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
10 December
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)
SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT BECOMES
EFFECTIVE
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 (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").
The circular in relation to the
Scheme was published or made available to Tritax EuroBox
Shareholders on 28 October 2024 (the "Scheme Document"). Capitalised terms
used in this announcement shall, unless otherwise defined, have the
same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document. All references to
times in this announcement are to London, United Kingdom times
unless otherwise stated.
On 20 November 2024, Tritax EuroBox
announced that the requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders had
approved the Scheme at the Court Meeting and that the special
resolution to, among other things, implement the Scheme was passed
by the requisite majority of Tritax EuroBox Shareholders at the
General Meeting.
On 6 December 2024, Tritax EuroBox
announced that the Court had granted the Scheme Court Order
sanctioning the Scheme pursuant to which the Acquisition is being
implemented.
Tritax EuroBox and Bidco are pleased
to announce that, following the delivery of a copy of the Court
Order (together with a copy of the Scheme and all documents
required to be annexed thereto) to the Registrar of Companies
today, the Scheme has now become Effective in accordance with its
terms. Pursuant to the Scheme, the entire issued share capital of
Tritax EuroBox is now owned by Bidco.
Suspension and cancellation of listing to and trading of
Tritax EuroBox Shares
The listing of Tritax EuroBox Shares
on the Official List and admission to trading on the Main Market,
and therefore dealings in Tritax EuroBox Shares, were suspended
with effect from 7:30 a.m. today. As a result of the Scheme having
become Effective, share certificates in respect of the Scheme
Shares have ceased to be valid documents of title and entitlements
to the Scheme Shares held in uncertificated form in CREST are being
cancelled.
Applications have been made to the
Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange in
relation to the cancellation of the listing of Tritax Eurobox
Shares from the Official List and the cancellation of trading in
Tritax Eurobox Shares on the Main Market, both of which are
expected to take effect by no later than 8:00 a.m. on 11 December
2024.
As a result of this announcement,
Tritax EuroBox is no longer in an "Offer Period" as defined in the
City Code and accordingly the dealing disclosure requirements
previously notified to investors no longer apply.
Settlement of consideration
In accordance with the terms of the
Scheme, a Scheme Shareholder on Tritax EuroBox's register of
members at the Scheme Record Time, being 6:00 p.m. on 9 December
2024, will be entitled to receive 69.0 pence in cash for each
Scheme Share held.
Settlement of the Cash Consideration
to which Scheme Shareholders are entitled under the terms of the
Scheme will be effected in the manner set out in the Scheme
Document. As set out in the Scheme Document, settlement of the
consideration to which any Scheme Shareholder is entitled will be
effected by way of electronic payment or the dispatch of cheques or
the crediting of CREST accounts (for Scheme Shareholders holding
Scheme Shares in certificated form and in uncertificated form
respectively) as soon as practicable and in any event, no later
than 14 Days after the Effective Date (being 24 December
2024).
Board changes
As the Scheme has now become
Effective, Tritax EuroBox duly announces that, with effect from
today's date, Robert Orr, Sarah Whitney, Keith Mansfield, Taco de
Groot and Eva-Lotta Sjöstedt have tendered
their resignations and stepped down from the Tritax EuroBox Board.
Thomas Gatenby, Benedict Annable and Dan Benhamou have been
appointed as directors of Tritax EuroBox with effect from the
Scheme becoming Effective.
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 and the accompanying documents do 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.
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. In particular, the ability of
persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom to vote their
Tritax EuroBox Shares with respect to the Scheme at the Court
Meeting or the Resolution at the General Meeting, or to execute and
deliver Forms of Proxy appointing another person to vote at the
Court Meeting or the General Meeting on their behalf, may be
affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they
are located. 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 and the accompanying Forms of Proxy 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.
Financial information included in this announcement (or, if
the Acquisition is implemented by means of an Offer, the Offer
Document) has been or will be prepared in accordance with UK IFRS
and thus may not be comparable to financial information of US
companies or companies whose financial statements are prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the
United States. Generally accepted accounting principles in the
United States differ in certain significant respects from UK
IFRS.
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.
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.
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.