Nov. 12, 2015-- NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Blackstone (NYSE: BX), one of the world's leading investment and advisory firms, under which affiliates of Blackstone will invest $820 million in NCR in the form of perpetual convertible preferred shares. The Company expects its relationship with Blackstone to accelerate NCR’s ongoing strategic transformation into an integrated software and services company. NCR will use the Blackstone investment to help fund a repurchase through a self-tender of up to $1 billion of its common stock.

During the first quarter of 2017, NCR repurchased approximately 7.4 million shares of its common stock for $350 million. Additionally, on March 12, 2017, the Company’s board of directors authorized a new $300 million share repurchase program to succeed its 2016 program

Poldermol schreef: ↑8 juli 2017, 19:42 Pas op, preferred shares zijn GEEN bonds, maar eerder 'aandelen met obligatie-features'. Op de balans zal dit dan ook als equity staan, en niet als debt.

Je interpretatie is wel correct. Blackstone zal uiteraard wel een vaste vergoeding krijgen op die preferreds (wellicht tussen de 5-8%). Of dit de beste use is van hun kapitaal (Bedrag X lenen, daarop jaarlijks een smak geld betalen om een share buyback te doen ten belope van Bedrag X), daar ga ik me niet over uitspreken.

Blackstone Investment Terms
Blackstone will purchase $820 million of convertible perpetual preferred stock, which is convertible into shares of NCR common stock at a conversion price of $30.00 per share.
The conversion price represents an 18% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price ended November 11, 2015.
The preferred stock carries a 5.5% dividend, which will be payable in kind for the first four years following issuance.
On an as-converted basis, the preferred stock will represent approximately 17% of NCR’s shares outstanding after giving effect to the Blackstone investment and share repurchase (assuming the tender offer is fully subscribed at the midpoint of the price range).
Blackstone may convert the preferred into common at any time and may require NCR to repurchase the preferred after 8-1/2 years and every 3 years thereafter. The preferred will be mandatorily convertible into common if the stock price exceeds certain thresholds.
Additional information regarding the investment will be included in a Form 8-K to be filed today by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“This long-term equity investment is an attractive security that will benefit our company and shareholders alike,” said NCR CFO Bob Fishman. “The strategic partnership with Blackstone, which supports our long-term strategy, enables us to repurchase a significant amount of our common stock in the short term, while the terms of the investment preserve our balance sheet flexibility.”

Poldermol schreef: ↑8 juli 2017, 19:54 Ik zat er dus niet ver van met mijn vergoedingsverwachting. 5.5% is zeer degelijk (lees: laag) voor iets perpetueel. Twee dingen die ik niet fijn vind:

- Blackstone die conversierecht heeft. Nu goed, daar stoor ik me niet écht aan
- De terugkoopclausule na 8.5 jaar kan 'gevaarlijk' zijn als het bedrijf in zwaar weer terechtkomt, Blackstone dat recht uitoefent, waardoor NCR snel een miljard moet zoeken en vinden. Maar goed, ja, 'als het dat maar is'

 Board committed to balanced capital allocation approach
 No dividends planned
 $250M buyback in 2016; Share repurchases determined on an ongoing basis
 No material acquisitions planned, small M&A to round out portfolios
 De-lever over time through debt pay-down and EBITDA expansion; target solid BB ratings