TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) May 19, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said that it assigned its 'BBB-' rating to Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.'s senior unsecured debt issue. The ratings on Fairfax, its subsidiaries, and other outstanding debt issues remain unchanged. We expect that the company will use the net proceeds of the proposed offering primarily to purchase additional notes tendered under its previously announced tender offer. The proposed C$400 million debt issuance will comprise a single tranche of senior unsecured debt that will mature in 2021. The company's debt leverage and the fixed-charge coverage ratio remains largely unchanged on a pro forma basis, based on financials as of March 31, 2011. Both metrics remain within our expectations for the
