Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Apr 6, 2018
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer
THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt about the contents of this document or the action you should take, you should consult immediately your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other financial adviser, authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) or, if you are not in the United Kingdom, another appropriately authorised professional adviser.
If you have sold or transferred all of your holding of Shares, please forward this document and the accompanying Form of Proxy to the purchaser or transferee or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through or by whom the sale or transfer was effected for onward transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
(Incorporated in Jersey under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (as amended) with registered number 94592)
and
Notice of General Meeting
This document should be read as a whole. Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chairman of the Company which is set out in Part 1 of this document and the recommendations made by the Board in connection with the Proposals detailed therein.
Implementation of the Proposals described in this document is conditional on the outcome of the votes to be cast by Shareholders at a General Meeting of the Company to be held at 10.30 a.m. on 23 April 2018. The notice of General Meeting is set out at the end of this document.
Shareholders are requested to complete and return their Forms of Proxy as soon as possible. To be valid, Forms of Proxy for use at the General Meeting must be completed and returned in accordance with the instructions printed thereon to the registered office of the Company at 12 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 3RT, Channel Islands by post as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to arrive no later than 10.30 a.m. on 20 April 2018. The return of the Form of Proxy will not prevent you from attending the General Meeting and voting in person if you so wish.
| Part 1 | Letter from the Chairman | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Part 2 | Definitions | 10 |
| Appendix | Proposed amendments to the Existing Articles | 12 |
| Notice of General Meeting | 13 |
Part 1
(Incorporated in Jersey under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (as amended) with registered number 94592)
Mohammed Azlan Hashim (Chairman) 12 Castle Street Christopher Henry Lovell St. Helier David Harris Jersey John Lynton Jones JE2 3RT Gerald Ong Chong Keng Channel Islands Nicholas Paris Ferheen Mahomed
Directors: Registered office:
6 April 2018
Dear Shareholder
When the Company was launched in 2007 the Board considered it desirable that Shareholders should have an opportunity to review the future of the Company at appropriate intervals. Accordingly, at the 2015 AGM, held on 22 June 2015, the Board put forward a resolution to Shareholders to determine if the Company should continue in existence. Shareholders voted for the Company to continue in existence, at the same time as approving the adoption of a divestment investment policy to enable the controlled, orderly and timely realisation of the Company's assets, with the objective of achieving a balance between periodically returning cash to Shareholders and maximising the realisation value of the Company's investments (the "Divestment Investment Policy"). Pursuant to the Divestment Investment Policy, the Company committed to dispose of all of its assets by June 2018, ahead of the annual general meeting of the Company to be held in 2018 (the "2018 AGM"), at which, pursuant to the Existing Articles, the Board is required to propose a discontinuation resolution for the Company to cease trading as presently constituted (the "2018 Discontinuation Resolution").
Whilst significant progress has been made in realising the Company's assets in an orderly manner and paying down project debts since the Divestment Investment Policy was adopted, not all of the Company's assets have yet been realised. Although discussions are ongoing in relation to the realisation of the Company's remaining assets, the Board cannot be certain that these discussions will successfully conclude by June 2018 and therefore ahead of the 2018 AGM and the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution.
Since the Divestment Investment Policy was adopted the Company has been unable to return capital to Shareholders to the extent indicated in the circular to Shareholders dated 22 May 2015. The lenders behind the Company's existing facilities are required to approve certain distributions of capital by the Company, however they have been unwilling to give their approval for further distributions. The last distribution of capital made by the Company was pursuant to a tender offer on 10 January 2017.
The Board remains of the view that ceasing to trade and placing the Company into liquidation would have a significant adverse effect upon Shareholder value and, whilst the Board is obliged to put forward the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution in accordance with the Existing Articles, it does not consider that such a resolution is in the best interests of Shareholders.
In light of this, and as announced on 24 November 2017, the Board, together with N+1 Singer and the Manager, undertook a consultation with certain Shareholders to establish whether there are suitable alternative proposals that may be put forward to better serve the interests of, and maximise the value of returns to, Shareholders.
