Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (“PNCC” or the “Company”)
announced today that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the
“Court”) has issued an interim order (the “Interim Order”)
authorizing, among other things, the holding of the following
meetings (the “Meetings”): (i) a meeting (the “First Lien
Noteholders’ Meeting”) of holders of the 8.25% senior secured notes
issued by Postmedia Network Inc. (“PNI”) due August 2017 (the
“First Lien Notes”); (ii) a meeting (the “Second Lien Noteholders’
Meeting”) of holders of the 12.50% senior secured notes issued by
PNI due July 2018 (the “Second Lien Notes”); and (iii) a meeting
(the “Shareholders’ Meeting”) of holders of the Company’s Class C
voting shares and Class NC variable voting shares (collectively,
the “Shares”), in each case to consider and vote upon a corporate
plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the
“Plan of Arrangement”) to implement the previously announced
proposed recapitalization transaction (the “Recapitalization
Transaction”).
The Meetings
The Meetings are scheduled to be held at the offices of Goodmans
LLP at 333 Bay Street, Suite 3400, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2S7 on
September 7, 2016. The First Lien Noteholders’ Meeting is scheduled
to begin at 9:00 a.m. (Toronto time), the Second Lien Noteholders’
Meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. (Toronto time) and the
Shareholders’ Meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto
time).
Pursuant to the Interim Order, the record date for the Meetings
is 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on August 5, 2016 (the “Record Date”).
Holders of First Lien Notes (the “First Lien Noteholders”) and
holders of the Second Lien Notes (the “Second Lien Noteholders”) as
at the Record Date will be entitled to vote on the Plan of
Arrangement at the applicable Meeting based on one vote per C$1,000
or US$1,000 principal amount of First Lien Notes or Second Lien
Notes, respectively, held as at the Record Date. Holders of the
Shares (the “Shareholders”) as at the Record Date will be entitled
to vote on the Plan of Arrangement at the Shareholders’ Meeting
based on one vote per Share held as at the Record Date.
The deadline for First Lien Noteholders, Second Lien Noteholders
and Shareholders to submit their proxies or voting instructions in
order to vote on the Plan of Arrangement and other items to be
considered at the applicable Meeting is 12:00 p.m. (Toronto time)
on September 2, 2016. Banks, brokers or other intermediaries that
hold the First Lien Notes, Second Lien Notes or Shares on a
securityholder’s behalf may have internal deadlines that require
securityholders to submit their votes by an earlier date.
Securityholders are encouraged to contact their intermediaries
directly to confirm any such internal deadline.
To be approved, the Plan of Arrangement requires the affirmative
vote of at least 66⅔% of the votes cast at each of the Meetings. If
the Plan of Arrangement is not approved by the requisite majority
at the Shareholders’ Meeting, the Plan of Arrangement will be
deemed to be amended to remove the share consolidation contemplated
pursuant to the Plan of Arrangement (the “Consolidation”) and shall
only require approval by at least 66⅔% of votes cast by the First
Lien Noteholders and Second Lien Noteholders at the applicable
Meetings.
Amendments to Shareholder Rights Plan
At the Shareholders’ Meeting and the Second Lien Noteholders’
Meeting, Shareholders and Second Lien Noteholders will also be
asked to consider and vote upon certain amendments to the Company’s
shareholder rights plan (the “Shareholder Rights Plan”) to be
effectuated in connection with, and conditional upon, the
implementation of the Recapitalization Transaction. The proposed
amendments to the Shareholder Rights Plan (the “Rights Plan
Amendments”) are described in the Circular (as defined below) to be
mailed out to Noteholders and Shareholders in connection with the
Meetings.
To be approved, the Rights Plan Amendments require the
affirmative vote by (i) a majority of votes cast at the
Shareholders’ Meeting and Second Lien Noteholders’ Meeting, on a
combined basis and (ii) a majority of votes cast at the
Shareholders’ Meeting and Second Lien Noteholders’ Meeting, on a
combined basis, without giving effect to votes cast by any person
that will hold more than 20% of the total number of outstanding
Shares upon completion of the Recapitalization Transaction.
