The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that a debt refinancing designed to provide BlackBerry with some financial flexibility has sent the company's shares tumbling to their lowest level in 21 years, complicating the new chief executive's plans to win back investors. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that in November, BlackBerry announced a partial extension of some debt, with $150-million (U.S.) worth of notes refinanced and given a maturity date of Feb. 14. Because this debt was coming due, analysts and investors widely expected a new offering; the only unknown was what the terms would be. On Wednesday, BlackBerry announced the new convertible debt will mature in 2029, pay 3-per-cent interest annually, and allows noteholders to convert into shares at a 32.5-per-cent premium to the stock's closing price at the time of the offering. Investors who specialize in buying convertible debt ate the deal up, allowing BlackBerry to increase the offering size to $175-million (U.S.) from $160-million (U.S.). Yet those who owned the company's shares were not so pleased, and BlackBerry's stock plummeted 18 per cent on Wednesday to close at $3.94 (Canadian) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, its lowest level since May, 2003.