Business
Comment on outcome of API shareholder meetings
Comment on outcome of API shareholder meetings.
About this update from Custodian Property Income Reit Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nNOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR\nINDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE\nA VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.\n \n \n27 March 2024\nCustodian Property Income REIT plc\n(the \"Company\" or \"CREI\")\n \nComment on outcome of abrdn Property Income Trust Limited (\"API\") shareholder meetings\n \nFurther to the previous announcements by the board of directors of CREI (the \"CREI Board\") regarding the recommended all-share merger of API and CREI (the \"Recommended Merger\" or the \"Transaction\"), the CREI Board notes API's announcement that the total votes in favour of the resolutions proposed at the General Meeting and the Court Meeting of API (the \"API Meetings\") in relation to the Recommended Merger were below the minimum threshold needed to approve the resolutions to effect the Recommended Merger and as such the Recommended Merger has not been approved and the Scheme has lapsed.\n \nCommenting on the outcome, David MacLellan, Chairman of CREI said:\n\"Having heeded clear calls from the market regarding the need for consolidation amongst the listed REITs, we worked with our investment manager and the API board of directors (\"API Board\") to negotiate what we believe to be a fair deal for all shareholders of both API and CREI. Our proposal was fully aligned with the existing investment strategies of both companies and structured on an NTA-to-NTA basis to ensure that the exchange ratio was based upon the latest respective underlying property valuations. Furthermore, it was unanimously recommended by the API Board and allowed both API and CREI shareholders to benefit from the long-term benefits of being invested in a combined business which brought together two highly complementary portfolios, with a growing and fully covered dividend.\nWe are therefore disappointed that despite the majority of votes cast being in favour of the Transaction at the API Meetings today, this was not enough to meet the 75% threshold required to approve the Transaction. In fact, shareholders accounting for just 14% of API's register proved sufficient to prevent the resolutions passing. These votes were, we understand, primarily from institutional investors who believe a 'managed wind-down' of API's portfol...