14 May 2019 07:00
Life Settlement Assets PLC
LEI: 2138003OL2VBXWG1BZ27
(the "Company" or "LSA")
Return of capital
The Company's announcement of results on 30th April 2019 explained that, in light of the very sizeable maturities notified since the year end, the Board was considering the most efficient way to return value to shareholders, once the proceeds from the policies had been collected and the requisite shareholder approvals had been obtained. The Board is, accordingly, pleased to announce that the bulk of the expected proceeds have been received and, conditional upon certain shareholder and court approvals, its proposals for the return of capital to A, D and E Ordinary Shareholders. The return of capital will be structured as follows:
- for A Ordinary Shareholders, a special dividend totalling US$2.5 million and a tender offer of up to US$10 million to be initiated after the payment of the special dividend, in each case to be financed out of distributable reserves created by the cancellation of the share premium account. The tender offer is expected to be priced at US $1.80 per A Ordinary Share and will be made available pro rata to eligible A Ordinary Shareholders with a facility to make excess applications to the extent that other A Ordinary Shareholders do not take up their entitlements. The terms of the tender offer will enable A Ordinary Shareholders as a whole to tender up to approximately 12.2 per cent of the outstanding A Ordinary Shares;
- for D Ordinary Shareholders, a special dividend totalling US$3.5 million and a share buyback programme of up to a maximum of US$0.5 million, in each case to be financed out of distributable reserves created on the cancellation of the share premium account; and
- for E Ordinary Shareholders, a special dividend totalling US$4.5 million to be paid and a share buyback programme of up to a maximum of US$0.5 million in each case to be financed out of distributable reserves created on the cancellation of the share premium account.
The amounts to be returned have been determined by the Board based on the cash available to each Share Class and taking into account the premium commitments required to preserve each Share Class's portfolio of policies and the uncertain timing and extent of future maturity receipts. In selecting the most appropriate methods to return cash to the A Ordinary shareholders, the Board has sought to balance the interests of selling and continuing shareholders by offering a combination of tender offer and dividend. In the case of the D and E Share Classes, the Board decided to return cash principally by dividend given the narrow ownership of these share classes; the relatively small share buy-back programme has been included to provide some stock market liquidity."
A circular to Shareholders containing details of the tender offer and notice of the necessary shareholder and A Ordinary Share class meeting will be posted in due course. A further announcement will also be issued in due course giving details of the timings for the various special dividend payments and associated record date.
Jean Medernach, Chairman of Life Settlement Assets said:
"I am very pleased to announce that subject to certain shareholder and court approvals, we will be able to return capital and make our maiden distribution to A, D and E Ordinary Shareholders following the very sizable maturities notified post our year end. As a company previously listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, we established a strong track record of returning capital to our shareholders and today's announcement continues this policy of distributing a substantial portion of the Company's funds to shareholders whilst maintaining appropriate levels of financial resources to fund premium payments and re-invest in the business to ensure continued growth."
Enquiries:
Acheron Capital Limited (Investment Manager)
Jean-Michel Paul
020 7258 5990
Shore Capital (Financial Adviser and Broker)
Robert Finlay
020 7601 6115
Maitland Administration Services Limited (Corporate Secretary)
George Bayer / Kerry Higgins
Tel: 01245 209780
TB Cardew (Financial PR)
Shan Shan Willenbrock
020 7930 0777