The Bank of Nova Scotia Completes $345 Million Preferred Share Offering

On March 25, 2008, The Bank of Nova Scotia completed a domestic public offering of 12 million non-cumulative five-year rate reset preferred shares Series 18 (the “Preferred Shares Series 18”) at a price of $25.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $300 million. The Bank sold the Preferred Shares Series 18 to a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc. on a bought deal basis. On March 27, 2008, the underwriters fully exercised an over-allotment option to purchase an additional 1.8 million of Preferred Shares Series 18 at a price of $25.00 per share, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds from the offering of $345 million.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted for the Bank under the direction of Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Deborah Alexander, and Senior Legal Counsel Martha Hundert, with a team consisting of Jonathan Grant, Robert Hansen and Barry Ryan (business law), and Gabrielle Richards and Gwendolyn Watson (tax).

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP acted for the underwriters with a team consisting of Richard Steinberg, Georges Dubé, Geoff Clarke, Adam Inglis and Charles Todd (corporate/securities), Robert McDowell and Robert Elliott (regulatory), and Mitchell Thaw (tax).