This document sets out a summary of the feedback from the consultation process and details of the Proposals (defined and more fully described in section 3 below), together with considerations that Shareholders should take into account in determining how to vote on the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting. A schedule of the expected timeline of disposals of the Company's remaining assets is set out in section 4 below.
In response to the Board's stated intention to identify alternative proposals to proposing the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution at the 2018 AGM, the Board, together with N+1 Singer and the Manager, undertook a consultation with certain Shareholders to establish whether there are suitable alternative proposals that may be put forward to better serve the interests of, and maximise the value of returns to, Shareholders. Key findings from the consultation are summarised below:
Further to the Shareholder consultation process, the Board is proposing to:
(together, the "Proposals").
The Existing Articles require the Board to propose the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution at the 2018 AGM and, in the event that the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution is not passed, at every third annual general meeting thereafter.
In the event that the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution is rejected or irrevocable commitments from a sufficient number of Shareholders to reject the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution have been received, the Directors will need to determine on what basis the Company's accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2017 (the "2017 Financial Statements") are prepared. This may mean that the 2017 Financial Statements may be prepared on a "break-up" basis or that it may not be possible to obtain an unqualified, clean audit report should the accounts be prepared on a "going concern" basis. This could trigger an event of default under the lending covenants of certain of the Company's existing facility arrangements, requiring the immediate repayment of those loans. This would force the Company to enter into liquidation, due to having insufficient liquid assets to repay the facilities immediately and could lead to the Company's remaining assets being disposed of at significantly depressed prices.
As it would be necessary to finalise the 2017 Financial Statements before 30 April 2018 and before the time of convening the 2018 AGM, at which the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution would be proposed, it would have been necessary for the Board to seek irrevocable commitments from a necessary majority of Shareholders to vote against the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution well in advance of the 2018 AGM. The Board did not consider it to be in Shareholders' interests to request such irrevocable undertakings so early in the 2018 AGM process especially as it might have meant that Shareholders providing such irrevocable undertakings would be deemed to hold inside information relating to the Company under MAR and would, therefore, have been unable to deal in their Shares for a period of time.
Therefore, having taken into account recent Shareholder feedback, as summarised above, it is proposed that the Existing Articles be amended such that the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution is brought forward to be proposed at an earlier General Meeting (notice of which is contained at the back of this document) and that, in the event that the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution proposed at the General Meeting is not passed, a further such discontinuation resolution be proposed at a general meeting of the Company in December 2019. For so long as the Management Agreement has not been terminated neither the Manager nor any member of the Ireka Group nor any of their respective directors, officers, agents or employees (including for the avoidance of doubt, Legacy Essence Limited) shall exercise votes attached to the Shares held by any of them at the time of the discontinuation vote in December 2019.
A blacklined version of the proposed amendments to the Existing Articles to implement these changes is set out in the Appendix to this document. The Existing Articles and the Amended Articles (together with a comparison document showing the changes between the two) are available for inspection on the Company's website at www.aseanaproperties.com and during normal business hours on any weekday (public holidays excepted) at the registered office of the Company at 12 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey JE2 3RT, and will also be available for inspection at the General Meeting and for at least 15 minutes prior to the General Meeting.
Resolution 1, proposing the amendment to the Existing Articles, will be proposed as a special resolution. The Directors are unanimously recommending that you vote FOR Resolution 1. Assuming Resolution 1 is passed, any consequential, non-material amendments required to the Divestment Investment Policy to reflect the change to the timing of the further discontinuation resolution to be proposed at a general meeting of the Company in December 2019 will be made.
Notwithstanding the obligation on the Board to propose the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution pursuant to the Existing Articles, the Board firmly believes that ceasing to trade and placing the Company into liquidation (which would be the result of passing the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution) would have a significant adverse impact on Shareholder value. The Company has been advised that, in the event that the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution is passed, an event of default under the lending covenants of certain of the Company's facility arrangements would be triggered. In addition, if the Company prepares the 2017 Financial Statements on a "break up" basis or it is not possible to obtain an unqualified, clean audit report should the 2017 Financial Statements be prepared on a "going concern" basis this could also trigger an event of default under certain of the Company's facility arrangements. If an event of default is triggered the loans will become immediately repayable and this would force the Company to enter into liquidation, due to having insufficient liquid assets to repay the facilities immediately, and could lead to the Company's remaining assets being disposed of at significantly depressed prices.
