A.M. Best Removes From Under Review, Affirms and Assigns Ratings to Platinum and Its Reinsurance Subsidiaries.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of A (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition or Image Character Recognition) The machine recognition of hand-printed characters as well as machine printing that is difficult to recognize. ) of "a" of the reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. subsidiaries of Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (Platinum) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : PTP (1) See peer-to-peer. (2) (Picture Transfer Protocol) An ISO standard for transferring photos from a digital camera to a computer or photo printer. ) (Bermuda). A.M. Best has also removed from under review and affirmed the ICR of "bbb" of Platinum and all of the group's debt ratings. In addition, A.M. Best has assigned a debt rating of "bb+" to Platinum's mandatory convertible Mandatory Convertible A type of convertible bond that has a required conversion or redemption feature. Either on or before a contractual conversion date, the holder must convert the mandatory convertible into the underlying common stock. preferred shares Preferred shares Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock. priced today. All ratings have a stable outlook. (See below for a detailed list of companies and ratings.) These rating actions follow Platinum's recent announcement that it has raised approximately $242 million in capital from the proceeds of a public offering of common and preferred shares. Platinum intends to use the proceeds from the offering to replenish and enhance the capital and surplus of its reinsurance operating subsidiaries following the record 2005 U.S. hurricane season and for general corporate purposes. The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of "a" have been removed from under review and affirmed for the following reinsurance subsidiaries of Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd.: --Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, Inc. --Platinum Re (UK) Limited --Platinum Underwriters Bermuda, Ltd. The ICR of "bbb" has been removed from under review and affirmed for Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. The following debt ratings have been removed from under review and affirmed: Platinum Underwriters Finance, Inc.-- --"bbb" on $137.5 million 6.371% senior notes, due 2007 --"bbb" on $250 million 7.50% senior notes, due 2017 The following indicative ratings assigned to debt securities available under the shelf registration have been removed from under review and affirmed: Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd.-- --"bbb" on senior unsecured debt Unsecured debt Debt that does not identify specific assets that the debtholder is entitled to in case of default. --"bbb-" on subordinated debt --"bb+" on preferred stock The following debt rating has been assigned: Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd.-- --"bb+" on $150.8 million Series A 6.0% preferred shares, due 2009 For Best's Debt Ratings, all other Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. For current Best's Ratings, independent data and analysis on more than 330 reinsurance companies, please visit www.ambest.com/reinsurance. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com. |
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