NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO
DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH
JURISDICTION
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 November
2024
RECOMMENDED CASH
ACQUISITION
of
Tritax EuroBox plc ("Tritax
EuroBox")
by
Titanium Ruth Bidco Limited
("Bidco")
(a newly formed company
indirectly owned by one of Brookfield's real estate private
funds)
Results of the Court Meeting
and the General Meeting
On 10 October 2024, the boards of
directors of Tritax EuroBox and Bidco announced that they had
reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash
acquisition by Bidco of the entire issued, and to be issued,
ordinary share capital of Tritax EuroBox at
a price of 69.0 pence per Tritax EuroBox Share (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition
is being implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the
Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme").
Tritax EuroBox is pleased to announce
that, at the Court Meeting and General Meeting held earlier today
in connection with the Acquisition:
·
the requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders
voted (in person or by proxy) to approve the Scheme at the Court
Meeting; and
·
the requisite majority of Tritax EuroBox
Shareholders voted (in person or by proxy) to pass the Resolution
to implement the Scheme, including the amendment to Tritax
EuroBox's articles of association at the General
Meeting.
Full details of the resolutions
passed are set out in the notices of the Court Meeting and General
Meeting contained in the scheme document in
relation to the Scheme posted to Tritax
EuroBox Shareholders on 28 October 2024
(the "Scheme
Document") at Part 10 and Part 11
respectively.
Capitalised terms used and not
defined in this document have the meanings given to them in the
Scheme Document. All references to times are to times in London
unless otherwise stated.
Voting results at the Court Meeting
The table below sets out the results
of the poll at the Court Meeting. Each Scheme Shareholder present
(in person or by proxy) was entitled to one vote per Scheme Share
held at the Voting Record Time. In summary:
· the
requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders present and
voting (in person
or by proxy), being a majority in number of Scheme Shareholders
present and voting (either in person or by proxy) voted in favour
of the Scheme at the Court Meeting; and
· they
represent not less than 75 per cent. in
value of the Scheme Shares held by such Scheme
Shareholders.
|
Number of Scheme Shareholders who voted*
|
Percentage of Scheme Shareholders who voted*
**
|
Number of Scheme Shares voted
|
Percentage of Scheme Shares voted**
|
Number of Scheme Shares voted as a percentage of the issued
share capital entitled to vote on the Scheme**
|
|
FOR
|
155
|
95.68
|
252,894,038
|
91.69
|
31.35
|
|
AGAINST
|
13
|
8.02
|
22,933,567
|
8.31
|
2.84
|
|
TOTAL
|
162
|
103.70
|
275,827,605
|
100.00
|
34.19
|
|
Notes:
* Where a Scheme Shareholder
cast some of their votes 'for' and some of their votes 'against'
the resolution, such Scheme Shareholder has been counted as having
voted both 'for' and 'against' the resolution for the purposes of
determining the number and percentage of Scheme Shareholders who
voted.
** All percentages have been
rounded down to the nearest two decimal places.
|
Voting results at the General Meeting
The results of the votes at the
General Meeting were as follows. Each Tritax EuroBox Shareholder
present (in person or by proxy) was entitled to one vote per Tritax
EuroBox Share held at the Voting Record Time:
Resolution
|
VOTES
FOR
|
%*
|
VOTES
AGAINST
|
%*
|
VOTES
TOTAL
|
% of ISC
VOTED*
|
VOTES
WITHHELD**
|
Approval of
the implementation of the Scheme, including the amendment of Tritax
EuroBox's Articles
|
253,671,413
|
91.15
|
24,635,476
|
8.85
|
278,306,889
|
34.49
|
226,684
|
Notes:
* All percentages have been
rounded to the nearest two decimal places.
** A vote withheld is not a
vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion
of votes 'for' or 'against' the Resolution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
The total number of Tritax EuroBox
Shares in issue at the Voting Record Time was 806,803,984.
Consequently, the total number of voting rights in Tritax EuroBox
at the Voting Record Time was 806,803,984.
Next
steps and timetable
The outcome of today's Court Meeting
and General Meeting means Conditions (b)(i) and (b)(ii) (as set out
in Part A of Part 4 of the Scheme Document) hav been
satisfied.
Completion of the Acquisition remains
subject to the satisfaction (or, where applicable, waiver) of the
remaining Conditions set out in the Scheme Document, including the
sanction of the Scheme by the Court at the Scheme Court Hearing,
which is expected to take place on 6 December 2024.
Tritax EuroBox expects that, subject
to the satisfaction (or, where applicable, waiver) of the
Conditions, the Scheme will become Effective on 10 December
2024.
