Bermuda-based reinsurance firm Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. said Friday it raised $100 million through a private sale of trust preferred securities.

Montpelier said it issued the trust preferred securities through a new statutory trust it owns, called Montpelier Capital Trust III.

The securities have a fixed annual interest rate of 8.55 percent through March 2011, Montpelier added.

Trust preferred securities are taxed like debt obligations but appear as equities in financial statements, in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures.

The company's shares rose 5 cents to close at $19.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.