Calamos Investments Seeks to Refinance Auction-Rate Preferred Stock Issued by Closed-End Funds; Announces Conference Call to Address Refinancing
NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 19, 2008 -- Calamos Advisors LLC,
a global asset manager, today announced that it is seeking to refinance the
leverage on the five Calamos closed-end funds that have issued auction-rate
preferred stock (ARPS).
Calamos is in discussions with a variety of market participants regarding
new debt financing to refinance a portion of the ARPS. Within the next several
weeks, Calamos intends to begin announcing ARPS refinancings, subject to
necessary approvals.
"The recent decision by major broker-dealers to withdraw their support of
auctions and the resulting failure in the auction rate market has created
uncertainty for both our preferred and common shareholders," said John P.
Calamos, Sr., CEO of Calamos. "With our announcement today, we are looking to
begin to restore liquidity to our auction rate preferred shareholders and
confidence to all Calamos closed-end fund shareholders."
Mr. Calamos added, "At a time of unprecedented developments in the credit
markets, we nevertheless continue to believe that leverage for our closed-end
funds is beneficial to our common shareholders. At the same time, we recognize
that the lack of liquidity has created both uncertainty and frustration for
our preferred shareholders. We ask our valued clients for their patience as we
aggressively work to address their concerns and restore liquidity by
developing and securing alternate forms of leverage."
Calamos Investments manages five leveraged closed-end funds with
approximately $2.3 billion of auction rate preferred securities outstanding in
the aggregate. Calamos will continue to work to provide solutions for the
remaining auction rate preferred shareholders following this initial
refinancing.
Conference Call
Calamos Investments will host a conference call at 10:30 a.m., central
daylight time, on March 20, 2008, to discuss the refinancing of the funds'
ARPS. Mr. Calamos noted, "We have always prided ourselves on being fully
transparent with our shareholders; to that end, we believe both our preferred
and common shareholders must be kept apprised regarding the process and timing
to refinance the outstanding auction rate preferred securities."
Calamos anticipates high call volume and encourages attendees to access
the call via the live streaming audio link
http://audioevent.mshow.com/343153/. Attendees can access the teleconference
on Calamos' web site, http://www.calamos.com, or attendees who prefer to
participate by phone can access the call by dialing 800.379.3942 or
706.679.7206 and referencing conference ID number 39992940.
A replay of the call will be available shortly after the call through
April 10, 2008. To access the replay, please dial 800.642.1687 or
706.645.9291, conference ID number 39992940, or visit the closed-end fund
section of our website at http://www.calamos.com/closedendfunds .
About Calamos
Calamos Investments offers five closed-end funds: the Calamos Convertible
Opportunities and Income Fund (NYSE: CHI), the Calamos Convertible and High
Income Fund (NYSE: CHY), the Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund (NYSE: CSQ),
the Calamos Global Total Return Fund (NYSE: CGO) and the Calamos Global
Dynamic Income Fund (NYSE: CHW).
Calamos Investments is a diversified investment firm offering equity,
fixed-income, convertible and alternative investment strategies, among others.
The firm serves institutions and individuals via separately managed accounts
and a family of open-end and closed-end funds, providing a risk-managed
approach to capital appreciation and income-producing strategies. For more
information, visit http://www.calamos.com.
SOURCE: Calamos Investments
CONTACT: Ken Fincher, Vice President of Calamos Advisors LLC,
+1-630-245-1076, kfincher@calamos.com
Web site: http://www.calamos.com