Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd will purchase another $250 million worth of BlackBerry Ltd's convertible debentures, the companies said Wednesday, providing the struggling smartphone maker with much-needed cash.The move by Fairfax, the Canadian property and casualty insurer run by investment guru Prem Watsa, will double the company's holdings of BlackBerry's debt. Fairfax also owns a more than 14 percent equity stake in BlackBerry, making it the company's largest shareholder.Fairfax is exercising a previously announced option linked to BlackBerry's recent $1 billion debt financing, in which it had initially bought $250 million.Other backers of the initial offering included an arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Brookfield Asset Management , and Markel Corp. Canso Investment Counsel Ltd had bought $300 million.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Brookfield) is a global alternative asset manager. Shares of BAM fell by 1.51% or $-0.57/share to $37.26. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $33.59 and as high as $40.82. On average, 657995 shares of BAM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 891817.
Markel Corporation is a financial holding company serving a range of markets. Shares of MKL fell by 0.96% or $-5.49/share to $568.01. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $450.01 and as high as $582.59. On average, 47229 shares of MKL exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 30757.
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