Daphne

Just answered re BB. Couldn’t sell before March 1 due to regulatory limiting convertible transaction six months earlier

(Note: All dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars except as otherwise noted. The financial information reflects preliminary indications and current estimates of key developments of the company’s first quarter of 2021 prepared using the recognition and measurement requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) except as otherwise noted, and are unaudited.) TORONTO, April 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX: FFH and FFH.U) announces preliminary unaudited financial information which will be finalized for the company’s first quarter of 2021 unaudited financial results, including information reflecting key developments. “As we did a year ago, we are providing our shareholders with preliminary indications of some key developments for Fairfax’s first quarter of 2021 financial results. Our insurance companies continued to have strong underwriting performance in the first quarter of 2021 with a consolidated combined ratio of approximately 96%, favourable reserve development and strong growth in gross premiums written of approximately 17%. Our investments increased significantly with net gains on investments currently estimated at approximately $875 million for the first quarter of 2021, primarily reflecting net unrealized gains from our common stock portfolio. Mark-to-market movements on certain of our non-insurance consolidated investments and investments in associates, which will not be reflected in our financial statements, also increased significantly in the first quarter of 2021 by approximately $1 billion. We remain focused on continuing to be soundly financed and expect that, at the close of our RiverStone Barbados transaction, we will have paid off our credit facility completely and will have cash and marketable securities in the holding company of approximately $1.3 billion,” said Prem Watsa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Key financial information for the first quarter of 2021, based on preliminary indications and current estimates but recognizing that the preparation of the company’s first quarter financial statements is not finalized, includes the following: We currently expect gross premiums written to increase from the first quarter of 2020 by approximately 17% to approximately $5.5 billion. The company’s insurance and reinsurance operations continued to have strong underwriting performance in the first quarter of 2021, with a consolidated combined ratio of approximately 96% and net favourable prior year reserve development, which will result in solid operating income during the quarter despite the impact of the U.S. winter storms. Net gains on investments of approximately $875 million will primarily reflect net unrealized gains on the company’s equity and equity-related holdings, partially offset by net unrealized losses on bonds. At March 31, 2021 the excess of fair value over adjusted carrying value of non-insurance investments in associates will be approximately $225 million, which is an improvement of approximately $684 million from the deficiency of $458.5 million at December 31, 2020. At March 31, 2021 the excess of fair value over adjusted carrying value of certain consolidated non-insurance subsidiaries will be approximately $125 million, which is an improvement of approximately $329 million from the deficiency of $204.1 million at December 31, 2020. Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management. For further information contact: John Varnell Vice President, Corporate Development (416) 367-4941 In presenting the company’s preliminary unaudited financial information in this news release, management has included the measure “pre-tax excess (deficiency) of fair value over adjusted carrying value”. The company considers its non-insurance investments in associates and certain consolidated non-insurance subsidiaries to be portfolio investments, and the excess (deficiency) of fair value over adjusted carrying value of these investments, while not included in the calculation of book value per share, is regularly reviewed by management as an indicator of investment performance. The fair values and adjusted carrying values of the company’s investments in non-insurance associates represent their fair values and carrying values that will be presented in note 6 (Investments in Associates) to the interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2021, with investments in associates primarily held by Recipe, Fairfax India and Thomas Cook India excluded. The fair values of the company's investments in certain consolidated non-insurance subsidiaries are calculated as the company's pro rata ownership share of each subsidiary's market capitalization, as determined by traded share prices at the financial statement date. The adjusted carrying values of those subsidiaries represent each subsidiary's total equity that will be included in the company's interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2021, less the respective carrying value of each subsidiary's non-controlling interests. Certain statements contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the “safe harbour” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Fairfax to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: a reduction in net earnings if our loss reserves are insufficient; underwriting losses on the risks we insure that are higher or lower than expected; the occurrence of catastrophic events with a frequency or severity exceeding our estimates; changes in market variables, including interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices and credit spreads, which could negatively affect our investment portfolio; risks associated with the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, and the related global reduction in commerce and substantial downturns in stock markets worldwide; the cycles of the insurance market and general economic conditions, which can substantially influence our and our competitors’ premium rates and capacity to write new business; insufficient reserves for asbestos, environmental and other latent claims; exposure to credit risk in the event our reinsurers fail to make payments to us under our reinsurance arrangements; exposure to credit risk in the event our insureds, insurance producers or reinsurance intermediaries fail to remit premiums that are owed to us or failure by our insureds to reimburse us for deductibles that are paid by us on their behalf; our inability to maintain our long term debt ratings, the inability of our subsidiaries to maintain financial or claims paying ability ratings and the impact of a downgrade of such ratings on derivative transactions that we or our subsidiaries have entered into; risks associated with implementing our business strategies; the timing of claims payments being sooner or the receipt of reinsurance recoverables being later than anticipated by us; risks associated with any use we may make of derivative instruments; the failure of any hedging methods we may employ to achieve their desired risk management objective; a decrease in the level of demand for insurance or reinsurance products, or increased competition in the insurance industry; the impact of emerging claim and coverage issues or the failure of any of the loss limitation methods we employ; our inability to access cash of our subsidiaries; our inability to obtain required levels of capital on favourable terms, if at all; the loss of key employees; our inability to obtain reinsurance coverage in sufficient amounts, at reasonable prices or on terms that adequately protect us; the passage of legislation subjecting our businesses to additional adverse requirements, supervision or regulation, including additional tax regulation, in the United States, Canada or other jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with government investigations of, and litigation and negative publicity related to, insurance industry practice or any other conduct; risks associated with political and other developments in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with legal or regulatory proceedings or significant litigation; failures or security breaches of our computer and data processing systems; the influence exercisable by our significant shareholder; adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on independent brokers over whom we exercise little control; impairment of the carrying value of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or investments in associates; our failure to realize deferred income tax assets; technological or other change which adversely impacts demand, or the premiums payable, for the insurance coverages we offer; disruptions of our information technology systems; assessments and shared market mechanisms which may adversely affect our insurance subsidiaries; and adverse consequences to our business, our investments and our personnel resulting from or related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in our most recently issued Annual Report which is available at www.fairfax.ca and in our Supplemental and Base Shelf Prospectus (under “Risk Factors”) filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. www.sedar.com. Fairfax disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.

