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 OR
REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE
INFORMATION
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 March
2024
RECOMMENDED ALL-SHARE
MERGER
OF
ABRDN PROPERTY INCOME TRUST
LIMITED
with
CUSTODIAN PROPERTY INCOME
REIT PLC
Results of Court Meeting and
General Meeting held on 27 March 2024
On 14 March 2024, the Board
of abrdn Property Income Trust Limited
("API") provided an update regarding its assessment of the recommended
all-share merger with Custodian Property Income REIT ("CREI") (the "CREI Merger") and the proposal from
Urban Logistics REIT plc ("Urban
Logistics") in the context of all of the strategic options
available to API, including a managed wind-down ("Managed Wind-Down").
The API Board reiterated its
recommendation that API Shareholders vote in favour of the CREI
Merger. It also confirmed that it intended to pursue a Managed
Wind-Down in the event that the CREI Merger were not approved by
the requisite majorities of API Shareholders, being 75% by value of
API Shares voted at both the API Court Meeting and API General
Meeting, and a majority in number of API Shareholders voting at the
API Court Meeting.
The API Court Meeting and API
General Meeting were adjourned to 27 March 2024, and accordingly
the meetings were convened earlier today. The total votes in favour
of the resolutions to implement the CREI Merger were 60.79% of API
Shares voted at the Court Meeting and 61.37% of API Shares voted at
the General Meeting, and 86.15% by number of API Shareholders who
voted at the Court Meeting.
The proportions of API Shares voting
in favour were below the minimum threshold needed to approve the
resolutions. As such the CREI Merger has been terminated, the
scheme of arrangement implementing the CREI Merger has lapsed and
API is no longer in an offer period as defined by the City Code on
Takeovers and Mergers.
Further to its announcements of 14
March 2024 and 20 March 2024, the API Board will now take steps to
implement a Managed Wind-Down subject to the approval of API
Shareholders at a general meeting. More information on this process
will be set out in due course.
James Clifton-Brown, Chair of API, said:
"The API Board independently elected to undertake a
comprehensive review of API's strategic options which resulted in a
number of opportunities to deliver an uplift in value for API
Shareholders.
While the CREI Merger gained the support of 61% by value of
API Shareholders voting and approximately 79% by number, the former
falls short of the 75% threshold required.
In
view of these results and the challenges that API would continue to
experience as a standalone company, the API Board will now take
steps to implement a Managed Wind-Down, subject to API Shareholder
approval, building upon the work already undertaken by the API
Board and the company's investment manager and advisers, with the
objective of delivering enhanced returns for API
Shareholders."
Voting results of the Court Meeting
The table below sets out the results
of the poll at the Court Meeting:
|
Number of Scheme Shares
voted
|
% of Scheme Shares voted*
|
Number of Scheme Shareholders who
voted
|
% of Scheme Shareholders who
voted*
|
Number of Scheme Shares voted as a %
of the issued share capital entitled to vote on the
Scheme*
|
For
|
83,759,264
|
60.79
|
112**
|
78.87**
|
21.97
|
Against
|
54,017,583
|
39.21
|
30**
|
21.13**
|
14.17
|
Total
|
137,776,847
|
100
|
142**
|
100**
|
36.14
|
*
All percentages rounded to two decimal places.
**
Where Scheme Shareholders submitted split votes, each such Scheme
Shareholder has been counted as one Scheme Shareholder voting for
the resolution and one Scheme Shareholder voting against the
resolution.
Voting results of the General
Meeting
The table below sets out the results
of the poll at the General Meeting:
|
Number of API Shares voted
***
|
% of API Shares voted*
|
Number of
API Shares voted as a % of the issued ordinary share capital
*
|
For
|
86,255,613
|
61.37
|
22.63
|
Against
|
54,299,484
|
38.63
|
14.24
|
Withheld**
|
276,308
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
140,555,097
|
100
|
36.87
|
* All percentages rounded to 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 special resolution.
*** Includes discretionary
votes.
General
The total number of API Shares in
issue (other than shares held in treasury) at the Voting Record
Time was 381,218,977. Consequently, the total voting rights in API
at the Voting Record Time were 381,218,977. Scheme Shareholders
were entitled to one vote per Scheme Share held at the Voting
Record Time at the Court Meeting and API Shareholders were entitled
to one vote per API Share held at the Voting Record Time at the
General Meeting.
Capitalised terms in this
announcement, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as
set out in the Scheme Document.
Enquiries
abrdn Property Income Trust (API)
James Clifton-Brown
(Chair)
|
via Winterflood or
H/Advisors Maitland
|
Lazard (Financial Adviser to API)
Patrick Long
Jolyon Coates
|
+44 20 7187 2000
|
Winterflood (Corporate Broker to API)
Neil Langford
|
+44 20 3100 0160
|
H/Advisors Maitland (Communications Adviser to
API)
James Benjamin
|
+44 20 7379 5151
|
Important notices relating to financial
advisers
Lazard & Co., Limited ("Lazard"), which is authorised and
regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority,
is acting exclusively as financial adviser to API and no one else
in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and
will not be responsible to anyone other than API for providing the
protections afforded to clients of Lazard nor for providing advice
in relation to the matters set out in this announcement. Neither
Lazard nor any of its affiliates 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 or
otherwise.
Winterflood Securities Limited ("Winterflood"), which is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom,
is acting exclusively for API and no-one else in connection with
the matters set out in this announcement and will not be
responsible to anyone other than API for providing the protections
afforded to customers of Winterflood or for providing advice in
relation to the matters set out in this announcement. Neither
Winterflood nor any of its affiliates 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 Winterflood in connection with this
announcement, any statement contained herein or
otherwise.
Publication on a
website
In
accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement
will be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to
persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on CREI's website
at www.custodianreit.com
and API's
website at www.abrdnpit.co.uk
by no later than
12 noon (London time) on the first Business Day following the date
of this announcement.
For the avoidance of doubt, neither the contents of these
websites nor the contents of any websites accessible from any
hyperlinks is incorporated into or forms part of this
announcement.