Bermuda Takeover Code
Jardine Matheson Hldgs Ld
20 July 2007
AMENDMENTS TO THE BERMUDA TAKEOVER CODE FOR
JARDINE MATHESON HOLDINGS LIMITED
The Bermuda Takeover Code (the 'Bermuda Code') for Jardine Matheson Holdings
Limited (the 'Company'), as set out in The Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited
Regulations 1993 (the 'Regulations'), has been amended by the Bermuda Monetary
Authority. The Bermuda Code is based on the UK City Code on Takeovers and
Mergers (the 'City Code') and the amendments were made primarily to bring the
Bermuda Code into line with certain amendments made to the City Code.
A summary of the amendments is appended below and copies of the amendments are
also available from the Bermuda Monetary Authority at BMA House, 43 Victoria
Street, Hamilton HM12, Bermuda; the Company Secretary of Jardine Matheson
Holdings Limited at 4th Floor, 33-35 Reid Street, Hamilton, Bermuda; or from the
Company's website www.jardines.com.
This announcement appears as a matter of record.
Neil M McNamara, Jardine Matheson Limited
for and on behalf of Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited
20th July 2007
www.jardines.com
Summary of the amendments made to The Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited
Regulations 1993
Introduction
Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (the 'Company') is subject to individual
regulations (the 'Regulations ') which set out the Bermuda Takeover Code (the
'Bermuda Code'). Set out below is a summary of the more significant changes
made to the Regulations to bring the Bermuda Code into line with certain
amendments made to the UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the 'City Code')
since 1st January 2005.
Amendments to the Bermuda Code
Section 1: Non Market-Related Issues
1.1 Pre-conditions in possible offer announcements
The City Code has been amended to permit the inclusion of pre-conditions in
a possible offer announcement even if they are subjective rather than
objective because, since the offeror is not committed to proceed with the
offer even if the pre-conditions are satisfied, the making of the offer is
in practice within the discretion of the potential offeror and there is no
real benefit to be gained in terms of certainty from requiring any
pre-conditions to be framed in objective terms only. However, in order to
avoid false market concerns it must be clear in the possible offer
announcement referring to pre-conditions whether or not the pre-conditions
must be satisfied before an offer can be made, or whether they are
waivable. A pre-conditional offer announcement should also include a
prominent statement that the announcement does not amount to a firm
intention to make an offer and that accordingly there is no certainty an
offer will be made.
Subjective pre-conditions in possible offer announcements are already
permitted in the Regulations, but so as to mirror the City Code the
Regulations have been adapted to reflect the fact that, if a potential
offeror makes it clear that it may elect not to make an offer, it must
include a prominent warning to the effect that the announcement does not
amount to a firm intention to make an offer and that, accordingly, there
can be no certainty that any offer will be made even if the pre-conditions
are satisfied or waived.
1.2 Pre-conditions in announcements of a firm intention to make an offer
The City Code now allows announcements of a firm intention to make an offer
which are subject to pre-conditions. However, it limits the circumstances
in which pre-conditions are permitted, such that, except with the consent
of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers under the City Code (the 'Panel'), an
offer cannot be announced subject to a pre-condition unless the
pre-condition:
• relates to OFT/Competition Commission or European Commission
clearance; or
• involves a material official authorisation or regulatory clearance
relating to the offer; and
• either the offer is publicly recommended by the board of the offeree
company; or
• it would prove impossible to obtain the authorisation or clearance
within the City Code timetable.
An offer must not normally be made subject to a condition or pre-condition
relating to financing. However, a financing pre-condition will be permitted
in exceptional circumstances, for example, where due to the likely period
required to obtain any necessary material official authorisation or
regulatory clearance, it is not reasonable for the offeror to maintain
committed financing throughout the offer period.
The circumstances which give rise to the right to invoke the condition or
pre-condition must be of material significance to the offeror in the
context of the offer. There is also an obligation on an offeror to use all
reasonable efforts to ensure the satisfaction of any conditions or
pre-conditions to its offer.
Prior to the amendments, the Regulations prohibited an offer being subject
to conditions which depend solely on subjective judgments (save in relation
to regulatory approvals); however, they did not govern pre-conditions or
deal with financing conditions or pre-conditions. The Regulations have been
amended to reflect the above changes, except where the Panel would be
required to exercise its discretion, because the Bermuda Monetary Authority
(the 'BMA') does not exercise under the Regulations the discretion employed
by the Panel in relation to the City Code.
1.3 Offeree protection conditions
The City Code has introduced a reciprocal right for offeree companies to
invoke conditions, except that the Panel is the arbiter of whether an
offeree protection condition can be invoked. When considering whether an
offeree protection condition could be invoked, the Panel has the
flexibility to require the introduction of withdrawal rights as an
alternative, thereby allowing shareholders in the offeree company the right
to make the decision as to whether the offer should lapse as a result of
the circumstances in question.
