NTL.PR.F / NTL.PR.G : Default

Nortel has announced:

today that the Board of Directors of Nortel Networks Limited (NNL), Nortel’s principal operating subsidiary, has decided to suspend the declaration of further dividends on NNL’s Series 5 and Series 7 Preferred Shares following payment of the previously announced monthly dividend payable on such shares on November 12, 2008. While NNL is in a position to pay such dividends, its Board of Directors has determined that in this uncertain economic environment it would be prudent to maintain liquidity and preserve cash.

Dividends on the Series 5 Preferred Shares are cumulative and holders of Series 5 Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive unpaid dividends, when declared by the Board of Directors, at such time as NNL resumes payment of dividends on such shares. Dividends on the Series 7 Preferred Shares are non-cumulative and the entitlement of holders of Series 7 Preferred Shares to receive any dividend that has not been declared on such shares within 30 days after NNL’s fiscal year end (i.e., by January 30) will be extinguished. NNL does not expect that its Board of Directors will declare the December dividend on the Series 7 Preferred Shares by January 30, 2009 and, accordingly, it is expected that the entitlement to this dividend will be extinguished as of that date.

DBRS has placed Nortel’s debt rating of “B(low)” under review negative, and:

expects its review will result in Nortel’s Pfd-5 (low) preferred share ratings moving to D. This move follows the Company announcement today that it plans to suspend its preferred share dividend payments going forward. This suspension will follow the Company’s previously announced November 12, 2008 dividend payment on its Series 5 preferred shares (cumulative) and its Series 7 preferred shares (non-cumulative).

These issues were last mentioned on PrefBlog when DBRS changed the trend to “Stable” from “Positive”.

NTL.PR.F & NTL.PR.G are tracked by HIMIPref™. They are incorporated only in the “Scraps” index due to credit concerns.

Update, 2008-11-15: S&P announced:

it placed the ratings, including the ‘B-‘ long-term corporate credit rating, on Canada-based telecommunications equipment provider Nortel Networks Ltd. (NNL) on CreditWatch with negative implications. The ratings on NNL are based on the consolidation with parent Nortel Networks Corp. (collectively, Nortel). At Sept. 30, Nortel had about US$4.5 billion of debt outstanding.

At the same time, we lowered the issue-level ratings on NNL’s C$750 million preferred shares outstanding to ‘C’ from ‘CCC-‘.

“The downgrade on the preferred shares follows the company’s announcement today that NNL’s board of directors has decided to suspend the declaration of further dividends on these securities following payment of the previously announced monthly dividend payable on Nov. 12,” [S&P Credit Analyst] Mr. Hari added. The securities comprise NNL’s C$400 million series 5 cumulative preferred shares issued Nov. 26, 1996, and its C$350 million series 7 noncumulative preferred shares issued Nov. 28, 1997.

Standard & Poor’s expects to resolve the CreditWatch following a detailed review of Nortel’s revised business strategy, near-term revenue opportunity, operational efficiency, and the effectiveness and permanence of its cost-containment efforts. The maintenance of healthy liquidity takes even greater significance in light of the increased uncertainty surrounding the
company’s business prospects; as such, a review of the company’s prospective liquidity will be a major focus. Standard & Poor’s expects to resolve the CreditWatch listing in the next few weeks.

5 Responses to “NTL.PR.F / NTL.PR.G : Default”

  1. medinvic says:

    Under what circumstances can one say that the unpaid S.5 dividends will be “lost”? What would happen if, for example, the preferred s.5 goes to zero?

    Would you say that given current valuations, Nortel may be inclined to buying back the preferred S.5?

  2. jiHymas says:

    Under what circumstances can one say that the unpaid S.5 dividends will be “lost”?

    Bankruptcy of the company – or perhaps, an offer made to preferred shareholders for a reorganization in which they would give up some rights – e.g., for dividends, and for their par-value claime – in exchange for greater certainty that they get something. This latter course was how the Thornberg Mortgage situation played out.

    Would you say that given current valuations, Nortel may be inclined to buying back the preferred S.5?

    It might be a tempting idea for them, but their may be covenants in their various bonds restricting their ability to do this. I don’t know if it would be legal.

    According to the prospectus, they cannot purchase less than all of the Series 5 unless the dividends are up to date.

    I’d say the best hope now is a takeover, even if it is conditional on the preferred shareholders taking a severe hit to their rights.

  3. […] These issues were last discussed on PrefBlog when Nortel announced its intention to default. […]

  4. medinvic says:

    What is the effect of the Nortel Chaper 11 decision on the preferred shares? Are they automatically wothless as of today?

  5. […] & NTL.PR.G were slapped with a default rating by DBRS after suspending dividends in […]

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