Premier Pacific Income Fund PLC
14 May 2007
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
For Immediate Release 14th May 2007
Premier Pacific Income Fund plc
(the 'Company')
Re: Liquidation
THIS LETTER REQUIRES YOUR URGENT ATTENTION
Dear Shareholder
This letter is being sent to advise you of a decision by the Board of Directors
to commence the process to liquidate the Fund. Liquidation has become necessary
because the costs of running the Fund will make it difficult from now on for the
Manager to deliver the performance expected by shareholders in line with the
investment objectives.
This Fund was incorporated in Ireland on 8 June 2000 as a closed-ended variable
capital investment company and commenced trading on 20 July 2000 through the
placing of 25,000,000 shares at £1 each. An additional placing of 17,241,379
shares was made on 5 July 2001 at a price of 85.5 pence per share. At an
Extraordinary General Meeting on 26 July 2005 shareholders voted to convert the
Fund to an open-ended variable capital investment company with quarterly
subscription and redemption dates.
The performance of the Fund has been good and it has delivered to shareholders
the returns expected from its investment objective. Over the period from its
open-ending in July 2005 to its interim accounting date of 31 January 2007 the
Fund has given a capital return of 26.9% and a total return of 33.6%. This
compares favourably with the Fund's benchmark index, the MSCI Asia Pacific ex
Japan Index, which returned 22.9% in capital terms and 29.2% in
income-reinvested terms. In the three months to 30 April 2007 the net asset
value per share has produced a return of 7.6% rising to 90.06 pence per share.
Over the same period the index has given a similar return.
Through its listing on the London Stock Exchange arbitrageurs have been able to
acquire stock at a discount to the net asset value and have regularly tendered
this stock at redemption dates to make modest but profitable returns for
themselves. As a consequence the number of shares in issue has shrunk from
42,241,379 to 7,516,599 resulting in shareholder funds of only £6,769,531 at 30
April 2007.
The Manager, Premier Fund Managers, presented a paper to the Board at their
meeting on 15 March 2007. In it the Manager outlined that the costs of running
the Fund from here on in were likely to be in the order of 3% to 4% of
shareholders' funds and that this meant that it would be increasingly difficult
to continue to deliver good performance. The Manager had held meetings with the
major shareholders who accounted for over 70% of the shares in issue at 31
January 2007. A number of proposals were reviewed with these shareholders to
ascertain what strategy might be most appropriate. Following these meetings,
the Manager considered that the Fund should liquidate in order to ensure that
shareholders were treated fairly.
During consultations consideration was given to providing a roll over vehicle
for shareholders seeking to maintain their investment in a similar vehicle.
Regrettably it was too expensive to provide such a facility. However
shareholders may consider re-investing their proceeds in Premier's other Asia
Pacific ex Japan Fund, Premier Eastern Enterprise, details of which can be found
on their website www.premierassetmanagement.co.uk . Premier has agreed to waive
all initial charges on any funds rolled into this fund.
Having consulted with the regulators in both Ireland and the U.K. notice to
de-list the Fund from the Irish and London Stock Exchanges on 30 May 2007 will
be sent to them. Shareholders will not be able to trade shares after this date.
The final net asset value will be calculated at close of business on 31 May
2007. Proceeds will then be paid to shareholders on the Irish register on or
about 11 June 2007. As part of the liquidation process the Board resolved to
distribute retained earnings as dividend since income was a major feature of the
investment remit. Accordingly shareholders who were on the Irish register on 1
May 2007 will receive a dividend of 7.3 pence per share on 21 May 2007. This
represents the normal quarterly dividend of 0.8 pence per share and a special
dividend of 6.5 pence per share.
In order to ensure that shareholders receive their proceeds as quickly as
possible, it is proposed to make electronic transfers directly to shareholders'
bank accounts. To do this it will be necessary for shareholders to complete the
enclosed form and return it to Northern Trust International Fund Administration
Services (Ireland) Limited as soon as possible and prior to 7 June 2007. Any
shareholder who has not supplied the form by then will have their payment sent
by cheque to their registered address. The form may be faxed initially for the
attention of Ciara Whelan on 00-353-1-670-1185 but the original should then be
mailed to her.
If shareholders are unclear as to what action they should take, they should
contact their financial adviser. Staff at Premier Asset Management may be able
to assist with points of clarification but will not be able to give investment
advice. They can be contacted on 01483 306090.
Yours sincerely
John Walley
Chairman
Liquidation Proceeds Payment Request Form
PREMIER PACIFIC INCOME FUND PLC ('THE COMPANY')
This form duly completed should be sent to:
Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited
Georges Court
54-62 Townsend Street
Dublin 2
Republic of Ireland
Attn: Ciara Whelan
From: Names of Shareholder(s) ..........................................
..........................................
Address of Shareholder(s) ...................................................
............................................
........................
.........................................................................
........................
........................Postcode .......................
Please forward proceeds by telegraphic transfer in accordance with the bank account details set out in
the Application Form or to the following bank account details:-
Bank Name:..........................................................................................
Bank Address:..........................................................................................
...
............................................................Postcode ............
.........
Bank Sort Code: ...................
Account Number:..........................................................................
Account Name:...............................................................................
Holder(s) Signature(s) Date
1. (signature)
2. (signature)
3. (signature)
4. (signature)
In the case of joint holders, all must sign.
A corporation should complete this form under seal or under the hand of a duly
authorised official who should state this capacity.
You may fax this form to 00-353-1-670-1185 for the attention of Ciara Whelan.
If you fax this form, an original must be sent by post thereafter to the address
above. Shareholders who do not return a form by 7th June 2007 will have a
cheque sent to them in respect of their proceeds.
Enquiries:
Corporate Compliance and Secretarial Services Alan Aylward
Limited
Phone: + 353 1 476 8300
RSM Robson Rhodes LLP Lara Byrnes
Phone: + 353 1 436 6400
This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of
The Irish Stock Exchange.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange