Bird Construction Co. Ltd., a Toronto-based general contractor, revived a bid to convert to an income trust after shelving the plan last month because the federal government was reviewing the business structure's tax status. Existing shareholders will get a special dividend of $8.35 a share after the conversion on Feb. 6, Bird said yesterday. The sale of units will raise about $30-million, the company said. Bird postponed the conversion on Nov. 2, citing "uncertainty" in the market. "The tone of the income trust market has improved," Bird said. The income trust index rose 1.65 or 1 per cent to close at 169.63 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a record high. The company plans to pay out about $15-million a year through monthly payouts.
In the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Bird had pretax cash flow of about $22-million that would have been available for distribution, it said. BDT (TSX Venture) was unchanged at $37.50.
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