Hybrid security
Hybrid securities are a broad group of securities that combine the characteristics of the two broader groups of securities, debt and equity. Hybrid securities pay a predictable (either fixed or floating) rate of return or dividend until a certain date, at which point the holder has a number of options, including converting the securities into the underlying share. Therefore, unlike with a share of stock (equity), the holder enjoys a predetermined (rather than residual) cash flow, and, unlike with a fixed interest security (debt), the holder enjoys an option to convert the security to the underlying equity. Other common examples include convertible and converting preference shares. A hybrid security is structured differently than fixed-interest securities. While the price of some securities behaves more like that of fixed-interest securities, others behave more like the underlying shares into which they may convert. A convertible bond is a bond (i.e. a loan to the issuer) that can be converted into common shares of the issuer. A convertible bond can be valued as a combination of a straight bond and an option to purchase the company's stock. A redeemable, or callable, preferred stock confers the issuer to repurchase the stock at a preset price after a specified date, converting it to treasury stock. Therefore, if interest rates decline, the company has the flexibility to redeem the stock and subsequently re-issue it at a lower rate, reducing its cost of capital. A PIK loan may carry a detachable warrant (the right to purchase a certain number of shares of stock or bonds at a given price for a certain period of time) – the loan is the debt (Bond), while the warrant is the equity Returns: Predictable dividend, often franked therefore possible tax advantage to the holder Capital price: Price moves in line with share price (fixed conversion terms e.g. 1 hybrid convert to 1 share) Bond like, price does not move in line with share price (variable conversion terms, face value (usually 100 worth of shares).
