COUNTRYWIDE SETS BIG SHELF OFFERING.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer CALABASAS - Countrywide Financial Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) is a diversified financial marketing and service holding company engaged primarily in residential mortgage banking and related businesses. Corp., the nation's biggest mortgage lender, on Thursday notified regulators it plans to sell up to $9.9 billion of debt securities and common and preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders. Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate. . Calabasas-based Countrywide is also adding $131 million to an existing offering bringing the total in play to $10 billion. The Securities and Exchange Commission filing, known as a shelf offering, said that proceeds would be used in part for general corporate purposes, including debt reduction and acquisitions. A shelf registration allows a company to comply with registration requirements up to two years prior to a public offering. The company can then sell the securities and the size, price and terms are determined when the sale takes place. Countrywide would not comment on the filing, noteworthy for its size. The total amount is about twice the company's equity. ``That's a pretty big shelf (but) it seems like a pretty generic filing,'' said analyst Mark Agah at RBC Capital Markets RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking division of Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC"). Broker dealers Depending on the jurisdiction, the division uses different broker dealer subsidiaries of RBC:
Countrywide has been branching out into insurance and banking. Underwriters of the offering include Bearn Stearns, Banc One Capital, Barclays Capital Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays plc. It is a primary dealer in U.S. Treasury securities and various European Government bonds. Barclays Capital is led by CEO Robert (Bob) Diamond, an American who had been vice-chairman of Credit Suisse First and Lehman Brothers. The company's stock closed Thursday at $52.48, up 31 cents. |
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