14 Jun 2021 08:32
Santander UK plc announces Tender Offer for its €1,000,000,000 Fixed Rate Notes due 2025
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014, AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (AS AMENDED ("UK MAR")
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS), ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OR IN OR INTO ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT (SEE "OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS" BELOW)
14 June 2021. Santander UK plc (the Offeror) announces today its invitation to holders of its €1,000,000,000 Fixed Rate Notes due 2025 (ISIN: XS1199439222) (the Notes) to tender their Notes for purchase by the Offeror for cash (the Offer). The Offer is being made on the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the tender offer memorandum dated 14 June 2021 (the Tender Offer Memorandum) prepared by the Offeror, and is subject to the offer restrictions set out below and as more fully described in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Copies of the Tender Offer Memorandum are (subject to distribution restrictions) available from the Tender Agent as set out below. Capitalised terms used in this announcement but not defined have the meanings given to them in the Tender Offer Memorandum. The Tender Offer Memorandum is also available, subject to eligibility confirmation and registration, from the following website (the Offer Website): https://deals.lucid-is.com/santander.
Summary
A summary of certain of the terms of the Offer appears below:
Description of the Notes | ISIN/ Common Code | Outstanding Nominal Amount | Maturity Date | Benchmark | Purchase Spread | Acceptance Amount |
€1,000,000,000 Fixed Rate Notes due 2025 | XS1199439222 / 119943922 | €619,484,000 | 10 March 2025 | Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate | 15 bps | Such aggregate nominal amount (if any) of the Notes validly tendered for purchase pursuant to the Offer as the Offeror may in its sole discretion determine |
Rationale for the Offer
The Offer, to the extent any Notes are accepted for purchase, will enable the Offeror to optimise its funding structure in line with the evolving environment.
Details of the Offer
Purchase Price
The Offeror will pay for Notes accepted by it for purchase pursuant to the Offer at a price (the Purchase Price) to be determined at or around 2.00 p.m. (London time) (the Pricing Time) on 21 June 2021 (the Pricing Date) in the manner described in the Tender Offer Memorandum by reference to the sum (such sum, the Purchase Yield) of a purchase spread of 15 basis points (the Purchase Spread) and the Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate.
The Purchase Price will be determined in accordance with market convention and expressed as a percentage of the nominal amount of the Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer (rounded to the nearest 0.001 per cent., with 0.0005 per cent. rounded upwards), and is intended to reflect a yield to maturity of the Notes on the Settlement Date equal to the Purchase Yield. Specifically, the Purchase Price will equal (a) the value of all remaining payments of nominal and interest on the Notes up to and including the scheduled maturity date of the Notes, discounted to the Settlement Date at a discount rate equal to the Purchase Yield, minus (b) Accrued Interest.
Accrued Interest
The Offeror will also pay an Accrued Interest Payment in respect of Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer.
Acceptance Amount and Scaling
If the Offeror decides to accept for purchase valid tenders of Notes pursuant to the Offer, the Offeror will determine, in its sole discretion, the aggregate nominal amount of the Notes it will accept for purchase pursuant to the Offer (the Acceptance Amount) on the Business Day following the Expiration Deadline and the outcome of such determination will be announced as soon as reasonably practicable after the Pricing Time.
The Offeror does not propose to accept for purchase any nominal amount of Notes validly tendered in the Offer greater than the Acceptance Amount. If the Offeror decides to accept for purchase valid tenders of Notes pursuant to the Offer, and the aggregate nominal amount of Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Offer is greater than the Acceptance Amount, the Offeror intends to accept such Notes for purchase on a pro rata basis, as more fully described in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Tender Instructions
In order to participate in, and be eligible to receive the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest Payment pursuant to, the Offer, Noteholders must validly tender their Notes for purchase by delivering, or arranging to have delivered on their behalf, a valid Tender Instruction that is received by the Tender Agent by 4.00 p.m. (London time) on 18 June 2021 unless extended, re-opened, amended and/or terminated as provided in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Tender Instructions will be irrevocable except in the limited circumstances described in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Tender Instructions must be submitted in respect of a minimum nominal amount of Notes of no less than €100,000, being the minimum denomination of the Notes, and may be submitted in integral multiples of €1,000 thereafter.
A separate Tender Instruction must be completed on behalf of each beneficial owner.
Indicative Timetable for the Offer
Events |
| Times and Dates (All times are London time) |
Commencement of the Offer |
|
|
Offer announced. Tender Offer Memorandum available on the Offer Website and from the Tender Agent (subject to the offer restrictions set out below in "Offer and Distribution Restrictions"). |
| Monday, 14 June 2021 |
Expiration Deadline |
|
|
Final deadline for receipt of valid Tender Instructions by the Tender Agent in order for Noteholders to be able to participate in the Offer. |
| 4.00 p.m. on Friday, 18 June 2021 |
Announcement of Indicative Results |
|
|
Announcement by the Offeror of the aggregate nominal amount of Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Offer, together with a non-binding indication of the level at which it expects to set the Acceptance Amount and indicative details of any pro rata scaling that will apply in the event that the Offeror decides to accept valid tenders of Notes pursuant to the Offer. |
| Prior to the Pricing Time on Monday, 21 June 2021 |
Pricing Time and Pricing Date |
|
|
Determination of the Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate, Purchase Yield and Purchase Price. |
| At or around 2.00 p.m. on Monday, 21 June 2021 |
Announcement of Final Results and Pricing |
|
|
Announcement of whether the Offeror will accept valid tenders of Notes pursuant to the Offer and, if so accepted, the Acceptance Amount, the Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate, the Purchase Yield, the Purchase Price and details of any pro rata scaling. |
| As soon as reasonably practicable after the Pricing Time on Monday, 21 June 2021 |
Settlement Date |
|
|
Expected Settlement Date for the Offer. Payment of the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest for any Notes accepted for purchase and settlement of such purchases. |
| Tuesday, 22 June 2021 |
The Offeror may, in its sole discretion, extend, re-open, amend, waive any condition of and/or terminate the Offer at any time (subject to applicable law and as provided in the Tender Offer Memorandum) and the above times and dates are subject to the right of the Offeror to so extend, re-open, amend, waive any condition of and/or terminate the Offer.
