The Proposed Amendments would amend the Indenture to bring forward the date beginning on which the Company is permitted to pay dividends to common shareholders in an aggregate amount per year equal to 50% of the consolidated net profit after taxes of the Company for the preceding financial year to
In addition, the Proposed Amendments amend certain other provisions of the Indenture for the benefit of the holders of the Notes. These include, among other things:
- to provide that only equity issuances for cash will increase the Company’s capacity to make distributions to shareholders, and not in-kind contributions to equity;
- to reduce the increases in the amount of permitted transfers of assets or cash from the Company and the guarantors of the Notes (the “Guarantors”) to non-Guarantor subsidiaries (the “Permitted Transfer Basket”) generated by in-kind contributions to equity from 100% to 15% of the fair market value of these contributions, other than cash which will increase the Permitted Transfer Basket by 100%, and to set the increase in the Permitted Transfer Basket created by the Poseidon Transactions at
$50 million ; - to regulate in more detail certain intercompany transactions that may take place between the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and non-Guarantor subsidiaries on the other hand, including with respect to intercompany loans, vessel transfers and vessel management arrangements;
- to extend the Company’s annual and quarterly financial reporting to include certain stand-alone financial information of the Company and the Guarantors on one hand and the non-Guarantor subsidiaries on the other; and
- to modify the treatment of beneficial ownership by certain permitted holders pursuant to the Change of Control definition.
The Proposed Amendments contribute to the integration of the legacy
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, the Company intends to offer a cash payment (“Consent Fee”) of
Adoption of the Proposed Amendments will require the consent of the holders of at least a majority of the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding Notes (such consent, the “Requisite Consents”). As of
The Company anticipates that, promptly after receipt of the Requisite Consents at or prior to
Additional details about the consent solicitation will be provided in the Consent Solicitation Statement, which will be sent to holders of the Notes at the time of launch. The Company may, in its sole discretion, extend or amend the consent solicitation at any time, subject to its agreement with the beneficial owners of the Notes referred to above.
This announcement is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement is also not a solicitation of consents with respect to the Proposed Amendments or any securities. If and when commenced, the consent solicitation will be made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The solicitation of consents will not be made in any jurisdiction in which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such solicitation under applicable state or foreign securities or “blue sky” laws. No recommendation is being made as to whether holders of Notes should consent to the Proposed Amendments.
About
The average remaining term of the charters at
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the
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Source: Global Ship Lease, Inc.