my understanding of convertible notes generally is that at...

my understanding of convertible notes generally is that at maturity the issuing company gets to choose whether to redeem or convert to common equity. holders can choose to get out early on prescribed dates but usually with a penalty.

reading some of the BECG prospectus, it converts one note to one share. if BEC price is a chunk above 65c in june2010 and Becton has the cash to spare, they'll more likely redeem.

the market is pricing in conversion, hence it was like 24c per BECG when BEC was 15c when i last checked, since they paid 3c interest every 6 months. i myself decided not to go into them as gap not wide enough in case Becton welch on paying interest (which they can), why pay higher just to maybe get back that 9c (i believe unfranked) and then have to pay tax on it, may as well just stick with BEC.

i don't know about any 'paying of difference' between the june2010 sp and 65c. receiving back 65c for your currently 24c investment as i see it is far from assured (particularly given how the sp has performed over 2008)