It is intended that dealings in
Tritax EuroBox Shares will be suspended with effect from 7.30 a.m.
on 10 December 2024. No transfers of Tritax EuroBox Shares will be
registered after 7.30 a.m. on that date.
It is intended that, subject to the
Scheme having become Effective, the cancellation of admission to
trading of the Tritax EuroBox Shares on the Main Market, and the
cancellation of listing to the Financial Conduct Authority of the
Tritax EuroBox Shares on the Official List, will take effect by no
later than 8.00 a.m. on 11 December 2024.
Save as set out above, the expected
timetable of principal events for the implementation of the Scheme
remains as set out on page 9 of the Scheme Document. If any of the
dates and/or times in the expected timetable change, the revised
dates and/or times will be notified by announcement through a
Regulatory Information Service.
A copy of the Resolution passed at
the General Meeting will be available for inspection on the Tritax
EuroBox website at
https://www.tritaxeurobox.co.uk/investors/shareholder-information/brookfield-offer/
and on Bidco's website at www.public-documents.co.uk.
The Resolution will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism
where it will be available at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
Enquiries
Tritax
EuroBox
|
+44 (0) 20
7290 1616
|
Robert Orr
(Chair)
Phil
Redding (CEO)
Mehdi
Bourassi (CFO)
Charles
Chalkly (Director of Investor Relations)
|
|
Lazard (Lead Financial
Adviser to Tritax EuroBox)
|
+44 (0) 20
7187 2000
|
Patrick
Long
Jolyon
Coates
Sebastian
O'Shea-Farren
|
|
Barclays (Joint Financial Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker
to Tritax EuroBox)
|
+44 (0) 20
7623 2323
|
Bronson Albery
Tom Macdonald
Callum West
|
|
Jefferies (Joint Financial
Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker to Tritax
EuroBox)
|
+44 (0) 20
7029 8000
|
Rishi
Bhuchar
Ed
Matthews
Gaudi Le
Roux
|
|
Kekst CNC (PR Adviser to
Tritax EuroBox)
|
|
Richard
Campbell
Guy
Bates
Tom
Climie
|
+44 (0)
7775 784 933
+44 (0)
7581 056 415
+44 (0)
7760 160 248
|
Brookfield
|
|
John
Hamlin
Marie
Fuller
|
+44 (0)
7436 054 717
+44 (0) 20
7408 8375
|
Citi (Financial Adviser to
Bidco and Brookfield)
|
+44 (0) 20
7986 4000
|
James Ibbotson
Bogdan
Melaniuc
James
Carton
|
|
Important notices
You
should read this announcement and the Scheme Document and if you
are in any doubt as to the Acquisition or the action you should
take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial
advice immediately from your stockbroker, solicitor, accountant,
bank manager or other independent financial adviser duly authorised
under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if
you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if you are not so
resident, from another appropriately authorised independent
financial adviser.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of an offer
or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities, or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, whether pursuant to
this announcement or otherwise, in any jurisdiction in which such
offer, invitation or solicitation is or would be
unlawful.
This announcement does not comprise a prospectus or a
prospectus equivalent document or an exempted
document.
The
contents of this announcement do not amount to, and should not be
construed as, legal, tax, business or financial
advice.
The
statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date
of this announcement, unless some other date is specified in
relation to them, and publication of this announcement shall not
give rise to any implication that there has been no change in the
facts set forth in this announcement since such
date.
The
Acquisition will be subject to English law, the jurisdiction of the
Court and the applicable requirements of the City Code, the Panel,
the London Stock Exchange, the FCA, the Listing Rules and the
Registrar of Companies.
Lazard & Co., Limited ("Lazard"), which is authorised and
regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively
as financial adviser for Tritax EuroBox and for no one else in
connection with the Acquisition and the matters described in this
announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than
Tritax EuroBox for providing the protections afforded to clients of
Lazard or for providing advice in connection with the Acquisition
or any matter described in this announcement. Neither Lazard nor
any of its affiliates (nor their respective directors, officers,
employees or agents) owes or accepts any duty, liability or
responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in
contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is
not a client of Lazard in connection with this announcement, any
statement contained herein, the Acquisition or
otherwise.
Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its Investment Bank
("Barclays"), which is
authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the
United Kingdom, is acting exclusively as financial adviser for
Tritax EuroBox and for no one else in connection with the
Acquisition and the matters described in this announcement and will
not be responsible to anyone other than Tritax EuroBox for
providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing
advice in connection with the Acquisition or the matters described
in this announcement. In accordance with the City Code, normal
United Kingdom market practice and Rule 14e-5(b) of the US Exchange
Act, Barclays and its affiliates will continue to act as exempt
principal trader in Tritax EuroBox and SEGRO securities on the
London Stock Exchange. These purchases and activities by exempt
principal traders which are required to be made public in the
United Kingdom pursuant to the City Code will be reported to a
Regulatory Information Service and will be available on the London
Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com. This
information will also be publicly disclosed in the United States to
the extent that such information is made public in the United
Kingdom.
Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), which is authorised and
regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively
as financial adviser for Tritax EuroBox and for no one else in
connection with the Acquisition and the matters described in this
announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than
Tritax EuroBox for providing the protections afforded to its
clients or for providing advice in connection with the Acquisition
or the matters described in this announcement. Neither Jefferies
nor any of its affiliates (nor their respective directors,
officers, employees or agents) owes or accepts any duty, liability
or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, in
contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is
not a client of Jefferies in connection with this announcement, any
statement contained herein, the Acquisition or
otherwise.
Citigroup Global Markets Limited ("Citi"), which is authorised by the PRA
and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom, is
acting exclusively as financial adviser to Bidco and Brookfield and
no one else in connection with the Acquisition and the matters set
out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone
other than Bidco and Brookfield for providing the protections
afforded to clients of Citi nor for providing advice in relation to
the matters set out in this announcement. Neither Citi nor any of
its affiliates, directors or employees owes or accepts any duty,
liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect,
whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any
person who is not a client of Citi in connection with this
announcement, the Acquisition, any statement contained herein or
otherwise.
Overseas
jurisdictions
The
release, publication or distribution of this announcement and any
formal documentation relating to the Acquisition in, into or from
jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by
law and/or regulation and therefore any persons who are subject to
the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should
inform themselves about and observe any applicable legal or
regulatory requirements. Any failure to comply with the applicable
restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of
any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by
applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the
Acquisition disclaim any responsibility or liability for the
violation of such restrictions by any person.
This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of
complying with English law and the City Code and the information
disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been
disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with
the laws of jurisdictions outside the United
Kingdom.
All
Tritax EuroBox Shareholders or other persons (including nominees,
trustees and custodians) who would otherwise intend to or may have
a contractual or legal obligation to forward this announcement to a
jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom should refrain from doing
so and seek appropriate professional advice before taking any
action.
Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders are
included in the Scheme Document (or, if the Acquisition is
implemented by way of an Offer, will be included in the Offer
Document).
US
investors
Tritax EuroBox Shareholders in the United States should note
that the Acquisition relates to the shares of an English company
with a listing on the London Stock Exchange and is proposed to be
implemented pursuant to a scheme of arrangement provided for under
English company law. A transaction effected by means of a scheme of
arrangement is not subject to the proxy solicitation or the tender
offer rules under the US Exchange Act. Accordingly, the Acquisition
is subject to the procedural and disclosure requirements, rules and
practices applicable in the United Kingdom to schemes of
arrangement involving a target company incorporated in England and
listed on the London Stock Exchange, which differ from the
requirements of US proxy solicitation or tender offer
rules.
However if, in the future, Bidco elects, with the consent of
the Panel (where necessary), to implement the Acquisition by means
of an Offer and determines to extend such Offer into the United
States, such Offer will be made in compliance with all applicable
laws and regulations, including, without limitation, to the extent
applicable, Section 14(e) of the US Exchange Act and Regulation
14E. Such Offer would be made by Bidco (or its affiliate) and no
one else.
In
accordance with normal UK practice and pursuant to Rule 14e-5(b)
under the US Exchange Act (if applicable), Bidco, certain
affiliated companies and their nominees or brokers (acting as
agents) may from time to time make certain purchases of, or
arrangements to purchase, shares in Tritax EuroBox other than
pursuant to the Acquisition, until the date on which the
Acquisition becomes Effective, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn.
Also, in accordance with Rule 14e-5(b) under the US Exchange Act
(if applicable), Barclays and its affiliates will continue to act
as exempt principal trader in Tritax EuroBox Shares on the London
Stock Exchange. If such purchases or arrangements to purchase were
to be made, they would occur either in the open market at
prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices
and would comply with applicable law, including the US Exchange
Act. Any information about such purchases will be disclosed as
required in the United Kingdom, will be reported to a Regulatory
Information Service of the FCA and will be available on the London
Stock Exchange website:
www.londonstockexchange.com.
It
may be difficult for US holders of Tritax EuroBox Shares to enforce
their rights and claims arising out of the US federal securities
laws, since Bidco and Tritax EuroBox are each organised in
countries other than the United States, and some or all of their
officers and directors may be residents of, and some or all of
their assets may be located in, jurisdictions other than the United
States. US holders of Tritax EuroBox Shares may have difficulty
effecting service of process within the United States upon those
persons or recovering against judgments of US courts, including
judgments based upon the civil liability provisions of the US
federal securities laws. US holders of Tritax EuroBox Shares may
not be able to sue a non-US company or its officers or directors in
a non-US court for violations of US securities laws. Further, it
may be difficult to compel a non-US company and its affiliates to
subject themselves to a US court's jurisdiction or
judgment.