Shareholders as at the Record Date will be entitled to vote on the
Rights Plan Amendments at the Shareholders’ Meeting based on one
vote for every Share to be held upon implementation of the Plan of
Arrangement based on Shares held as at the Record Date, and Second
Lien Noteholders (except as described above) will be entitled to
vote on the Rights Plan Amendments at the Second Lien Noteholders’
Meeting based on one vote for every Share to be held upon
implementation of the Plan of Arrangement based on Second Lien
Notes held as at the Record Date.
Information Circular
The information circular for the Meetings (the “Circular”)
contains information regarding procedures for voting on the Plan of
Arrangement and the Rights Plan Amendments and participating in the
New Capital Offering (as defined below), as well as other
background and material information regarding the Recapitalization
Transaction and the Rights Plan Amendments. The Company expects the
mailing of the Circular to begin on or about August 11, 2016. The
Circular, the forms of proxies and the New Notes Second Lien Notes
Participation Form (as defined below) will also be available as
follows:
- on Postmedia’s website at
www.postmedia.com;
- under Postmedia’s SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com; and
- through Kingsdale Shareholder Services
by calling toll free at 1-866-581-0506 or 1-416-867-2272 or by
email at contactus@kingsdaleshareholder.com.
Any questions or requests for further information regarding
voting at the Meetings or participation in the New Capital Offering
should be directed to Kingsdale Shareholder Services at
1-866-581-0506 or 1-416-867-2272, or by e-mail at
contactus@kingsdaleshareholder.com.
Shareholder Consents
As part of the Recapitalization Transaction, Second Lien
Noteholders will receive Variable Voting Shares, which, in the
aggregate, will represent 98% of the Shares outstanding upon
completion of the Recapitalization Transaction, in full settlement
of all obligations outstanding under the Second Lien Notes (the
“Second Lien Note Exchange Transaction”).
Under the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”),
shareholder approval is required for the Second Lien Note Exchange
Transaction because the transaction will (i) result in PNCC issuing
approximately 138 million Variable Voting Shares assuming a 100:1
Consolidation (or 13.8 billion Variable Voting Shares if the
Consolidation does not occur) representing approximately 4,900%
dilution of the existing Shares, which exceeds the 25% level of
dilution above which the TSX requires shareholder approval, and
(ii) materially affect control of PNCC (for purposes of the TSX
rules), as certain individual funds for which Chatham Asset
Management, LLC acts as investment advisor (which currently do not
own any Shares) are expected to cumulatively own upon completion of
the Recapitalization Transaction approximately 91 million Variable
Voting Shares assuming a 100:1 Consolidation (or 9.1 billion
Variable Voting Shares if the Consolidation does not occur),
representing approximately 64.7% of the outstanding Shares on a
post-Recapitalization Transaction basis (and, as the Variable
Voting Shares, as a class, are entitled to 49.9% of the votes,
representing approximately 32.3% of the voting rights of the
Company), based on the Company’s current information on holdings of
Second Lien Notes. As a result, Shareholder approval is required
for the Second Lien Note Exchange Transaction. Such approval will
be obtained by way of written consents in lieu of a meeting. For
purposes of the written consents, the TSX has confirmed that
approval is required from Shareholders owning more than 50% of the
outstanding Shares. For such purposes, each Voting Share and
Variable Voting Share will vote on the basis of one vote per Share
(and for such purposes, Voting Shares, as a class, will not be
entitled to 50.1% of the votes as contemplated in PNCC’s articles).
As previously announced by the Company, certain holders of
approximately 75% of the outstanding Shares have agreed to support
the Recapitalization Transaction and, as such, these holders are
expected to provide the required consents.
