Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. can sell $250 million in preferred shares, it said in an after-market statement last night.

The Bermuda reinsurance and insurance company has applied to list the 7.25 percent Series A Preferred Shares on the New York Stock Exchange. It notified the public of its plans to issue the preferred shares in a shelf registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6.

Under the offering, the shares can be redeemed from October 15, 2010 for $25.

The shares were rated Baa3 by Moody?s Investors Service and BBB- by Standard & Poor?s, the company said. Citigroup, Wachovia Securities, Merrill Lynch & Co., and Morgan Stanley managed the stock offering.

Axis intends to use the proceeds from the share offering for ?general corporate purposes?.

The company previously estimated Hurricane Katrina losses of between $500 million and $650 million, and said in an SEC filing this week that it was too early to assess losses from Hurricane Rita but that they would be ?substantially less?.

Axis shares fell 24 cents yesterday to close at $28 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.