Boat Rocker Media Inc. expects to debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange next week after reducing the share price for its initial public offering. The amended IPO will raise $170-million, down from the initially proposed $175-million and will debut at $9 per share, less than the $12-$14 range offered in the initial prospectus. Boat Rocker will sell more of the company than originally planned, and at a lower valuation. There will be approximately 32.6 million common shares outstanding in the amended IPO, compared with 26.7 million in the initial prospectus.

They did disclose when they made a pile on the credit default swaps in 2008

Viking Re EXCO: What form of security does FFH own e.g. bond, preferred stock, common stock, warrants? Re Leons: When did these commons appear in the portfolio? Thanks D

Boatrocker IPO on hold. Boat Rocker Media Inc.’s planned $175-million initial public offering is on hold, with the entertainment company weighing its options as investors cool on the IPO market following a series of poorly performing market debuts. Toronto-based Boat Rocker, which produces television shows such as Orphan Black and MasterChef Canada, was scheduled to price its shares on Tuesday at between $12 and $14 each, ahead of a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. However, investor demand for the offering was tepid, according to investment bankers familiar with the transaction. They said Boat Rocker’s executives and backers are now reviewing their options include cutting the price or size of the offering, or postponing the IPO. The Globe and Mail is not naming the sources because they are not authorized to speak for the company.

Farmers Edge Inc., a Winnipeg-based agricultural technology provider, is boosting the size of its initial public offering to $125-million on the back of heavy investor demand. The company, which is controlled by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., filed to go public in early February and hoped to raise $100-million. After marketing the deal for two weeks, the company has boosted the IPO size by 25 per cent and priced the shares at $17 each, which is at the top end of the deal’s marketing range. Farmers Edge was able to upsize the IPO because investors put in orders for more than 10 times the original deal size, according to someone familiar with the transaction. The Globe is not disclosing the source because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Farmers Edge was an early Canadian agricultural-technology leader, and uses data science and AI-powered software to help farmers improve yields. Like many of its technology-based peers, the company decided to go public because Canada is in the midst of an IPO craze. Starting mid-way through 2020, a number of IPO issuers have seen their deals met with intense investor enthusiasm. Montreal-based online payments company Nuvei Corp., for one, set out to raise US$600-million in September but bumped its final haul to US$805-million. Many issuers have also seen their shares soar once they started trading. Shares of Dye & Durham Ltd., a consolidator of software providers for legal and business professionals, have more than quadrupled since listing at $7.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange last July. The current deluge marks a major reversal. From 2009 to 2020, just 12 Canadian tech IPOs raised $50-million or more, and as of early last year Canadian tech companies were often avoiding or delaying going public because private backers were happy to invest at attractive valuations. That’s now flipped, and public markets are just as competitive, if not even more lucrative. However, there is growing concern that public investors could quickly turn on growth stocks, especially if bond yields and interest rates start to rise in the United States. Many of the companies that are going public lose a lot of money, and Farmers Edge lost $68-million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, on top of a $118-million loss in 2019. While the IPO craze is ongoing, some recent deals have seen more modest demand, suggesting the recent euphoria has some limits.. Both DRI Healthcare Trust and ABC Technologies Holdings Inc., an auto parts maker, were able to complete their offerings in the past few weeks, but DRI priced at the lower end of its marketing range and ABC had to slash its offering size by 60 per cent as well as price its shares below its marketing range. Farmers Edge raised private capital in the mid-2010s from Silicon Valley-based Kleiner Perkins Caulfied & Byers and Toronto-based Osmington Inc., which is controlled by David Thomson. (Woodbridge Co. Ltd., the Thomson family holding company, owns The Globe and Mail.)

Sanjeev Do you think it’s possible for FFH to purchase enough put contracts to cover 100 million shares?

