On 22 December 2011, the Company issued Company release no. 40, in which the Board informed that it was initiating a sales process on offering selected Tower Group A/S assets to a representative selection of potential investors.
On 25 January 2012, the Company issued Company release no. 1, in which the Board informed that it had shortlisted five non-binding offers for a selected number of Tower Group A/S subsidiaries. These shortlisted bidders were given access to selected Company information to allow the preparation of a final round of bids which were received on 29 February 2012. On 1 March 2012, the Board of Tower Group A/S, after careful consideration, created a ranking of the bids.
On 7 March 2012, Tower Group A/S entered into exclusive negotiations with one of the bidders, who offered the most balanced recovery for all the stakeholders and the highest certainty of transaction execution. According to the current timetable, the spin-out of the selected assets and the closing of the sale are expected at the end of April or the beginning of May 2012.
A pre-requisite to such a sale is approval from senior and junior banks, among other items, and the Company is currently in negotiations with its lenders to finalize the documentation necessary to support this transaction.
The Board believes that the completion of this sale is currently the only viable alternative to immediate insolvency and continues to pursue a strategy of value maximization which could potentially flow up to the shareholders. Under the current conditions, such a sale is not expected to recover any value for the shareholders. However, should current claims, liquidation costs, and the junior bank claims be finally lower than anticipated, any further excess could flow to the shareholders. In every case, the Board is aiming to achieve an orderly liquidation of Tower Group A/S.
Best regards
Tower Group A/S
Martin Coté
CEO
Questions regarding this release can be directed to Martin Coté, CEO, on tel.: +420 725 716 755.