The proposal of the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution at the General Meeting (as Resolution 2) is conditional on the passing of Resolution 1. The Directors are unanimously recommending that you vote AGAINST the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution. This will allow the Company and the Manager to continue to pursue the Divestment Investment Policy, rather than placing the Company into liquidation or seeking a "fire sale" of the portfolio at potentially significantly depressed prices.
If the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution is rejected the Company will proceed with the realisation of the Company's remaining assets and the distribution of capital to Shareholders. The Manager intends to use the proceeds from the disposal of the Company's remaining assets to repay all external debt as quickly as possible, which would accelerate the recommencement of capital distributions to Shareholders.
Resolution 2, the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution, will be proposed as an ordinary resolution.
Under the Management Agreement, the Manager is currently entitled to a management fee equal to 2 per cent. per annum of net asset value, calculated on the last business day of June and December in each calendar year and payable quarterly in advance. In addition, the Manager would be entitled to a performance fee based on net asset value per Share performance over a hurdle rate, being 10 per cent. per annum compounded annually, although no performance fee has been paid to the Manager since the Company's launch.
The Directors do not believe that the current fee arrangements under the Management Agreement operate to the benefit of the Company whilst it continues to pursue its Divestment Investment Policy. Accordingly, the Company has agreed with the Manager that the Management Agreement be amended to remove the current fee structure in its entirety and replace it with the following revised fee arrangements, with effect from 1 May 2018, and conditional on (i) Resolution 1 being passed and (ii) Resolution 2 failing, at the General Meeting:
If a legally binding sale agreement is not entered into in respect of an asset (or any part thereof) within 3 months of the end of the quarter specified in the disposal schedule at section 4 below, the Manager shall receive no realisation fee in respect of that asset (or part asset). However, if the proposed buyer fails to complete in respect of a sale agreement, in respect of which the Manager would otherwise be entitled to a realisation fee, and the proposed buyer has paid a non-refundable deposit on entry into such sale agreement, the Manager would be entitled to a realisation fee equal to 1 per cent. of such non-refundable deposit; and
Aggregate Net Disposal Proceeds as a proportion of Aggregate RNAV Incentive fee payable to the Manager
Less than 90% No incentive fee payable
Between 90% and 100% 1% of Aggregate Net Disposal Proceeds
The Directors believe that the revised fee structure will align the Manager's interests with those of Shareholders by incentivising the Manager to maximise sales proceeds and achieve the current disposal schedule regarding the realisation of the Company's remaining assets.
As required pursuant to the Company's related party transaction policy adopted at IPO, the amendments to the Management Agreement have been approved by a majority of the independent Directors, with the independent directors unanimously approving the amendments (with only Ms Mahomed abstaining from voting as she is a representative of Legacy Essence Limited and so is a non-independent, non-executive director of the Company) and N+1 Singer has provided a fairness opinion addressed to the Board in respect of the proposed changes.
The revised fee structure described above will only be adopted conditional on Shareholders approving Resolution 1 and voting against the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution.
On 24 January 2018 the Company announced the publication of a Shareholder consultation presentation in which the Company set out the Manager's expected disposal schedule for the Company's remaining assets. That schedule is copied below. There have been no material changes to the expected disposal dates since the announcement made on 24 January 2018.
| Name of asset | Expected disposal date |
|---|---|
| SENI Mont' Kiara | Q2 2018 |
| City International Hospital | Q2 2018 |
| Seafront Resort and Residential Development, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah | Q2 2018 |
| Harbour Mall Sandakan | Q4 2018 |
| International Healthcare Park | Q2 2019 |
| The RuMa Hotel and Residences | Q4 2019 |
| Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan Hotel | Q1 2020 |
Assuming that the Proposals are approved by Shareholders at the General Meeting, the Manager will seek to achieve realisation of the Company's remaining assets in accordance with this schedule.
