12 Apr 2018 16:45
Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited (the "Company")
12th April 2018
Net Asset Value, 29 March 2018
Net Asset Value, 5 April 2018
Ordinary Shares
As at the close of business on 29 March 2018, the Net Asset Value per GBP share of Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Limited was 139.9p (28 February 2018: 144.3p) or net assets of £152.7m (28 February 2018: £157.5m).
On 4 April 2018, the Company announced the return of £148.6m to shareholders via a compulsory redemption of 50% of the number of the shares in issue (with payment to be made on 17 April 2018).
As at the close of business on 5 April 2018, the Net Asset Value per remaining share in issue (which reflected the above Redemption) was 7.5p or net assets of £4.1m.
The 29 March 2018 and 5 April 2018 NAVs include a deduction for tax payable under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation, as referred to in the Company's announcement of 27 February 2018, but exclude tax that is potentially recoverable. It is still not clear how much of this will be recoverable, however, this amount is now estimated to be approximately US$2.5m. At current exchange rates this would equate to approx. 3.3p per GBP Share. Should this amount of tax be recovered this would result in an uplift to the NAV per remaining share in issue of approximately 3.3p, resulting in an estimated NAV per share of 10.8p as at 5 April 2018, although at this time, this amount cannot be guaranteed. It should be noted that the 28 February 2018 NAV did not include a deduction for tax payable under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation.
The timetable for liquidation will be dependent on how quickly the Company and its tax advisers can finalise its US tax filings and recover the tax withheld.
The transfer of the final investment has now been completed and the Company expects to announce details of a Second Compulsory Redemption shortly. As announced previously, this is expected to be followed by a Third Compulsory Redemption, in June, prior to the Company going into liquidation. Any further payments will then be made by the liquidator. No deduction has been made to any of the NAVs for any Liquidators retention.
As announced by the Company on 6 April 2018, the total number of Shares in issue is now 54,499,020, of which no Shares are held in treasury.
These Estimated NAVs have been prepared to reflect the sale of the Company's portfolio, approved by shareholders at the Company's EGM held on 27 February 2018, and expected known costs of the portfolio sale and Company wind down (including notice periods to service providers), however, Shareholders should be aware that this amount will fluctuate due to a number of factors including foreign exchange rates and does not take into account an extended liquidation process.
These estimated NAVs have been prepared in good faith by the Company's administrator and are for information purposes only. These Estimated NAVs have not been subjected to any independent verification or other due diligence and may not comply with generally accepted accounting practices or other generally accepted valuation principles. Other risk factors which may be relevant to these valuations are set out in the Company's Prospectus, dated 6th June 2007, and the Circular, dated 1 February 2018.
For further information, please contact:
Ipes (Guernsey) Limited
Nicholas Robilliard
T: +44 1481 735827