The
receipt of consideration pursuant to the Acquisition by a Tritax
EuroBox Shareholder may be a taxable transaction for US federal
income tax purposes, and may also be a taxable transaction under
applicable state and local tax laws, as well as foreign and other
tax laws. Each Tritax EuroBox Shareholder is urged to consult its
independent professional adviser immediately regarding the tax
consequences of the Acquisition.
Forward-looking
statements
This announcement (including information incorporated by
reference into this announcement), oral statements regarding the
Acquisition and other information published by Bidco and Tritax
EuroBox contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to
the financial condition, strategies, objectives, results of
operations and business of Tritax EuroBox and its group and certain
plans and objectives of Bidco with respect thereto. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they
do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking
statements are prospective in nature and are not based on
historical facts, but rather on current expectations and
projections of the management of Bidco and Tritax EuroBox about
future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially from the
future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement include statements relating to the expected effects of
the Acquisition on Bidco and Tritax EuroBox, the expected timing
and scope of the Acquisition and other statements other than
historical facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such
as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan",
"goal", "believe", "hope", "aims", "continue", "will", "may",
"should", "would", "could", or other words of similar meaning.
These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by
Bidco and/or Tritax EuroBox in light of their experience and their
perception of historical trends, current conditions, future
developments and other factors they believe appropriate. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty,
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that are
expected to occur in the future and the factors described in the
context of such forward-looking statements in this announcement
could cause actual results and developments to differ materially
from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Although it is believed that the expectations reflected
in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can
be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and
readers are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements.
There are several factors which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in
forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements are changes in global, political,
economic, business and/or competitive conditions, market and
regulatory forces, future exchange and interest rates, changes in
tax rates and future business combinations or
dispositions.
Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of
this announcement. Neither Bidco nor Tritax EuroBox, nor their
respective groups, assumes any obligation to update or correct the
information contained in this announcement (whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise), except as required by
applicable law or by the rules of any competent regulatory
authority.
No profit forecasts or
estimates or Quantified Financial Benefits
Statements
No
statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or
estimate for any period or a quantified financial benefits
statement and no statement in this document should be interpreted
to mean that earnings or earnings per share or dividend per share
for Tritax EuroBox for the current or future financial periods
would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings
or earnings per share or dividend per share for Tritax
EuroBox.
Dealing and Opening Position
Disclosure Requirements of the City Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the City Code, any person who is
interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant
securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange
offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of
which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be,
solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following
the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the
announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first
identified.
An
Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's
interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any
relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any
securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a
person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than
3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th Business Day (as defined in the
City Code) following the commencement of the offer period and, if
appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th
Business Day (as defined in the City Code) following the
announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first
identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of
the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to
the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead
make a Dealing Disclosure.
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the City Code, any person who is, or
becomes, interested in one per cent. or more of any class of
relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities
exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals
in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any
securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain
details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and
short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant
securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any
securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these
details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing
Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by
no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the Business Day (as
defined in the City Code) following the date of the relevant
dealing. If two or more persons act together pursuant to an
agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire
or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company
or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a
single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.
Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree
company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be
made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons
acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).
Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose
relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing
Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on
the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including
details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the
offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified.
You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 20
7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to
make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing
Disclosure.
Publication on
website
A
copy of this announcement and the documents required to be
published pursuant to Rules 26.1, 26.2 and 26.3 of the City Code
will be available, subject to certain restrictions relating to
persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, for inspection on
Tritax EuroBox's website at
https://www.tritaxeurobox.co.uk/investors/shareholder-information/brookfield-offer/
and on Bidco's website at www.public-documents.co.uk by no later than 12 noon
(London time) on the Business Day following the publication of this
announcement.
Save as expressly referred to in this announcement, neither
the contents of these websites nor the content of any other website
accessible from hyperlinks on such websites is incorporated into,
or forms part of, this announcement.
General
If
you are in any doubt about the contents of this announcement or the
action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own
independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker,
bank manager, solicitor or independent financial adviser duly
authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as
amended) if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from
another appropriate authorised independent financial
adviser.
Scheme
process
In
accordance with Section 5 of Appendix 7 to the City Code, Tritax
EuroBox or Bidco (as applicable) will announce through a Regulatory
Information Service key events in the Scheme process including the
outcome of the Scheme Court Hearing and that the Scheme has become
Effective.