Last checked at 21 Jun 2021 10:42
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Yorkshire Building Society announces Tender Offers in respect of its €750,000,000 1.250 per cent. Notes due 2022 (ISIN: XS1203856072) and €500,000,000 0.875 per cent. Notes due 2023 (ISIN: XS1793287472) and proposed issue of new notes
21 June 2021. Yorkshire Building Society (the Society) announces today invitations to eligible holders of its outstanding €750,000,000 1.250 per cent. Notes due 2022 (ISIN: XS1203856072) (the 2022 Notes) and €500,000,000 0.875 per cent. Notes due 2023 (ISIN: XS1793287472) (the 2023 Notes) (each, a Series and together, the Notes) to tender any and all of their Notes for purchase by the Society for cash (each such invitation, an Offer and together, the Offers), subject to the satisfaction of the New Financing Condition (as defined below).
The Offers are being made on the terms and subject to the conditions (including the New Financing Condition) contained in a tender offer memorandum dated 21 June 2021 (the Tender Offer Memorandum) prepared by the Society, 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 and Information Agent as set out below. Capitalised terms used in this announcement but not defined herein have the meanings given to them in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Summary of the Offers
Descriptionof the Notes | ISIN / Common Code | Outstanding Nominal Amount | Purchase Yield* | Amount subjectto the relevant Offer |
1.250 per cent. Notes due 2022 | XS1203856072 / 120385607 | €500,000,000 | -0.50 per cent. | Any and all |
0.875 per cent. Notes due 2023 | XS1793287472 / 179328747 | €500,000,000 | -0.50 per cent. |
* For information purposes only, the Purchase Price in respect of each Series will, when determined in the manner described in the Tender Offer Memorandum on the basis of a Settlement Date of 1 July 2021, be €1,012.47 per €1,000 in nominal amount of the 2022 Notes and €1,023.79 per €1,000 in nominal amount of the 2023 Notes. Should the Settlement Date in respect of any 2022 Notes or 2023 Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the relevant Offer differ from 1 July 2021, the relevant Purchase Price will be recalculated, all as further described in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Rationale for the Offers
The purpose of the Offers is to provide liquidity to holders and they are being made as part of the Society's active management of its liability profile whilst issuing New Notes (as defined below). The Society will continue to manage its outstanding liabilities for value, including but not limited to economic considerations, current and future regulatory value, relative funding cost, rating agency considerations, regulatory developments and having regard to the prevailing circumstances at the relevant time.
Notes purchased by the Society pursuant to the Offers are expected to be cancelled and will not be re-issued or re-sold. Notes which have not been validly submitted and/or accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offers will remain outstanding.
Purchase Prices and Accrued Interest
The Society will pay for each €1,000 in nominal amount of each Series of Notes accepted by it for purchase pursuant to the relevant Offer a price (rounded to the nearest €0.01, with €0.005 rounded upwards) (each, a Purchase Price and together, the Purchase Prices) which will be determined in the manner described in the Tender Offer Memorandum by reference to the Purchase Yield as set out in the table on the cover page of the Tender Offer Memorandum.
For information purposes only, the Purchase Price in respect of each Series will, when determined in the manner described in the Tender Offer Memorandum on the basis of a Settlement Date of 1 July 2021, be €1,012.47 per €1,000 in nominal amount of the 2022 Notes and €1,023.79 per €1,000 in nominal amount of the 2023 Notes. Should the Settlement Date in respect of any 2022 Notes or 2023 Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the relevant Offer differ from 1 July 2021, the relevant Purchase Price will be recalculated, all as further described in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
The calculation of the relevant Purchase Price will be determined by the Society in its sole and absolute discretion (in consultation with the Dealer Managers) and such calculation will be final and binding on the relevant Noteholders, absent manifest error.
The Society will also pay an Accrued Interest Payment in respect of Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offers.
New Financing Condition
The Society announced on 21 June 2021 its intention to issue new euro-denominated senior preferred notes (the New Notes). Whether the Society will accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered in the relevant Offer and complete the relevant Offer is subject, without limitation, to the successful completion (in the sole determination of the Society) of the issue of the New Notes (the New Financing Condition).
The Society is not under any obligation to accept for purchase any Notes tendered pursuant to the relevant Offer. The acceptance for purchase by the Society of Notes tendered pursuant to the relevant Offer is at the sole discretion of the Society and tenders may be rejected by the Society for any reason.
