Fording receives favourable tax ruling
17 August 2005 - 2:03AM
PR Newswire (US)
CALGARY, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fording Canadian Coal
Trust (TSX: FDG.UN, NYSE: FDG) today announced that it has received
a favourable tax ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency that will
allow it to proceed with the reorganization approved by unitholders
at the Annual and Special Meeting held on May 4, 2005. The Trustees
of the Trust along with the Directors of Fording Inc. have
determined to proceed with the reorganization. As a result, Fording
Inc. will apply to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta for the
final order that is required before the reorganization can be
completed. The application for the final order approving the
reorganization will be heard at the Courthouse, 611 - 4th Street
S.W., Calgary, Alberta, at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, August 19, 2005. If
the Court issues the final order at the hearing, the closing of the
reorganization is expected to occur on or about August 24th, 2005.
In addition, the Trust will proceed with the three-for-one split of
its units as part of the reorganization, the timing of which is
dependent upon the closing of the reorganization. Once this is
established, the Trust will issue a news release advising of the
effective date of the split. As part of the reorganization, certain
amendments are required to be made to the form of the Amended and
Restated Declaration of Trust that was attached to the Management
Information Circular dated April 2, 2005. These amendments, which
do not significantly alter the intent or effect of the
reorganization, include the following: - the definition of
"Internal Reorganization" will be clarified to provide that an
internal reorganization is a reorganization of the Trust or its
assets that results in the Trust continuing to hold, directly or
indirectly, 100% of the equity and voting interest in, and 100% of
the assets of, Fording Limited Partnership or any successor
thereto; - a provision will be added to provide unitholders with
the right to approve material amendments to the governing documents
of Fording (GP) ULC, which is the managing general partner of
Fording LP; and - a provision will also be added to the Amended and
Restated Declaration of Trust to specifically permit the Trustees,
on behalf of the Trust, to guarantee or provide an indemnity in
connection with the debts and obligations of any of its affiliates
or the Elk Valley Coal Partnership and to secure any guarantee or
indemnity with property of the Trust. This amendment is required in
connection with the credit facilities that will be put in place
following completion of the reorganization and certain security
arrangements to be entered into in connection therewith. The final
form of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust will be filed
on SEDAR following completion of the reorganization. About Fording
Fording Canadian Coal Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust.
Through investments in metallurgical coal and industrial minerals
mining and processing operations, the Trust makes quarterly cash
distributions to unitholders. The Trust, through its wholly owned
subsidiary, Fording Inc., holds a 60% interest in the Elk Valley
Coal Partnership and is the world's largest producer of the
industrial mineral wollastonite. Elk Valley Coal Partnership,
comprised of Canada's senior metallurgical coal mining properties,
is the world's second largest exporter of metallurgical coal, and
expects to supply approximately 27 million tonnes of high-quality
coal products to the international steel industry in 2005. The
Trust's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
ticker symbol FDG.UN and on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol FDG. Forward-looking Information Certain information
included in this document is of a forward-looking nature.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks,
as well as uncertainties and other factors. Accordingly, actual
results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in
forward-looking information. Some of the risks, uncertainties and
other factors affecting Fording Canadian Coal Trust are discussed
in our public filings with the securities regulatory authorities in
Canada and the United States. Copies of Fording Canadian Coal
Trust's Canadian filings, including our most recent management
information circular, annual information form, annual report,
quarterly reports, material change reports and news releases, are
available online at http://www.sedar.com/, and copies of our U.S.
filings, including our most recent annual report on Form 40-F as
supplemented by filings on Form 6-K, are available at
http://www.sec.gov/. Information in this document is presented as
of August 16, 2005 and is subject to change after this date.
However, Fording Canadian Coal Trust disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
DATASOURCE: Fording Canadian Coal Trust CONTACT: Susan J.
Soprovich, Director, Investor Relations, (403) 260-9834; Catherine
Hart, Investor Relations Analyst, (403) 260-9817, Email: , Website:
http://www.fording.ca/
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