TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) May 4, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said it assigned its 'BBB-' rating on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.'s senior unsecured debt issue. The ratings on Fairfax, its subsidiaries, and other outstanding debt issues remain unchanged. We expect the company to use the net proceeds to exchange senior notes from various issues maturing between 2012 and 2017 for an amount totaling $500 million. The proposed debt issuance will comprise a single tranche of privately placed senior unsecured debt that will mature in 2021. On a pro forma basis, based on financials as of March 31, 2011, the company's debt leverage remains largely unchanged and the fixed-charge coverage ratio improves slightly. Both metrics remain within our expectations