Allocation of the New Notes
When considering allocation of the New Notes, the Society may give preference to those Noteholders who, prior to such allocation, have validly tendered (or, if the New Issue Pricing Time occurs prior to the Expiration Deadline, have given a firm indication to the Society or any Dealer Manager that they intend to tender) their Notes pursuant to the relevant Offer(s). Therefore, a Noteholder who wishes to subscribe for New Notes in addition to tendering its Notes for purchase pursuant to the relevant Offer(s) may be eligible to receive, at the sole and absolute discretion of the Society, priority in the allocation of the New Notes, subject to the issue of the New Notes and such Noteholder making a separate application for the purchase of such New Notes to a Dealer Manager (in its capacity as a joint lead manager of the issue of the New Notes) in accordance with the standard new issue procedures of such joint lead manager. However, the Society is not obliged to allocate the New Notes to a Noteholder who has validly tendered or indicated a firm intention to tender the Notes pursuant to the relevant Offer(s) and, if New Notes are allocated, the nominal amount thereof may be less or more than the nominal amount of Notes tendered by such holder and accepted by the Society pursuant to such Offer(s).
All allocations of the New Notes, while being considered by the Society as set out above, will be made in accordance with customary new issue allocation processes and procedures. In the event that a Noteholder validly tenders Notes pursuant to an Offer, such Notes will remain subject to such tender and the conditions of such Offer as set out in this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum irrespective of whether that Noteholder receives all, part or none of any allocation of New Notes for which it has applied.
Tender Instructions
In order to participate in, and be eligible to receive the relevant Purchase Price and the relevant Accrued Interest Payment pursuant to, the Offers, 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 and Information Agent by 4.00 p.m. (London time) on 28 June 2021 (unless extended, re-opened, amended and/or terminated as provided in the Tender Offer Memorandum) (the Expiration Deadline).
Tender Instructions will be irrevocable except in the limited circumstances described in "Amendment and Termination" in the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Tender Instructions must be submitted in respect of a minimum nominal amount of Notes of each Series of no less than €100,000, being the minimum denomination of the Notes of each Series, and may be submitted in integral multiples of €1,000 thereafter.
Indicative timetable for the Offers
The following sets out the expected times and dates of the key events relating to the Offers. The times and dates below are indicative only and subject to change.
Events | Times and Dates (All times are London time) |
Commencement of the Offers Announcement of Offers. Tender Offer Memorandum available from the Tender and Information Agent. Commencement of the tender offer period. |
21 June 2021 |
Expiration Deadline* Final deadline for receipt of valid Tender Instructions by the Tender and Information Agent in order for Noteholders to be able to participate in the Offers. |
4.00 p.m. on 28 June 2021 |
Announcement of Results Announcement of (i) whether the Society will accept (subject to satisfaction or waiver of the New Financing Condition on or prior to the Settlement Date) valid tenders of Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offers and, if so accepted, (ii) the aggregate nominal amount of the Notes of each Series accepted for purchase and (iii) the relevant Purchase Price. |
At or around 10.00 a.m. on 29 June 2021 |
Settlement Date Subject to satisfaction or waiver of the New Financing Condition on or prior to such date, payment of the relevant Purchase Price and the relevant Accrued Interest Payment in respect of the relevant Notes accepted for purchase. |
1 July 2021 |
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* Noteholders should note that the New Issue Pricing Time may fall prior to or after the Expiration Deadline.
The Society may, in its sole discretion, extend, re-open, amend, waive any condition of or terminate one or both Offers 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 Society to so extend, re-open, amend and/or terminate one or both Offers.
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, an Offer before the deadlines specified in this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum. The deadlines set by any such intermediary and each Clearing System for the submission of Tender Instructions will be earlier than the relevant deadlines specified above. For further information, see the section "Procedures for Participating in the Offers" of the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Announcements
Unless stated otherwise, announcements in connection with the Offers will be made by the Society by (i) publication through RNS; and (ii) the delivery of notices to the Clearing Systems for communication to Direct Participants. Such announcements may also be made (a) on the relevant Reuters Insider Screen and/or (b) by the issue of a press release to a Notifying News Service. Copies of all such announcements, press releases and notices can also be obtained upon request from the Tender and Information Agent, the contact details for which are set out below. Significant delays may be experienced where notices are delivered to the Clearing Systems and Noteholders are urged to contact the Tender and Information Agent for the relevant announcements during the course of the Offers. 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 Offers.
Further information
Questions and requests for assistance in connection with (i) the Offers may be directed to the Dealer Managers, and (ii) the delivery of Tender Instructions may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent, the contact details for which are set out below:
DEALER MANAGERS
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TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT | ||||
Lucid Issuer Services Limited Tankerton Works 12 Argyle Walk London WC1H 8HA United Kingdom Telephone: +44 20 7704 0880 Attention: Arlind Bytyqi Email: ybs@lucid-is.com |
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION
This announcement is released by Yorkshire Building Society and contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law in the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the EUWA) (UK MAR), encompassing information relating to the Offers and proposed new issue of Notes 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 in the United Kingdom by virtue of the EUWA, this announcement is made by Duncan Asker, Director of Treasury of Yorkshire Building Society.