Prior to the amendments, there were no provisions in the Regulations
dealing with such offeree protection conditions or the circumstances in
which they could be invoked. The Regulations have been amended to address
offeree protection conditions. Given that there is no equivalent discretion
exercisable by the BMA under the Regulations, the offeree protection
conditions will only be introduced in general terms, such that the Company
can only invoke offeree protection conditions if the circumstances giving
rise to the right are of material significance to shareholders in the
Company in the context of the offer.
Section 2: Market-Related Issues
The market-related issues amendments to the City Code fall into the following
categories:
• the City Code's treatment of dealings by principal traders and fund
managers and, in particular, relaxation of the usual presumptions of
concertedness that apply when a principal trading or fund management
operation is part of the same group as a party (or an adviser to a party)
involved in a City Code transaction;
• the application of the City Code definitions of 'acting in concert' and
'associate';
• the application of the disclosure requirements in the City Code to certain
dealings;
• disclosure obligations arising from the procuring of irrevocable
undertakings and letters of intent; and
• certain other miscellaneous matters that arise out of specific dealing
activities.
2.1 Principal traders and fund managers
The City Code contains an exempt status regime for market makers and fund
managers forming part of multi-service financial organisations. Under this
regime, market makers and fund managers that can demonstrate to the Panel's
satisfaction that they are independent from the corporate advisory and
corporate broking operations of the group of which they form part are
deemed to be exempt from the presumption of acting in concert. Exempt
status allows them to undertake their normal trading activity without
impacting on the offer in relation to which another part of the group is
advising.
As the securities industry has developed, the Panel has gradually expanded
the principal trading activities which may benefit from exempt status. It
wanted to codify principal trader status so as to extend the exempt system
to these additional activities, therefore a new definition of principal
trader has been introduced and throughout the City Code all references to
'market-makers' have been changed to 'principal traders'.
The Bermuda Code does not have an exempt status regime. In fact, fund
managers and market-makers when acting in their capacity as such are
presumed not to be acting in concert. Therefore, the changes to the City
Code introduced to deal with the scope of the exempt regime are not
appropriate for the Bermuda Code, except that the term 'market-maker' has
been replaced throughout the Regulations with the term 'principal trader'.
2.2 Dealings through anonymous trading systems
The City Code contains restrictions on dealings by connected exempt
principal traders. These restrictions are intended to prevent abuse of
exempt status. Dealings to assist the offeror are specifically prohibited,
particularly sales of offeree securities to the offeror during the offer
period. Since the introduction of the London Stock Exchange's trading
service for UK blue chip securities ('SETS') in 1997, it has been the
Panel's practice, in order to inhibit any circumvention of the
restrictions, not to permit offerors and their concert parties to purchase
offeree securities through SETS or any other anonymous order book system.
The City Code has codified this practice by incorporating this restriction
explicitly into the City Code.
Whilst the Regulations do not contain an exempt status regime, there are
similar restrictions on dealings by connected market makers. The
Regulations were, therefore, amended to maintain consistency with the City
Code.
2.3 Prohibition on assented securities
Consistent with the prohibition on an exempt principal trader connected
with an offeror carrying out any dealings for the purpose of assisting the
offeror, it is the Panel's practice to prohibit exempt principal traders
connected with an offeror from assenting offeree securities or purchasing
offeree securities which have been assented to the offer until the offer is
unconditional as to acceptances. The City Code has therefore codified this
practice.
The Regulations have been amended to maintain consistency with the City
Code.
2.4 Details to be included in disclosures of dealings during an offer period
The City Code specifies the information that must be included in a
disclosure of dealings during an offer period (a 'Rule 8 Disclosure'). The
principle underlying the information requirements is that the disclosure
should include full details of the relevant dealing and of the
shareholder's resultant interests in the relevant securities, to ensure
that the nature of the dealing can be properly understood by other
shareholders and the wider market. A number of changes have been made to
the City Code to clarify the information requirements. These include the
requirements to disclose:
• any outstanding options in respect of, and derivatives referenced to,
the relevant security in which there has been a dealing;
• any short position in the relevant security in which there has been a
dealing;
• details of each dealing where two or more separate but related
dealings were executed at or around the same time;
• where shares are purchased on a specially cum/ex dividend basis,
details of that fact;
• percentages by reference to the numbers of relevant securities given
in a company's latest announcement notifying of changes in its issued
share capital;
• a description of any relevant option or derivative;
• any side agreements that allow a party to control voting rights in
underlying shares;
The City Code also codified the practice of requiring, where a fund
manager has made a Rule 8 Disclosure, any subsequent Rule 8 Disclosure
to explain any variation from what the resultant total holding might
be expected to be, e.g. if there have been changes in funds under
management resulting from an investment client's decision to change
fund manager. However, as the discretionary fund manager itself will
have taken no action, full details will not be required.
The changes made to the City Code have been reflected in the
Regulations (subject to dealing appropriately with areas that were
subject to Panel consultation).
