Mr. J. Cameron MacDonald reports

WESTAIM ANNOUNCES INTENDED REDEMPTION OF PREFERRED SECURITIES

Further to its news release of June 12, 2023 announcing the closing of the underwritten secondary public offering of shares of common stock of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Inc., The Westaim Corp. has provided an update on its intended use of a portion of Westaim's proceeds from the offering. Westaim intends to use approximately $50-million of the proceeds from the offering to redeem all of the five million 5 per cent subordinate preferred securities of Westaim held by certain affiliates of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., pursuant to the terms of an indenture dated June 2, 2017, among, inter alia, Westaim and Computershare Trust Company of Canada.

Concurrently with the redemption, Westaim and Fairfax will also complete the following transactions (collectively with the redemption, the proposed transaction):

• Westaim and Fairfax (together, the parties) will enter into a termination agreement to terminate the governance agreement dated June 2, 2017, between the parties.
• Fairfax will surrender and dispose of, without any further consideration, all of the warrants to purchase common shares of Westaim held by Fairfax.
• Westaim will pay to Fairfax a work fee.

The proposed transaction is expected to close on or about July 17, 2023, subject to the receipt of all requisite approvals.

About The Westaim Corp.

Westaim is a Canadian investment company specializing in providing long-term capital to businesses operating primarily within the global financial services industry. The company invests, directly and indirectly, through acquisitions, joint ventures and other arrangements, with the objective of providing its shareholders with capital appreciation and real wealth preservation. Westaim's strategy is to pursue investment opportunities with a focus toward the financial services industry and grow shareholder value over the long term. Westaim's investments include significant interests in Skyward Specialty, Arena Investors and Arena Fincos. Skyward Specialty, the HIIG Partnership, Arena Fincos and Arena Investors are defined in the notes to Westaim's unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2022, and the MD&A (management's discussion and analysis). Westaim's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol WED.

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