BlackBerry today announced that it has received acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) with respect to a normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) to purchase up to US$125,000,000 principal amount of its 6 percent unsecured convertible debentures (BB.DB.U) (the “Debentures”), representing 10 percent of the issued and outstanding Debentures in the public float as at July 31, 2016.
BlackBerry can purchase the Debentures pursuant to the NCIB through the facilities of the TSX or alternative trading systems commencing on August 8, 2016 and ending on November 13, 2016, or such earlier time as the NCIB is completed or terminated by BlackBerry. Any Debentures purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled.
BlackBerry has entered into an automatic purchase plan dated as of August 2, 2016 with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. to allow for the repurchase of Debentures at times when BlackBerry ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise.
As of July 29, 2016, BlackBerry had US$1,250,000,000 principal amount of Debentures outstanding and the average daily trading volume for the 6 months prior to July 31, 2016 was US$184,182. Under the NCIB, daily purchases will be limited to US$46,045, other than block purchases.
“We intend to take advantage of our strong cash position to repurchase convertible debentures in order to reduce both our interest expense and potential future dilution of our shareholders,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.
The price that BlackBerry will pay for any shares under the share repurchase program will be the prevailing market price at the time of purchase. The actual principal amount of Debentures to be purchased and the timing and pricing of any purchases under the NCIB will be determined by BlackBerry. There is no assurance that any Debentures will be purchased under the NCIB and BlackBerry may elect to modify, suspend or discontinue the NCIB at any time without prior notice.
BlackBerry had a normal course issuer bid in place which terminated on June 28, 2016, pursuant to which BlackBerry purchased 12,606,978 of its common shares at a weighted average price of US$7.35.
