You are incorrect sir. I suggest you better familiarize yourself with the terms of the R-series preferreds. Not only can they be converted before 2040, WM has the right to pay cash to the holders whenever they want at whatever price they want.
They cannot convert while in ch 11, but the most likely of scenarios is that they get converted. They are going to be out of ch 11 sooner than you think, and they know that they are never going to have an "extra" $3 billion laying around to hand out in exhange for paper. No way. Not now, not in 2040.
They know this, and so does most everybody else. If they don't have the cash to pay them out, you can't really let them continue to trade as they would not be worth sh#t if everybody knows that you don't have the cash to actually pay them out in full. This is why the wampers
The wampers were a risky investment and those that bought them knew this. They are actually protected by the conversion clause.
The Ks are in much better shape as this seems to be what will be referred to as the "standard" preferred, the divis are much smaller compared to WAMPQ, and the LV is much lower.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out for sure, but the conversion of wAMPQ is inevitable.....