In light of the feedback received from the Shareholder consultation process, the Board has reviewed its composition and it is proposed that David Harris, John Lynton Jones and Christopher Henry Lovell will step down from the Board at the 2018 AGM so as to reduce the Company's ongoing costs and bring the size of the Board in line with the objectives of the realisation process.
As a result of the Proposals, Shareholders should be aware of the following additional considerations:
● There can be no guarantee that the result of implementing the Proposals will provide the returns or realise the capital sought by Shareholders. The Company's investments are illiquid. Accordingly, they may be disposed of at a discount to their current valuations. The eventual disposal price of the Company's remaining assets is unknown and it is possible that the Company may not be able to realise some investments at any value.
The implementation of the Proposals is conditional on the outcome of the votes cast by Shareholders in connection with the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting. A notice convening the General Meeting, which is to be held at 10.30 a.m. on 23 April 2018, is set out at the end of this document. The Directors are unanimously recommending that you vote FOR Resolution 1.
At the General Meeting, Resolution 1 (proposing the amendments to the Existing Articles) will be proposed as a special resolution and will require a vote in favour by Shareholders holding not less than two thirds of votes cast in order to be validly passed. Conditional upon the passing of Resolution 1, Resolution 2 (the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution) will be proposed as an ordinary resolution and will require a vote in favour by Shareholders holding a majority of the Shares represented at the General Meeting, either in person or by proxy, and voting on Resolution 2, to be validly passed. The Directors are unanimously recommending that you vote AGAINST Resolution 2.
Whether or not you intend to be present at the General Meeting, Shareholders are requested to complete and return the accompanying Form of Proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, so as to be received as soon as possible, and in any event no later than 10.30 a.m. on 20 April 2018. The completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the General Meeting and voting in person should you so wish.
Shareholders holding, in aggregate, 153,692,216 Shares as at the date of this document (representing 77.4 per cent. of the total voting rights of the Company and including Ireka Corporation Berhad and Legacy Essence Limited) have given their irrevocable undertaking to vote the Shares held in their name at the time of the General Meeting in favour of Resolution 1.
Shareholders holding, in aggregate, 69,259,954 Shares as at the date of this document (representing 60.6 per cent. of Shares held by persons entitled to vote on the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution and excluding Ireka Corporation Berhad and Legacy Essence Limited, who may not vote the Shares held in their names in respect of the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution) have given their irrevocable undertaking to vote the Shares held in their name at the time of the General Meeting against the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting.
The Directors consider that the Proposals are in the best interests of the Company and Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that you vote (1) FOR Resolution 1 to be proposed at the General Meeting and (2) AGAINST Resolution 2 to be proposed at the General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings which amount, in aggregate, to 2,328,994 Shares representing 1.2 per cent. of the total voting rights of the Company.
The Directors have each given an irrevocable undertaking to vote the Shares held in their name at the time of the General Meeting in favour of Resolution 1 and against the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution (Resolution 2).
Yours faithfully
Mohammed Azlan Hashim Chairman for and on behalf of Aseana Properties Limited
The following definitions apply throughout this document unless the context otherwise requires:
| "2015 AGM" | the Company's annual general meeting held on 22 June 2015 |
|---|---|
| "2015 Discontinuation Resolution" | the ordinary resolution proposed at the annual general meeting of the Company held in 2015 that the Company cease trading |
| "2017 Financial Statements" | the financial statements of the Company for the financial year ending on 31 December 2017 |
| "2018 AGM" | the Company's annual general meeting to be held on 2 July 2018 |
| "2018 Discontinuation Resolution" | the ordinary resolution required to be proposed at the 2018 AGM pursuant to the Existing Articles that the Company cease trading as presently constituted or, if the context requires, if Resolution 1 is passed at the General Meeting, the ordinary resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting pursuant to the Amended Articles that the Company cease trading as presently constituted |
| "Aggregate Net Disposal Proceeds" the aggregate of all Net Disposal Proceeds from the sale of all remaining assets of the Company less any realisation fees paid to the Manager; |
|
| "Aggregate RNAV" | the aggregate of the RNAVs of all remaining assets of the Company as at 31 December 2017, being US\$176,774,331; |
