First Trust/Highland Capital Floating Rate Income Fund completes $185 million IPO and closes related $185 million revolving credit facility

On February 17, 2005, First Trust/Highland Capital Floating Rate Income Fund completed its initial public offering of 18,500,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit for gross proceeds of $185,000,000. The units of the Fund are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol FHT.UN).

The Fund has invested the proceeds of the offering in a portfolio of senior secured floating rate corporate loans. In order to enhance the yield available to the Fund's unitholders, the Fund will utilize leverage by borrowing an amount representing not more than 100% of the value of its pre-leverage net assets under a senior secured credit facility provided by one or more asset-backed commercial paper conduit lenders agented by Scotia Capital Inc.

The syndicate of agents was led by CIBC World Markets and included RBC Dominion Securities Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., TD Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation, Desjardins Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Corporation, First Associates Investments Inc., Raymond James Ltd. and Richardson Partners Financial Limited.

The Fund and its advisor and promoters were represented by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, with a team that included Craig Brown (corporate/investment funds), Tracy Hooey and Nancy Eastman (securities/investment funds), Brian Wright and Jon Holmstrom (banking and structured finance), Mitchell Thaw (tax) and Daniel Fabiano (corporate).