Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Announces $236.3 Million Mandatory Redemption for its Gold-Denominated Preferred Stock, Series II.NEW ORLEANS -- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :FCX FCX French Connexion (gaming site) FCX Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (stock symbol) FCX Fuel Cell Experiment (Honda) FCX Fire Coordination Exercise FCX Fire Control Exercise ) announced today that the redemption value of its Gold-Denominated 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. (NYSE: FCX Pr C, CUSIP CUSIP See: Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures CUSIP See Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures. 35671D881) will total $236.3 million. On February 1, 2006 FCX will redeem the 4.3 million depositary shares of FCX Pr C outstanding for $54.892 per depositary share. The $54.892 redemption price is equal to 0.10 times the arithmetic average of the London P.M. gold fixing price for an ounce of gold in the London bullion market The London bullion market, is entirely different from, but often confused with the London Metal Exchange. Only base metals are traded at the London Metal Exchange (LME), while gold and silver are traded by members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), loosely overseen by on each of the 20 trading days ending on January 30, 2006. This redemption will reduce FCX's total consolidated debt by $167.4 million and will reduce first quarter 2006 revenues by $69.0 million, resulting in a $36.6 million impact to net income. As previously announced, written notice of the specific terms for the mandatory redemption, along with a transmittal form, were mailed to registered holders of the depositary shares by Mellon Investor Services LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control (Mellon), the redemption agent, on or about December 12, 2005. Registered holders of depositary shares can deliver the transmittal form along with their certificates representing depositary shares to Mellon in order to receive the redemption amount plus any accrued and unpaid dividends. The distribution of cash proceeds from the mandatory redemption will be a taxable event. Depositary shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding their individual circumstances. FCX explores for, develops, mines and processes ore containing copper, gold and silver in Indonesia, and smelts and refines copper concentrates in Spain and Indonesia. Additional information on FCX is available on our web site, www.fcx.com. |
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