Continuous Equity Program Enhancement Allows Issuers to Lock in Current Prices and Defer Settlements to Future Dates

NEW YORK, September 29, 2010 — BNY Mellon Capital Markets today announced the availability of a white paper on continuous equity financing programs that includes a discussion of forward contracts, a new feature that allows issuers to lock in current prices and defer settlements to future dates as part of continuous equity programs.  

Entitled "Continuous Equity Financing with Forwards:  A Practical Solution to Strategic Capital Raising," the white paper was prepared in collaboration with Dewey & LeBoeuf, one of the most accomplished law firms in the continuous equity space.  The paper explains how structuring programs to include forward settlement contracts enables issuers to access public markets at a time when their stock is trading favorably and defer settlement to future dates when they are in need of capital.

An alternative to traditional follow-on equity offerings, continuous equity financing programs — also referred to as sales agency or "at the market" equity offerings — give companies a flexible and opportunistic way to raise equity capital as the need arises.  With a continuous equity program in place, issuers can sell shares from time to time through their sales agent at current market prices, maintaining control over the timing, amount and minimum sale price of the issuances.  

"Collaborating with Dewey & LeBoeuf on this important paper allowed us to provide C-suite senior managers with a practical guide to continuous equity programs.  The paper's scope isn't limited to programs as they've been implemented in the past.  It also discusses how under certain circumstances the inclusion of forward contracts can enhance continuous equity as a capital raising strategy," said Daniel C. de Menocal, managing director and head of equity capital markets at BNY Mellon Capital Markets.

"BNY Mellon Capital Markets' perspective as a source of innovation and successful program implementation in the continuous equity space since the debut of at the market offerings nearly ten years ago was the perfect complement to our expertise in the areas of risk management and compliance," said Peter K. O'Brien, capital markets partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf.  "Issuers considering at the market offerings will find the white paper to be a timely and useful resource."

More information on "Continuous Equity Financing with Forwards:  A Practical Solution to Strategic Capital Raising" is available at www.bnymellon.com/foresight/pdf/equityfinancing.pdf.

Dewey & LeBoeuf has a leading Corporate Finance practice handling transactions throughout the world and across borders.  The Corporate Finance Group consists of more than 200 lawyers located in the firm's offices in the major financial and commercial centers of the world, including New York, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Beijing, Rome, Paris, Dubai, Riyadh, Moscow, Almaty and Warsaw.

A full-service subsidiary of BNY Mellon specializing in underwriting and sales and trading services, BNY Mellon Capital Markets LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) is a leading provider of securities broker-dealer services for large public and private corporations, various governmental and not-for-profit entities, and institutional and high-net-worth investors seeking efficient execution, industry expertise with timely and relevant market commentary, and a collaborative relationship.  

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $21.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.0 trillion in assets under management, services $11.6 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

Material contained within this white paper is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide tax, legal, accounting or investment advice on any matter, and is not to be used as such. No statement or expression is an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any products or services mentioned. BNY Mellon makes no representation as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, merchantability or fitness for a specific purpose of the information provided in this white paper. BNY Mellon assumes no liability whatsoever for any action taken in reliance on the information contained in this white paper, or for direct or indirect damages resulting from use of this white paper, its content, or services.  Reproduction, distribution, republication and retransmission of material contained in this white paper is prohibited unless the prior consent of BNY Mellon has been obtained.