Noteholders are advised to check with any bank, securities broker or other intermediary through which they hold Notes when such intermediary would need to receive instructions from a Noteholder in order for that Noteholder to be able to participate in, or (in the limited circumstances in which revocation is permitted) revoke their instruction to participate in, the Offer by the deadlines set out above. The deadlines set by any such intermediary and each Clearing System for the submission and withdrawal of Tender Instructions will be earlier than the relevant deadlines set out above and in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Unless stated otherwise, announcements in connection with the Offer will be made by the Offeror (i) through RNS and (ii) by the delivery of notices to the Clearing Systems for communication to Direct Participants. Such announcements may also be found on the relevant Reuters Insider Screen and be made by the issue of a press release to a Notifying News Service. Copies of all such announcements, press releases and notices can also be accessed on the Offer Website or obtained upon request from the Tender Agent, the contact details for which are below. Significant delays may be experienced where notices are delivered to the Clearing Systems and Noteholders are urged to contact the Tender Agent for the relevant announcements during the course of the Offer. In addition, Noteholders may contact the Dealer Managers for information using the contact details below.
Noteholders are advised to read carefully the Tender Offer Memorandum for full details of and information on the procedures for participating in the Offer.
Banco Santander, S.A. (Telephone: +44 7418 709 688 / +44 7742 403 679; Attention: Liability Management; Email: tommaso.grospietro@santandercib.co.uk / adam.crocker@santandercib.co.uk) and J.P. Morgan Securities plc (Telephone: +44 20 7134 2468; Attention: Liability Management; Email: liability_management_EMEA@jpmorgan.com) are acting as Dealer Managers for the Offer and Lucid Issuer Services Limited (Telephone: +44 20 7704 0880; Attention: Oliver Slyfield; Email: santander@lucid-is.com) is acting as Tender Agent.
Questions and requests for assistance in connection with (i) the Offer may be directed to the Dealer Managers and (ii) the delivery of Tender Instructions may be directed to the Tender Agent, the contact details for each of which are set out above.
This announcement is released by the Offeror and contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of UK MAR, encompassing information relating to the Offer described above. For the purposes of UK MAR and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended), this announcement is made by Tom Ranger, Treasurer at Santander UK plc.
DISCLAIMER This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Tender Offer Memorandum. This announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum contain important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer. If any Noteholder is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own financial and legal advice, including in respect of any tax consequences, from its broker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial, tax or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee must contact such entity if it wishes to tender such Notes pursuant to the Offer. None of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers or the Tender Agent makes any recommendation whether Noteholders should tender Notes pursuant to the Offer.
OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS
The distribution of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement and/or the Tender Offer Memorandum comes are required by each of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers and the Tender Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum constitutes an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes (and tenders of Notes in the Offer will not be accepted from Noteholders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and either Dealer Manager or any of the Dealer Managers' respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Offer shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Offeror in such jurisdictions.
United States. The Offer is not being made, and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States. This includes, but is not limited to, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone, the internet and other forms of electronic communication. The Notes may not be tendered in the Offer by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility from or within the United States or by persons located or resident in the United States. Accordingly, copies of the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly mailed or otherwise transmitted, distributed or forwarded (including, without limitation, by custodians, nominees or trustees) in or into the United States or to any persons located or resident in the United States. Any purported tender of Notes in the Offer resulting directly or indirectly from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid and any purported tender of Notes made by, or by any person acting for the account or benefit of, a person located in the United States or any agent, fiduciary or other intermediary acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal giving instructions from within the United States will be invalid and will not be accepted.
Each Noteholder participating in the Offer will represent that it is not located in the United States and is not participating in the Offer from the United States or it is acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal located outside the United States that is not giving an order to participate in the Offer from the United States. For the purposes of this and the above paragraph, United States means the United States of America, its territories and possessions (including Puerto Rico, the U.S Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island and the Northern Mariana Islands), any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia.
Italy. None of the Offer, this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other document or materials relating to the Offer have been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offer is being carried out in the Republic of Italy (Italy) as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the Financial Services Act) and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended. Accordingly, Noteholders or beneficial owners of the Notes that are located in Italy can tender Notes for purchase through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of 15 February 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-à-vis its clients in connection with the Notes and/or the Offer.
United Kingdom. Each of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum has been issued by Santander UK plc of 2 Triton Square, Regent's Place, London NW1 3AN, United Kingdom, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Each of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum is being distributed only to existing Noteholders, and is only addressed to such existing Noteholders in the United Kingdom where they would (if they were clients of the Offeror) be per se professional clients or per se eligible counterparties of the Offeror within the meaning of the FCA rules. Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum is addressed to or directed at any persons who would be retail clients within the meaning of the FCA rules and any such persons should not act or rely on it. Recipients of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum should note that the Offeror is acting on its own account in relation to the Offer and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections which would be afforded to clients of the Offeror or for providing advice in relation to the Offer. In addition, the communication of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer is not being made and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to, and may only be acted upon by, those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the Financial Promotion Order)) or persons who are within Article 43 of the Financial Promotion Order, or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order.
France. The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France (France). This announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other document relating to the Offer have only been and shall only be distributed in France to qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum have been or will be submitted for clearance to or approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.