Genworth MI Canada Inc., the second-largest mortgage insurer in Canada, has filed a shelf prospectus allowing it to offer up to $1.5-billion in debt or shares over the next 25 months.
The company, which is the main rival of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says it's planning to take advantage of market conditions to add debt to its capital structure, bringing it more in line with other publicly traded Canadian companies.
It's initial target debt to total capital ratio is about 10 per cent. Genworth is also planning to return up to $350-million of its capital to shareholders in 2010, and is weighing options for how it might go about that.
"The company adopted a capital plan that is designed to create a more efficient capital structure and to enhance shareholder value, while maintaining capital at levels sufficient to manage through varying economic environments and to fund growth opportunities," the company said in a release Thursday. It also reported first-quarter profits of $84-million, up from $74-million a year ago.