This announcement contains inside information as defined for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
1 December 2021
AMEDEO AIR FOUR PLUS LIMITED (the "Company")
(LSE: AA4, LEI: 21380056PDNOTWERG107)
Return of Capital by a Partial Compulsory Redemption of Shares; Dividend Reinstatement
The Company announces the following in respect of a return of capital by way of a partial compulsory redemption of shares, the proposed reinstatement of the Company's quarterly dividend and an update in respect of Thai Airways.
Return of Capital and Reinstatement of Dividend
In September 2020, the Company returned to shareholders a large portion of the net proceeds from the sale of two aircraft, whilst retaining £30 million to provide the Company with financial flexibility in what the Board considered to be a challenging and uncertain environment. Notwithstanding that some uncertainty remains, the Board believes that the commercial circumstances facing the Company allow for a return of capital to shareholders, together with the re-introduction of quarterly dividends.
Accordingly, the Company announces that it intends to return to Shareholders an aggregate amount of £30 million (by way of a compulsory redemption as described below).
The Board also intends to reinstate a regular dividend with the first dividend payment being made in Q1 2022. The quantum of the dividend will be announced shortly.
Partial Compulsory Redemption of Shares
As noted above, the Company intends to return to Shareholders an aggregate amount of £30 million on 8 December 2021 (the "Redemption Date") for shareholders on the register of members as at close of business on 7 December 2021 ("RecordDate"), by way of a partial compulsory redemption (the "Redemption") of the ordinary shares ("Shares") in the capital of the Company.
Pursuant to the Redemption, the Company will redeem one Share for every five existing Shares of Shareholders on the register of members as at close of business on the Record Date, resulting in the redemption of approximately 86,828,351 Shares in aggregate. Consequently, the Redemption will be effected at 34.55 pence per Share. No fractions of Shares will be redeemed and the number of Shares to be redeemed for each Shareholder will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of Shares, as appropriate.
All redemption proceeds are expected to be paid in pounds sterling using the existing mandate record held on file on or around 15 December 2021. Where no payment details are held on file, payment will be made by cheque posted to the address of the registered holder. Shareholders may elect to receive their proceeds by electronic bank transfer by request sent to the Company's Registrar JTC Registrars Limited, PO Box 156, Dorey Court, Admiral Park, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 4EU. Such requests should be sent initially to registrars@jtcgroup.com and this will need to be provided by close of business on 13 December 2021 in order for the election to be effective. The request must specify the full bank account details of the account (which must be in the name of the registered holder(s)) to which the redemption proceeds are to be paid. All bank payment charges will be for the account of the payee.
Any share certificates for the balance of holdings of Shares will also be despatched to shareholders on or around 15 December 2021. The Company currently has 434,141,757 Shares in issue (none of which are held in treasury). All of the Shares redeemed on the redemption date will be cancelled. Accordingly, once redeemed, such Shares will be incapable of transfer.
The Shares will be disabled in CREST on the Record Date and the existing ISIN number GG00BKY41C61 (the "Old ISIN") will expire. A new ISIN number GG00BMZQ5R81 (the "New ISIN") in respect of the remaining Shares which have not been redeemed will be enabled and available for transactions on 8 December 2021. Any Shares which have traded on or before the Record Date, but have not settled, will be included in the Redemption. CREST will automatically transfer any open transactions as at the Redemption Date to the New ISIN.
Shareholders should note that the Board retains absolute discretion as to the execution, extent and timing of any further returns of capital.
Expected timetable:
Redemption Record Date |
7 December 2021 |
Redemption Date and new ISIN enabled |
8 December 2021 |
Redemption Ex-date |
8 December 2021 |
Redemption Payment Date (on or around) |
15 December 2021 |
Update in respect of Thai Rehabilitation Plan
The lease restructurings with Thai Airways, in respect of four A350-900 aircraft, are proceeding satisfactorily. The Company will issue an update when the restructurings are finalised.
For further information, please contact:
JTC Fund Solutions (Guernsey) Limited
+44 (0) 1481 702 400
Liberum Capital Limited
Chris Clarke / Darren Vickers / Owen Matthews
+44 (0) 20 3100 2000
About the Company
The Company is a Guernsey-domiciled company, with shares admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange's Main Market (LSE: AA4).
The Company's investment objective is to obtain income returns and a capital return for its Shareholders by acquiring, leasing and then selling aircraft.