Butterfield Bank’s $130 million rights offering opened yesterday, giving qualifying shareholders the right to buy more shares for $1.21 each.

The rights to buy the Butterfield shares began trading on the Bermuda Stock Exchange yesterday, after the BSX Listing Committee approved their listing.

In BSX trading yesterday, Butterfield closed unchanged at $1.45, after some brisk trading in which 120,418 shares changed hands.

The bank is holding several investor presentations over the next few weeks to explain the rights offering, including one today at 5.30 p.m. at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Two further presentations this week will be held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, tomorrow at 12.30 p.m. and on Thursday at 5.30 p.m.

The rights offering was announced last month, on the same day a group of mainly overseas investors bought $550 million of new equity in the bank.

The issuance of millions of new shares to the new investors at a price of $1.21 massively diluted the holdings of existing shareholders, but chairman Robert Mulderig has said the new capital was needed to save the bank from a potentially damaging downgrade by credit ratings agencies.

The rights offering will allow other qualifying shareholders to buy back $130 million of the new shares sold to the new investors.

Up to 107.6 million rights to buy 99.3 million shares are involved in the offering. The rights will cease trading on the BSX on Thursday, May 6, while the rights offering will close on Tuesday, May 11.

A BSX statement yesterday said the rights were deemed to be listed securities from April 12 until May 11.

The BSX said it anticipated that trading in the new common shares would commence on or about Wednesday, May 12.

Notice of their unconditional listing approval will be given to the market by the BSX near to that date.