2.5 Informing shareholders of their disclosure of dealings obligations
With regard to informing shareholders of their disclosure of dealings
obligations, new provisions in the City Code require that any announcement
of a possible offer or of a firm intention to make an offer, any offer
document and any circular to offeree shareholders must include a summary of
the principal disclosure of dealings obligations. This is intended to
ensure that anyone proposing to deal in relevant securities of a party to
an offer will be familiar with their dealing disclosure obligations and to
help guard against breaches of the City Code. A template for the wording of
the summary is set out on the Panel's website. Any material deviation from
the prescribed wording should be agreed with the Panel in advance. The
obligation on intermediaries to ensure that their clients are aware of
their dealings disclosure obligations has been deleted from the City Code,
although intermediaries are still required to co-operate with the Panel in
any dealing enquiries.
The Regulations do not have an equivalent obligation on intermediaries to
ensure that their clients are aware of their dealings disclosure
obligations. However, changes have been made for the Regulations to require
a summary of the principal disclosure of dealings obligations in
announcements and circulars, except that there will not be a template set
out in the Regulations (or on a website).
2.6 Disclosure of subscription for new shares
The City Code requires disclosure of any subscription, or agreement to
subscribe, for new securities in the same way as an acquisition of existing
shares. Subscriptions for new shares (and, indeed, other dealings in
relevant securities that would fall to be disclosed) should be disclosed in
an offer document or offeree board circular. Announcements of a firm
intention to make an offer should also include details of the rights of an
offeror or any of its concert parties to subscribe for any securities of
the offeree company in the same way as details of holdings of existing
shares must be disclosed.
In principle, all of these changes have been incorporated into the
Regulations.
2.7 Connected advisers
The Panel regards advisers to a concert party of an offeror or offeree as
themselves acting in concert with that offeror or offeree. Therefore, the
City Code has provided for a new definition of 'connected advisers' for the
purposes of determining whether an adviser is acting in concert with, or an
associate of, a party to an offer. The new definition distinguishes between
connected advisers to:
• the offeror or offeree company;
• persons who are acting in concert with the offeror or with the
directors of the offeree company; and
• persons who are associates of the offeror or the offeree company by
virtue of paragraph (1) of the definition of associate.
The new definition of 'connected adviser' has been incorporated into the
Regulations with appropriate amendments.
2.8 Sub-contracting to another fund manager
The City Code now deems the presumption of concertedness to have been
rebutted in respect of a fund manager which has sub-contracted the
management of funds, with absolute discretion, to a third party fund
manager. It has also been clarified that discretionary fund managers are
not expected to aggregate sub-contracted investment accounts for disclosure
purposes.
Prior to the amendments, the Regulations did not contain the equivalent
provisions. The Regulations have been amended to include such provisions
(without the elements of Panel discretion included in the City Code).
2.9 Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent
The City Code has introduced a new rule which specifically requires
disclosure of the procuring by an offeror or offeree, or any of their
respective associates, of irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent
during an offer period. The obligation to disclose falls on the offeror or
offeree as appropriate and not on the shareholder providing the
undertaking. However, the identity of the party from whom the irrevocable
undertaking or letter of intent has been procured should be included in the
disclosure.
A further rule has been introduced which requires the giver of an
undertaking/letter to make prompt disclosure where he either becomes aware
that he will no longer be able to comply with its terms, or no longer
intends to do so. That disclosure may be made either in the form of a
public announcement or in disclosure to the offeror or offeree (as
appropriate) and the Panel, in which case the offeror or offeree would be
required promptly to make an announcement. No disclosure is required of a
shareholder who is released from an undertaking/letter in accordance with
its terms (e.g. where a higher offer has been announced).
The City Code has introduced an obligation to put on display a copy of any
irrevocable and/or letter of intent obtained by an offeror or by an offeree
company (and a copy/summary of any agreements, arrangements or
understandings relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement
to deal or refrain from dealing).
Related amendments have been made in respect of the information regarding
undertakings/letters required to be disclosed in offer documents and
offeree circulars.
An announcement by an offeror of the level of acceptances received will be
required to indicate the extent to which those acceptances are in respect
of shares which were the subject of an undertaking procured by the offeror
or any of its associates.
Where the relevant disclosure regarding the procuring of irrevocable
undertakings/letters of intent has been made in the offeror's announcement
of a firm intention to make an offer, no separate disclosure will be
required provided that the announcement is made no later than 12 noon on
the business day following the date when the undertaking is procured.
Corresponding changes have been made to the Regulations, where appropriate.
2.10 Miscellaneous amendments
A number of further detailed technical amendments were also made to the
City Code relating to:
• stock borrowing and lending;
• derivatives referenced to baskets or indices of securities;
• the application of the restrictions on dealings by the offeror and
concert parties to dealings in options and derivatives;
• the disclosure of dealings in offeree board circulars;
• acquisitions from a single shareholder;
• purchases of securities by whitewash offerors.
Corresponding changes have been made to the Regulations in respect of
derivatives referenced to baskets or indices of securities, the
disclosure of dealings in offeree board circulars and acquisitions
from a single shareholder. The other amendments are not relevant to
the Bermuda Code.
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