NU Online News Service, Nov. 20, 3:38 p.m.EST

Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, which acquiredOdyssey Re last month, announced its intention to voluntarilydelist its shares from the New York Stock Exchange.

In a statement yesterday, the chairman of the holding companyfor property and casualty insurance and reinsurance operations,including Odyssey and Crum & Forster, essentially saideliminating the expense of multiple stock listings in the UnitedStates and Canada will save money.

A New York Stock Exchange spokesman said the maximum charge inlisting and filing fees for a non-us company was $125,00, but hesaid the complexity of the process meeting various reportingrequirements meant accounting and legal fees for a company could befar higher.

Prem Watsa, Fairfax chairman and chief executive officer, said:"While our decentralized operations have global reach, afterreviewing the factors relevant to our continued listing on theNYSE, we determined that our company and its shareholders will bebetter served by the simplified focus and lower cost resulting fromthe maintenance of only our original TSX listing."

"In recent years, as markets have become significantly moreglobal and liquid, our constituents, including shareholders andemployees, no longer require multiple listings."

"The voluntary delisting will have no impact on our ongoingstrategic and operating philosophy nor on our very substantialpresence in the United States and our presence in the other globalmarkets in which we operate," Mr. Watsa's said.

He began his statement noting that after Fairfax's "recentprivatization of Odyssey Re, Fairfax now wholly owns all of itsprimary businesses and is the largest property and casualtyinsurance company based in Canada, with worldwide operations inover 50 countries."

In late October, Fairfax, which had previously held a 73 percentstake in Stamford, Conn.-based Odyssey Re, completed a tender offerfor $65 per share, triggering a merger transaction.

Fairfax said that after delisting the subordinate voting sharescurrently traded on the NYSE, its shares will continue to be listedon the Toronto Stock Exchange, the insurance holding companysaid.

On the TSX, Fairfax will be traded in both Canadian and U.S.dollars under the trading symbols FFH and FFH.U, respectively, thecompany said.

Fairfax said the delisting will not affect Fairfax's continuingobligation to file required reports with the Securities andExchange Commission.

Separately, in an unrelated announcement, Standard & Poor'sin New York upgraded financial strength ratings of Fairfax's Crum& Forster insurance units to "A-minus" from"triple-B-plus."

"Our upgrade of the Crum & Forster insurance units reflectsour revised opinion of the long-term importance of Crum &Forster to the Fairfax group of companies, as well as the benefitsit provides to the Fairfax group," S&P said. "With $1.6 billionin statutory surplus as of Sept. 30, 2009, Crum & Forster hasevolved into a specialty writer that is well positioned for growthin standard commercial lines once market conditions improve," therating agency said.

In addition, S&P affirmed the "A-minus" financial strengthratings of Fairfax's other core insurance subsidiaries.

The affirmation reflects Fairfax's "strong financial profile,including strong capital and liquidity," said S&P creditanalyst Michael Gross. "But, this is tempered by an above-averagetolerance for market risk as well as lackluster underwritingperformance amid tough property and casualty industry conditions,"he said.

According to S&P, Fairfax Holdings had $7.65 billion inshareholders' equity as of Sept. 30. In addition to Odyssey andCrum & Forster, Fairfax is also the parent of Canada-basedNorthbridge Financial.