Cowen to Offer Convertible Senior Notes

NEW YORK--()--Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) (“Cowen” or the “Company”) today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, certain convertible senior notes due 2022 to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Company also expects to grant a 30-day option to the initial purchasers to purchase certain additional notes on the same terms and conditions.

The interest rate, conversion rate and other terms of the notes will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering. When issued, the notes will be unsecured senior obligations of Cowen. The Company expects to pay interest on the notes semi-annually on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing June 15, 2018. The notes will mature on December 15, 2022, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed or converted prior to such date. Prior to September 15, 2022, the notes will be convertible only under certain conditions. Thereafter, until the close of business on the second business day immediately preceding the maturity date of December 15, 2022, the notes will be convertible at any time. Conversions of the notes will be settled by the delivery and/or payment, as the case may be, of Class A common stock, cash, or a combination thereof, at the Company's election; provided that the Company may not issue in excess of 19.9% of its Class A common stock upon conversion of the notes unless and until such issuance is approved by the Company’s stockholders. The Company will not have the right to redeem the notes prior to December 15, 2020 and thereafter may only redeem the notes under certain conditions.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment or repurchase of a portion of the Company’s outstanding 3.0% cash convertible notes due 2019 and the repurchase of up to $25 million of the Company’s shares of its Class A common stock.

The Company expects to use up to $25 million of the net proceeds from the offering to repurchase shares of its Class A common stock from purchasers of the notes in privately negotiated transactions, which are expected to be consummated substantially concurrently with closing of the offering. The price of the Class A common stock repurchased in these transactions is expected to equal the closing price per share of the Company’s Class A common stock on the date of the pricing of the offering. Repurchases of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock could increase, or prevent a decrease in, the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock or the notes. In the case of repurchases effected concurrently with this offering, this activity could affect the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock concurrently with the pricing of the notes, and could result in a higher effective conversion price for the notes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes or any other securities, nor will there be any sale of notes or any other securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The notes offered will not be or have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

About Cowen Inc.

Cowen Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative asset management, investment banking, research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing and commission management through its two business segments: Cowen Investment Management and its affiliates make up the Company’s alternative investment segment, while Cowen and Company, LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC, and its affiliates make up the Company’s broker-dealer segment. Cowen Investment Management provides alternative asset management solutions to a global client base and manages a significant portion of Cowen’s proprietary capital. Cowen and Company and its affiliates offer industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research, a sales and trading platform for institutional investors and a comprehensive suite of prime brokerage services. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.cowen.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, whether or not the Company will offer the notes or consummate the offering, enter into the prepaid forward share repurchase transaction, the anticipated terms of the notes and the offering, and the anticipated use of the proceeds of the offering. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the offering memorandum relating to the offering of the notes and in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q are available at our website at www.cowen.com and at the Securities and Exchange Commission website at www.sec.gov. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release.

Contacts

Investor Relations:
Cowen
Stephen Lasota, 212-845-7919
Chief Financial Officer
or
Nancy Wu, 646-562-1259
or
Media:
Cowen
Lynda Caravello, 646-562-1676
lynda.caravello@cowen.com
or
Gagnier Communications
Dan Gagnier, 646-569-5897
dg@gagnierfc.com

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Contacts

Investor Relations:
Cowen
Stephen Lasota, 212-845-7919
Chief Financial Officer
or
Nancy Wu, 646-562-1259
or
Media:
Cowen
Lynda Caravello, 646-562-1676
lynda.caravello@cowen.com
or
Gagnier Communications
Dan Gagnier, 646-569-5897
dg@gagnierfc.com