RICHMOND, Va., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Universal Corporation announced today that it has commenced a public offer of $200 million of convertible perpetual preferred stock with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share. As part of the offering, Universal will grant the underwriters of the shares a 30-day option, solely to cover over-allotments, to purchase up to an additional aggregate $20 million liquidation preference of the preferred stock. Universal intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay debt outstanding under the Company's revolving credit facility and repay other short-term notes payable.
The sole book-running manager will be Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC is the co-lead manager.
When available, a copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Deutsche Bank at 60 Wall Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10005 or from the SEC at http://www.sec.gov/.
This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy any of these securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.
Universal Corporation is a diversified company with operations in tobacco, lumber, and agri-products. Universal Corporation's revenues for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2005, were approximately $3.3 billion. For more information on Universal Corporation, visit its web site at http://www.universalcorp.com/.