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 an Offer. If any Noteholder is in any doubt as to the contents of the Tender Offer Memorandum or 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 an Offer. None of the Society, the Dealer Managers or the Tender and Information Agent or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, advisers or affiliates has made or will make any assessment of the merits and risks of the Offers or of the impact of the Offers on the interests of Noteholders either as a class or individuals, and none of them makes any recommendation whether Noteholders should tender Notes pursuant to the Offers. None of the Society, the Dealer Managers or the Tender and Information Agent (or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, advisers or affiliates) is providing Noteholders with any legal, business, tax, financial, investment, accounting or other advice in this announcement and/or the Tender Offer Memorandum and/or in connection with the Offers. Noteholders should consult with their own advisers as they consider appropriate to assist them in taking decisions with respect to an Offer, including to determine whether they are legally permitted to tender Notes pursuant to an Offer.
OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS
This announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum do not constitute an invitation to participate in the Offers in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. 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 the Tender Offer Memorandum comes are required by each of the Society, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.
No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction in relation to the New Notes that would permit a public offering of securities and the minimum denomination of the New Notes will be €100,000 and integral multiples of €1,000.
United States: The Offers are 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 Offers 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 this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers 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 an 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.
Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum is an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, any Notes or other securities in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the Securities Act. The New Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, any U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S of the Securities Act).
Each holder of Notes participating in the relevant Offer will represent that it is not located in the United States and it is not participating in such 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 such Offer from the United States. For the purposes of this and the above two paragraphs, United States means the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia.
Italy: None of the Offers, this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers has been or will be submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offers are 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. Noteholders or beneficial owners of the Notes that are located in Italy may tender their Notes in the Offers 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 Offers.
United Kingdom: This announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum have been issued by Yorkshire Building Society of Yorkshire House, Yorkshire Drive, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD5 8LJ, United Kingdom, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the PRA) and regulated by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA). This announcement is directed, and the Tender Offer Memorandum is being distributed, only to existing holders of the Notes, and is only addressed to such existing holders in the United Kingdom where they would (if they were clients of the Society) be per se professional clients or per se eligible counterparties of the Society 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 Society is acting on its own account in relation to the Offers and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections which would be afforded to clients of the Society or for providing advice in relation to the Offers.
In addition, the communication of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers 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, as amended. 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 (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 (together, relevant persons). Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons (and is subject to other restrictions referred to in the Financial Promotion Order).
France: The Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement and any other document or material relating to the Offers have only been and shall only be distributed in France to qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. The Tender Offer Memorandum and this announcement have not been nor will they be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
Belgium: Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor financiële diensten en markten / Autorité des services et marchés financiers) and, accordingly, the Offers may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of the Belgian Law of 1 April 2007 on public takeover bids as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offers may not be advertised and the Offers will not be extended, and neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Law of 16 June 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets, acting on their own account. Insofar as Belgium is concerned, this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum have been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium.
Switzerland: None of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement or any other offering or marketing material relating to the Notes constitutes a prospectus as such term is understood pursuant to article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange or any other regulated trading facility in Switzerland.
None of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement or any other offering or marketing material relating to the Notes have been, or will be, filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority.
None of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement or any other offering or marketing material relating to the Notes may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland. This Tender Offer Memorandum is personal to the recipient only and not for general circulation in Switzerland.
General: Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum constitutes an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes (and tenders of Notes in the Offers 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 an Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and any Dealer Manager or any of its respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, such Offer shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Society in such jurisdiction.
New Notes: Any investment decision to purchase any New Notes should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the in the base prospectus dated 28 May 2021 in connection with the Society's £5,000,000,000 Note Programme (the Prospectus) and the final terms in respect of the New Notes, pursuant to which the New Notes are intended to be issued, and no reliance is to be placed on any representations other than those contained in the Prospectus. Subject to compliance with all applicable securities laws and regulations, the Prospectus is expected to be available from the joint lead managers for the new issue on request. The New Notes are not being, and will not be, offered or sold in the United States. Securities may not be offered, sold or delivered in the United States absent registration under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). The New Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act).
Compliance information for the New Notes: MiFID II and UK MiFIR product governance - eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). PRIIPs Regulation and UK PRIIPs Regulation - no sales to EEA or UK retail investors; no key information document has been or will be prepared.