I can’t think of a single time when Prem has failed to take advantage of a presented opportunity. He’s proven to be one of the most opportunistic investors in the market. However because of his multidimensional thought processes, how he does it is most likely well beyond our single or at best two dimensional perspectives.

This is what I know Digital Lloyd’s syndicate Ki reported that it has raised US$500 million from funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Fairfax Financial Holdings, parent of specialty insurer Brit that is behind Ki. Ki said the capital commitment will fund its expansion as it launches in the fourth quarter of 2020. The follow-only digital entity hopes to write its first risk in January 2021. Brit first announced its new venture Ki in May 2020. Ki was incubated by BritX, Brit’s innovation team, working in collaboration with Google Cloud. Ki promises to reduce the amount of time needed by brokers to place their follow capacity. Ki’s algorithm, developed with support from University College London, will evaluate Lloyd’s policies and automatically quote for business through its digital platform, built by Google Cloud and accessed directly by brokers Ki will underwrite using an algorithm-driven approach and offer instant follow capacity through its proprietary digital platform. Ki is the first fully digital-only syndicate to be approved by Lloyd’s of London, in keeping with its Future at Lloyd’s initiative. Ki is targeting a range of specialty business following selected leaders in the Lloyd’s market, including Brit. Qasim Abbas, senior managing director at Blackstone, said Ki’s digital model will “enable it to build to significant scale, while its algorithmically-driven approach represents an important evolution in the portfolio management of specialty risks.” Matthew Wilson, CEO of Brit and chairman of Ki, said the investments in Ki will allow the business to reach its full potential with significant committed capital ad that Blackstone is “entering the Lloyd’s market at a pivotal moment, with increased acceptance of digital models and a flight to quality.” Mark Allan, CEO of Ki and Group CFO of Brit, said support from Blackstone is a “significant statement of confidence in Ki and the vision we have set out.”

There are daily buyback limits that would preclude that volume. Limits are a percentage of total daily volume but I don’t offhand remember the percentage.

Short term owners who came in for the divi. Pretty good return on a one or two month investment

Forget LMND and reproducing DIGIT, FFH already has underway the next digital platform through a Brit and Blackstone arrangement announced in Sept 2020 that saw FFH pony up $250m seed money for a 60/40 position. Adding to the growing list of potential multi baggers is FFh investment in Altius minerals currently trading at $15. FFH holds +600m warrants it can exercise at $15 worth $2.50 each. And, FFH has another three years of potential growth before it’s obliged to exercise them.

What about Boatrocker? Media and entertainment sector is on fire and this company has been growing by leaps and bounds.

Welcome back DAZEL, I've missed your enthusiasm. ;)

Has anyone noticed the volume over the last few days? Particularly first trade of the day?

Given that making money in the insurance business tends to be a longer term proposition coupled with the covid hit of 2020 ...hybrid capital, generally a shorter term proposition, is likely hiding in the bushes for the foreseeable future.

Christmas comes early...Santa Prem is on a roll.

Check out the blackberry Amazon deal!!!

The Globe and Mail has confirmed a report last week by IP industry journal IAM that BB-T +2.06%increase recently began shopping the majority of its 38,000 patents to interested parties. Tech+IP Capital, LLC, a U.S. investment banking firm, is handling the sale for BlackBerry. A source familiar with the situation told The Globe the company isn’t certain what price it will get, but it’s believed the portfolio could be worth more than US$450-million - a significant size for a deal in the global patent trade, but a fraction of the US$4.5-billion a consortium led by Apple Inc. Apple Inc. paid in 2011 for a trove of 6,000 Nortel Networks patents. The Globe is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Not going public but monetizing assets Canada’s biggest patent holder, BlackBerry Ltd., is looking to unload most of its intellectual property in a deal that could mark another turning point for the fallen former smartphone giant.

The “pattern” I’m seeing here is that this board is filling up with conspiracy theorists. Dr. John Grohol, a psychologist and the founder of Psych Central, says that conspiracy theorists come up with ideas out of thin air to match whatever 'fact' they think is true, and often use paranoia-based beliefs to convince others.

Hang on....no need to ratchet up the conspiracy theories. I’ve worked on a number of deals, at the most senior levels in the insurance sector, in the retail sector, in media etc. One in the insurance sector was a multi country deal concluded in ten days start to finish. So, if we’re going to speculate here, try this plausible scenario (plausible because I’ve seen it happen). Buyer starts talking to Prem and co about their desire to buy out Torstar and take it private. Prem says, who’s going to run it? They say we have a few people in mind. Prem says, what about Paul, he knows the business, is brilliant at what he does and is looking for a position that keeps him closer to home. Could be a terrific fit. The rest is history. McLuhan said it best....if I hadn’t believed it I wouldn’t have seen it.

India: a huge and skilled workforce ready and able to to take on so much more manufacturing as the Covid fallout lands squarely on China. Geopolitics may very well drive the future here.

Curious what you find funny. If you had a quarter of what Prem has...packed in your head, I’d be surprised!