HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 27,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the
Virtus Total Return Fund (NYSE: DCA) today announced it has
approved a tender offer for up to 40 percent of the fund's
outstanding shares at a price equal to 99 percent of its net asset
value (NAV) per share as of the close of regular trading on the New
York Stock Exchange on the date the tender offer expires. The
tender offer is expected to commence on or about February 15, 2017.
The board approved the recommendation of Virtus Investment
Advisers, the investment adviser to the fund, to implement the
tender offer. The board considered a number of factors, including a
request by a large shareholder of the fund, the benefits to the
other shareholders of the fund, including the opportunity to
provide shareholders with an alternative source of liquidity for
their investment, and the potential to reduce the fund's discount
to NAV.
The boards of DCA and The Zweig Fund (NYSE: ZF) also announced
that the proposed reorganization of ZF into DCA has been deferred
to assess whether any changes to the original proposal are needed.
The special shareholder meetings of DCA and ZF, scheduled for
November 18, 2016, thus have been
cancelled and the funds will notify shareholders about the timing
of the special shareholder meetings and any proposed changes to the
reorganization plan.
About the Tender Offer
Additional terms and conditions of the tender offer will be set
forth in the fund's offering materials. If the number of shares
tendered exceeds the maximum amount of the tender offer, the fund
will purchase shares from tendering shareholders on a pro-rata
basis. Accordingly, shareholders cannot be assured the fund will
purchase all of the tendered common shares.
Further information about the tender offer will be announced by
future press releases. This announcement is not a recommendation,
an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell shares
of a fund. The fund has not yet commenced the tender offer
described in this release. Any tender offer will be made only by an
offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal, and other
documents that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) as exhibits to a tender offer statement on
Schedule TO and will be available free of charge at the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov. Shareholders should read the offer to
purchase and tender offer statement on Schedule TO and related
exhibits when those documents are filed and become available as
they will contain important information about the tender offer. The
fund will also make available, without charge, the offer to
purchase and the letter of transmittal.
Fund Risks
An investment in a fund is subject to risk, including the risk
of possible loss of principal. A fund's shares may be worth less
upon their sale than what an investor paid for them. Shares of
closed-end funds may trade at a discount to their net asset
value.
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains statements that are, or may be
considered to be, forward-looking statements. All statements that
are not historical facts, including statements about beliefs or
expectations, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as
"expect," "estimate," "plan," "intend," "believe," "anticipate,"
"may," "will," "should," "could," "continue," "project," or similar
statements or variations of such terms. Forward-looking statements
are based on a series of expectations, assumptions, and
projections; are not guarantees of future results or performance;
and may involve risks and uncertainty. All forward-looking
statements are as of the date of this release only; the funds
undertake no obligation to update or review any forward-looking
statements. The funds can give no assurance that such expectations
or forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Actual
results may differ materially. You are urged to carefully consider
all such factors.
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/virtus-total-return-fund-announces-tender-offer-defers-proposed-merger-300335017.html
SOURCE Virtus Total Return Fund; The Zweig Fund, Inc.