Exercise of Subscription Shares Reminder

RNS Number : 6959E

Standard Life Equity Income Tst PLC

01 June 2012

 



STANDARD LIFE EQUITY INCOME TRUST PLC

REMINDER TO HOLDERS OF SUBSCRIPTION SHARES

Standard Life Equity Income Trust plc (the 'Company') reminds registered holders of subscription shares of 0.01p each in the capital of the Company (the 'Subscription Shares') that they are entitled to exercise their right to subscribe for one ordinary share of 25p each in the capital of the Company (the 'Ordinary Shares') for every Subscription Share held (the 'Subscription Share Rights') on 29 June 2012 (the 'Subscription Date').  The requisite conversion notice must be submitted no later than 15 June 2012.

Registered holders of Subscription Shares (the 'Subscription Shareholders') have the right to exercise their Subscription Share Rights by subscribing in cash, on the last business day of June and December in any of the years 2012 to 2016, at the price of 320.00p per Ordinary Share payable in full on subscription. 

This announcement is issued by way of a reminder only and is not be read as a recommendation to Subscription Shareholders to exercise their Subscription Share Rights. Subscription Shareholders are not obliged to exercise their Subscription Share Rights and if they do not subscribe for Ordinary Shares on this occasion they will have further opportunities to do so on the last business day of June and December up to 2016.  

The middle market quotations of the Ordinary Shares and of the Subscription Shares as derived from the London Stock Exchange's Daily List on the first dealing day in each of the six months before the date of this announcement and on the latest practical date prior to the publication of this announcement, were:

Date	Ordinary Shares (p)	Subscription Shares (p)
1 December 2011	268.00	19.50
3 January 2012	266.25	20.00
1 February 2012	272.75	17.50
1 March 2012	290.25	22.00
2 April 2012	285.00	24.00
1 May 2012	285.00	23.00
25 May 2012	272.50	17.50

The net asset value of each Ordinary Share as at 25 May 2012 was 286.30p. If you choose to exercise your Subscription Share Rights you will be entitled to receive any future dividend stream from the Ordinary Shares of the Company. In respect of the financial period ended 30 September 2011 the interim and final dividends were 3.55p and 8.85p per share, respectively. On 14 May 2012 the Board announced an interim dividend of 3.75p per Ordinary Share for the six months ending 31 March 2012. The interim dividend will be paid to Ordinary Shareholders on the register on 8 June 2012. For the avoidance of doubt Subscription Shareholders who exercise their Subscription Share Rights will not be entitled to receive this interim dividend.

By way of illustration and based on the market prices on 25 May 2012, a Subscription Shareholder would receive one Ordinary Share which has a middle market value on 25 May 2012 of 272.50p in return for consideration of 320.00p per Ordinary Share, and the surrender of one Subscription Share per Ordinary Share with a market price on 25 May 2012 of 17.50p. The total cost of exercising the rights attached to one Subscription Share on 25 May 2012 based on middle market values would therefore exceed the value of the asset which would be received in return for this cost.

The Ordinary Shares arising on the exercise of any Subscription Share Rights will rank pari passu in all respects and will form one class with the Ordinary Shares in issue on the Subscription Date save that they will not be entitled to the dividend in respect of the period to 31 March 2012 payable on 22 June 2012.

Subscription Shares held in certified form

Subscription Shareholders who wish to exercise their Subscription Rights should complete the notice of subscription (the 'Notice of Subscription') which can be downloaded from http://uk.standardlifeinvestments.com/IT_Sub_Form/getLatest.pdf and send it, together with their subscription share certificate and a cheque made out in favour of Computershare Investor Services PLC A/C Standard Life Equity Income Trust plc and crossed 'A/C Payee only', to the Company's registrar: Computershare Investor Services PLC, Computershare Priority Application, Corporate Actions, Bristol BS99 6AJ (tel: [phone], calls to this number are charged at 8p per minute from a BT landline, other telephone provider costs may vary), to arrive not later than 15 June 2012. Once lodged, the Notice of Subscription will be irrevocable, save with the consent of the Directors.

Share certificates in respect of the Ordinary Shares allotted pursuant to the exercise of the Subscription Share Rights will be despatched on or before 14 days after the Subscription Date and, pending their issue, transfers will be certified against the register of members of the Company (the 'Register').  A form of nomination, if required, should be requested from the Registrar. If Subscription Share Rights are exercised in part, certificates in respect of the balance of Subscription Shares will be forwarded on or before 28 days after the Subscription Date. If your certificate in relation to your Subscription Shares has been lost, defaced or destroyed, please write to the Registrar at the above address, advising them of such loss, and requesting them to send you a letter of indemnity for completion and return.

Subscription Shares held in CREST

Shareholders who hold their Subscription Shares in uncertified form and who wish to exercise their right to subscribe for Ordinary Shares must send an Unmatched Stock Event Instruction ('USE Instruction') which, on settlement, will have the effect of crediting a stock account of the Registrar under the details specified below.

The USE instruction must be properly authenticated in accordance with CRESTCo's specifications and must contain the following details in addition to any other information required:

(a)  the nominal amount of Subscription Shares to be exercised;

(b)  the participant ID of the Subscription Shareholder;

(c)  the member account ID of the Subscription Shareholder from which the Subscription Shares to be exercised are to be debited;

(d)  the Registrar's participant ID: This is ORA54;

(e)  the Registrar's member account ID: This is WARSEIT;

(f)   the corporate action number, which will be allocated by CRESTCo and can be found by viewing the relevant corporate action details on CREST;

(g)  the corporate action ISIN: This is GB00B3NWXM64; and

(h)  the intended settlement date: This will be not later than 5.00pm on 15 June 2012.

Further Information

Please note that by exercising your Subscription Share Rights you undertake to provide such information as may be required by the Registrar to comply with the provisions of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. Failure to provide the relevant information within a reasonable period of time following a request for verification of identity may result in a delay in the despatch of the share certificate (or, if applicable, the entitlement in CREST), or in the rejection of the exercise instruction, in which event the monies payable on application will be returned without interest to the bank account (or account in CREST) from which the payment was received. Furthermore, Computershare Investor Services PLC will not be held liable for any costs, expenses or losses that may be incurred.

Application will be made to the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange for the Ordinary Share allotted pursuant the exercise of the Subscription Share Rights to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that dealings in the Ordinary Shares arising on the exercise of the Subscription Share Rights will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 5 July 2012.

Taxation

Under existing tax legislation, the exercise of your Subscription Share Rights will not in itself constitute a disposal for the purpose of tax on capital gains. The base cost of the Subscription Shares together with the amount paid on subscription will form the base cost in computing the gain or loss on a subsequent disposal of the Ordinary Shares so acquired. A subsequent disposal of some or all of the holding of Ordinary Shares resulting from the exercise of subscription rights may give rise to a liability to tax on any capital gain realised.

For the purposes of calculating the base cost of the Subscription Shares, as set out in Part V of the Company's circular (also comprising a prospectus) to shareholders dated 19 November 2010, the market prices on admission for an Ordinary Share and a Subscription Share were 306.5p and 40.00p, respectively.

For and on behalf of Standard Life Equity Income Trust PLC

1 June 2012

 

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