| "Amended Articles" | the amended Articles to be adopted (subject to Shareholder approval at the General Meeting) in connection with the Proposals |
| "Articles" | the articles of association of the Company, as amended from time to time |
| "Board" or "Directors" | the directors of the Company |
| "Company" | Aseana Properties Limited |
| "Divestment Investment Policy" | the divestment investment policy of the Company adopted on 22 June 2015 |
| "Existing Articles" | the Articles in force as at the date of this document |
| "Form of Proxy" | the form of proxy for use by Shareholders in connection with the General Meeting |
| "General Meeting" | the general meeting of the Company to be held on 23 April 2018 at 10.30 a.m. (or any adjournment thereof), notice of which is set out at the end of this document |
| "Group" | the Company and its subsidiaries from time to time |
| "Ireka Group" | Ireka Corporation Berhad and its subsidiaries from time to time |
| "London Stock Exchange" | London Stock Exchange plc |
| "Manager" | Ireka Development Management Sdn. Bhd. |
|---|---|
| "MAR" | the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 |
| "N+1 Singer" | Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP |
| "Net Disposal Proceeds" | the sale proceeds received by the Company for each asset net of all sales costs (i.e. agents' fees, legal and other fees and expenses in relation to the sale of the asset); |
| "Official List" | the official list maintained by the UK Listing Authority |
| "Proposals" | the proposals set out in this document to (i) amend the Existing Articles, (ii) conditional on the amendments to the Existing Articles being approved, propose the 2018 Discontinuation Resolution at the General Meeting and (iii) amend the Management Agreement to revise the fee structure in place between the Company and the Manager |
| "Regulatory Information Service" | a service approved by the London Stock Exchange for the distribution to the public of announcements and included within the list maintained on the London Stock Exchange's website |
| "Resolution 1" | the special resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting that the Company's Existing Articles be amended as set out in the Appendix to this document |
| "Resolution 2" | the ordinary resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting that the Company cease to continue trading as presently constituted |
| "Resolutions" | Resolution 1 and Resolution 2 |
| "RNAV" | realisable net asset value of an asset based on its net asset value adjusted for market value or projected exit value of the asset |
| "Shareholder" | a holder of Shares |
| "Shares" | ordinary shares of US\$0.05 in the capital of the Company |
| "UK Listing Authority" | the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom, acting in its capacity as the competent authority for the purposes of admissions to the Official List |
| "United States" | the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia |
| "US Dollars" or "US\$" | United States Dollars, the lawful currency of the United States |
A blacklined version of Article 46 (Duration) of the Existing Articles is set out below, showing the proposed changes to that Article (being the only changes proposed to be made to the Existing Articles) as described in this document.
The Board shall procure that, at the annual general meeting a general meeting of the Company to be held in on 23 April 20158, an ordinary resolution will be proposed to the effect that the Company shall cease to continue as presently constituted. If, at any such meeting, such resolution is not passed the Board shall procure that a similar resolution is proposed at every third annual general meeting thereafter a general meeting of the Company to be held in December 2019. If, at any such meeting, such resolution is passed, the Board shall, within four months of such meeting, convene a general meeting of the Company at which a special resolution shall be proposed requiring the Company to be wound up voluntarily. In connection with, or at the same time as, the proposal that the Company be wound up voluntarily the Board shall be entitled to make proposals for the reconstruction of the Company.
Notice of General Meeting
(Incorporated in Jersey under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (as amended) with registered number 94592)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a General Meeting of the Shareholders of Aseana Properties Limited (the "Company") will be held at 12 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 3RT, Channel Islands on Monday, 23 April 2018 at 10.30 a.m. to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following Resolutions:
THAT Article 46 of the Company's articles of association as in force at the date of this notice be amended with effect from the date of this Resolution in accordance with the amendments set out in the Appendix to the circular to Shareholders dated 6 April 2018 to which this Notice is attached.
THAT, conditional on the passing of Resolution 1 above, the Company shall cease to continue as presently constituted.
Dated: 6 April 2018
Jersey JE2 3RT Channel Islands
Registered Office By Order of the Board 12 Castle Street Link Secretaries Limited St. Helier Secretary
Building tools?
Free accounts include 100 API calls/year for testing.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.