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The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. (NYSE - GCV) is pleased to announce the
completion of an offering of two series of Preferred Stock valued at a total of $50 million. The
issuance consists of $25 million of Series B 6.00% Cumulative Preferred Stock and $25 million of
Series C Auction Rate Cumulative Preferred Stock. The proceeds raised will be used for investment
purposes.
The Series B 6.00% Preferred Shares are rated "Aaa" by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. The
Series B 6.00% Preferred Shares are perpetual, non-callable for five years and were issued at $25
per share. Distributions will be paid quarterly beginning on June 26, 2003. The Series B 6.00%
Preferred Shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GCV Pr B" on
March 19, 2003.
The Series C Auction Rate Preferred Shares are rated "Aaa" by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
and "AAA" by Fitch, Inc. The Series C Preferred Shares are perpetual and generally are callable
at any time without premium. The initial dividend rate for the Series C Preferred Shares will be
1.30% for the period ending March 25, 2003. The dividend rates for subsequent periods will be
determined by an auction process.
The Board of Directors shares the Investment Adviser's view that the issuance of the preferred
stock is designed to benefit the common shareholders. The Fund expects that following investment
of the proceeds, it will be able to earn in excess of the dividend rate on the preferred shares
and thereby create additional value for its common shareholders.
It should be noted that the Investment Adviser will not receive a management fee on the incremental
assets raised unless the total return of the Fund to common shareholders during the year exceeds
the dividend rate of the preferred stock, including the costs of any interest rate swap agreement
the Fund may enter into to protect against short-term interest rate increases. The Investment
Adviser believes this fee arrangement is in the best interests of all shareholders.
Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. and Gabelli & Company, Inc. served as underwriters for the offering,
which closed on March 18, 2003.
The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund Inc. is a closed-end, diversified management
investment company with $144 million in total assets, after giving effect to the issuance of the
preferred shares. The Fund's primary investment objective is to seek a high level of total return
through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The Fund is managed by Gabelli
Funds, LLC, a subsidiary of Gabelli Asset Management Inc. (GBL - NYSE), which is a publicly traded
NYSE listed company.
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