First Trust/Highland Capital Floating Rate Income Fund II completes US$85 million IPO

On May 31, 2005, First Trust/Highland Capital Floating Rate Income Fund II (the "Fund") completed its initial public offering of 8,500,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit for gross proceeds of $85 million. The units of the Fund are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol FHM.UN). The Fund has been established to provide investors with exposure to a portfolio consisting primarily of senior secured floating rate corporate loans ("Senior Loans") issued by debtors that are primarily U.S. issuers. The distributions of the Fund will vary with prevailing U.S. short-term interest rates. In order to meet its investment objectives, the Fund obtains exposure to the performance of First Trust/Highland Capital Senior Loan Trust (the "Senior Loan Trust") by virtue of one or more forward transactions with an institutional counterparty. The Fund will benefit from the use of leverage by the Senior Loan Trust. The Senior Loan Trust will borrow an amount of not more than 100% of the value of the pre-leverage net assets of the Senior Loan Trust 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 co-led by CIBC World Markets and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and included Scotia Capital Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., TD Securities Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Raymond James Ltd., Richardson Partners Financial Limited, Canaccord Capital Corporation, Desjardins Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Corporation, First Associates Investments Inc. and Wellington West Capital Inc. The Fund and its advisor and promoters were represented by Fasken Martineau, with a team that included Craig Brown (corporate/investment funds), Tracy Hooey, Nancy Eastman and Krisztian Toth (securities/investment funds), Brian Wright and Jon Holmstrom (banking and structured finance), Kathleen Hanly and Mitchell Thaw (tax) and Daniel Fabiano (corporate).