Cohen & Steers Seeking Alternatives to Auction Market Preferreds
14 März 2008 - 5:35PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cohen & Steers
announced today that it is actively seeking alternative financing
for eight of its closed-end funds that have issued auction market
preferred securities (AMPS). "We are very sensitive to the
liquidity issues facing our funds' preferred shareholders," said
Robert Steers, Cohen & Steers co-chairman and co-chief
executive officer, "and we are evaluating potential solutions to
this industry-wide situation." Cohen & Steers' senior
management is working with all major industry
participants-commercial banks and broker/dealers, among others-to
evaluate ways to provide liquidity at par value to its AMPS
holders. The firm is arranging lines of credit for its funds and is
evaluating other alternatives, such as commercial paper and new
forms of preferred stock that will replace the existing AMPS. The
goal is to redeem the funds' AMPS as soon as possible, although the
timing is uncertain. Steers said further that the firm is working
closely with the funds' board of directors to address the situation
and find the best long-term solution for the funds-one that
balances the interests of common and preferred shareholders.
Investors and financial advisors are encouraged to visit Cohen
& Steers' Web site (cohenandsteers.com), where it has posted an
AMPS report and updates AMPS rates weekly. About Cohen & Steers
Cohen & Steers is a manager of high-income equity portfolios
specializing in U.S. REITs, international real estate securities,
preferred securities, utilities and large cap value stocks.
Headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Hong
Kong, London and Seattle, the company serves individual and
institutional investors through a wide range of open-end mutual
funds, closed-end mutual funds and institutional separate accounts.
Forward Looking Statements This press release and other statements
that Cohen & Steers may make may contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
which reflect the company's current views with respect to, among
other things, its operations and financial performance. You can
identify these forward- looking statements by the use of words such
as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues,"
"may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts,"
"intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative
versions of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-
looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties.
Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could
cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those
indicated in these statements. The company believes that these
factors include, but are not limited to, those described in the
"Risk Factors" section of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006, which is accessible on the
Securities and Exchange Commission's website at sec.gov and on the
company's Web site at cohenandsteers.com. These factors should not
be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with
the other cautionary statements that are included in this release.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise. DATASOURCE: Cohen
& Steers CONTACT: John McCombe of Cohen & Steers, Inc.,
+1-212-832-3232 Web site: http://www.cohenandsteers.com/
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