Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. lender, is already up about $700 million on its $2 billion preferred stock investment in Countrywide Financial Corp.
This is "something of a sweetheart deal," David Hendler, an analyst at research firm CreditSights Inc. in New York, said in a report.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, can convert the preferred stock to common shares at $18 each, compared with a high reached today of $24.46. Countrywide, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, will also pay interest of 7.25 percent on the preferred shares.
Countrywide, which lost half its market value after peaking on Feb. 2, rose $1.10, or 5 percent, to $22.92 at 10:36 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
The deal, announced after the market closed yesterday, was made to bolster Calabasas, California-based Countrywide's finances and may reassure investors amid the worst U.S. housing slump since the Great Depression.
"The only time you see terms like this is if a company is really desperate for financing," said Andrea Revy O'Connell, president and chief executive officer of Froley Revy Investment Co., which manages $800 million in convertible bond assets.
A 7.25 percent coupon on a convertible "is pretty rare on a company that's investment-grade," O'Connell said in an interview from her Los Angeles office. "I wouldn't mind getting seven and a quarter."
The transaction comes at a "steep cost" to Countrywide shareholders, Credit Suisse analysts led by Moshe Orenbuch said today in a report. The deal will increase Countrywide's diluted shares by 19 percent and cost about $145 million in dividends, the New York-based analysts said.