New Capital Offering
The Plan of Arrangement contemplates the offering by PNI (the
“New Capital Offering”) of the U.S. dollar equivalent of C$110
million of new second lien notes (“New Second Lien Notes”) to
eligible holders of the Second Lien Notes as of the Record Date.
Details of the requirements for eligibility and process for
participation in the New Capital Offering are set forth in the
Circular and a New Second Lien Notes participation form (the “New
Second Lien Notes Participation Form”), which will be included with
the mailing of the Circular. Eligible Second Lien Noteholders who
wish to participate in the New Capital Offering are required to
return their duly completed New Second Lien Notes Participation
Form to their intermediary at such deadline set by the intermediary
to ensure that the intermediary can submit their
medallion/signature guaranteed New Second Lien Notes Participation
Form together with the aggregate subscription amounts for their
underlying clients prior to the deadline for the submission of New
Second Lien Notes Participation Forms to Kingsdale Shareholder
Services. Intermediaries must submit a summary of all properly
completed, duly executed and medallion/signature guaranteed New
Second Lien Participation Forms together with such New Second Lien
Participation Forms to Kingsdale Shareholder Services no later than
12:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on September 2, 2016. The New Second Lien
Notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933
and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration or an exemption therefrom.
Court Approval and Implementation
If the Plan of Arrangement is approved by the requisite
majorities at the Meetings, the Company, PNI and PNI’s subsidiary,
9854711 Canada Limited, will attend a hearing before the Court
currently scheduled for September 12, 2016 or such other date as
may be set by the Court to seek Court approval of the Plan of
Arrangement. If the approvals of the requisite majorities of
stakeholders at the Meetings and of the Court are obtained, any
other required approvals are obtained, and the other conditions to
completion of the Recapitalization Transaction are satisfied or
waived, it is expected that the Recapitalization Transaction will
be completed on or about the end of September 2016.
About Postmedia
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (TSX:PNC.A, PNC.B) is the holding
company that owns Postmedia Network Inc., a Canadian newsmedia
company representing more than 200 brands across multiple print,
online, and mobile platforms. Award-winning journalists and
innovative product development teams bring engaging content to
millions of people every week whenever and wherever they want it.
This exceptional content, reach and scope offers advertisers and
marketers compelling solutions to effectively reach target
audiences. For more information, visit www.postmedia.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include information that is
“forward-looking information” under applicable Canadian securities
laws and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company
has tried, where possible, to identify such information and
statements by using words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,”
“estimate,” “anticipate,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should”
and similar expressions and derivations thereof in connection with
any discussion of future events, trends or prospects or future
operating or financial performance. Forward-looking statements in
this news release include statements with respect to: the
implementation, completion and timing of the Recapitalization
Transaction, including the Second Lien Note Exchange Transaction
and New Capital Offering; and the anticipated consequences of the
Recapitalization Transaction. By their nature, forward-looking
information and statements involve risks and uncertainties because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may
not occur in the future. These risks and uncertainties include,
among others: the risk that the Recapitalization Transaction may
not obtain the required approvals or be completed on the terms or
on the timeline described in this press release or at all; the
costs associated with the Recapitalization Transaction; and the
risk that the anticipated benefits and consequences of the
Recapitalization Transaction may not be achieved. For a complete
list of our risk factors please refer to the section entitled “Risk
Factors” contained in our annual management’s discussion and
analysis for the years ended August 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 and in
our annual information form dated November 25, 2015. Although the
Company bases such information and statements on assumptions
believed to be reasonable when made, they are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results of operations, financial
condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which
the Company operates, may differ materially from any such
information and statements in this press release. Given these risks
and uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on any
forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of such information or statements. Other
than as required by law, the Company does not undertake, and
specifically declines, any obligation to update such information or
statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to
any such information or statements.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005654/en/
Postmedia Network Canada CorporationMedia:Phyllise
Gelfand, 416-442-2936Vice President,
Communicationspgelfand@postmedia.comorInvestors:Doug Lamb,
416-383-2325Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officerdlamb@postmedia.com
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