Issue Rated 'BBB+'
NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) March 17, 2004--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BBB+' preferred stock rating to RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.'s (A/Stable/--; RenRe) $250 million, 6.08% Series C preferred shares issue. This issue is a drawdown on RenRe's shelf, and the proceeds will provide extra liquidity at the holding company for the foreseeable future and be used for general corporate purposes as they arise. "The ratings reflect the very strong operating performance and capital adequacy of Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd., RenRe's lead operating subsidiary, as well as a highly regarded management team," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Karole Dill Barkley. The ratings are also based on the company's low debt leverage, with adjusted debt/capital of 11.6%. Perpetual preferred is a key part of the RenRe capital structure, and following this issue, will total $500 million and constitute 14.5% of total capital; each of the three issues can be called without penalty five years after issuance. RenRe is expected to continue to outperform the sector. Debt leverage is expected to remain less than 25%, with interest coverage of at least 6x-8x. Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find Ratings, then Credit Ratings Search.
Credit Analyst: |
Karole Dill Barkley, New York (1) 212-438-7167 Thomas Upton, New York (1) 212-438-7249 |
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