14 August 2023
PRESS RELEASE
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 Listing Rules:
GAM cancels the EGM scheduled for 18 August 2023
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of GAM Holding AG ("GAM") has decided to cancel the Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) scheduled for 18 August 2023.
Rock Investment SAS (“Rock”), part of the investor group Newgame, wrote to GAM on 7 June 2023, supplemented by another letter dated 15 June 2023, requesting that an EGM be convened, on or about 16 August 2023, with a set of agenda items and proposed motions ("Rock Proposals"). The Board confirmed on 28 July 2023 that the EGM was convened for 18 August 2023.
On 7 August 2023, Rock requested that the EGM be postponed. On 9 August 2023, Rock withdrew the Rock Proposals and asked for the EGM to be cancelled. In a further letter dated 11 August 2023, Rock reconfirmed that it did not want the EGM to be held.
The Board continues to consider the interests of all GAM shareholders and other stakeholders. By convening the EGM, the Board has fully discharged its duties towards Rock to hold an EGM and to vote on the Rock Proposals. Given Rock’s request to withdraw the Rock Proposals, the Board has decided to cancel the EGM.
The Board is disappointed that Rock have not been willing to have the Rock Proposals decided upon by GAM shareholders and believes that their decision to withdraw the Rock Proposals is a vexatious use of shareholder rights. The Board notes that the industry leading proxy voting advisors ISS, Glass Lewis and PIRC had recommended to GAM shareholders to vote against the Rock Proposals. Based on this and indications on voting intentions from individual shareholders, the Board is convinced that all of the Rock Proposals would have been comfortably rejected at the EGM had Rock not withdrawn. In any event, it is highly uncertain that another EGM could be convened in time to address GAM’s financial position.
Rock’s actions make their strategy transparent: to disrupt the legitimate offer from Liontrust, while hoping to take control of GAM, without committing the financial support required to maintain GAM as a going concern.
The only viable option in the interests of all stakeholders remains the public tender offer from Liontrust Asset Management Plc (“Liontrust Offer”). The Board continues to strongly recommend the Liontrust Offer and urges all GAM shareholders to tender their shares.
Shareholders can tender their shares into the Liontrust Offer until 23 August 2023 16:00 CEST.
Upcoming events:
24 August 2023 Expected publication of interim results of main tender offer period of Liontrust
19 October 2023 Q3 2023 Interim Statement
For further information please contact:
Charles Naylor
Head of Communications and Investor Relations
T +44 7890 386 699
Media Relations
Ute Dehn Christen
T +41 58 426 31 36
Visit us: www.gam.com
Follow us: Twitter and LinkedIn
GAM
GAM is an independent investment manager that is listed in Switzerland. Total assets under management were CHF 68 billion as at 30 June 2023, with Investment Management at CHF 21.9 billion and Fund Management Services at CHF 46.1 billion. GAM has global distribution with offices in 14 countries and is geographically diverse with clients in almost every continent. It has 3,500 clients globally, of which c. 2,700 are based in Europe. Headquartered in Zurich, GAM Investments was founded in 1983 and its registered office is at Hardstrasse 201 Zurich, 8037 Switzerland.
Liontrust
Liontrust is an independent, specialist asset manager established in 1995, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 and is a member of the FTSE 250. Headquartered on the Strand in London with additional offices in Edinburgh and Luxemburg, Liontrust had £30.5 billion in AuMA as at 16 June 2023. Liontrust seeks to enable investors to enjoy a better financial future through investing in a range of global equities, fixed income, sustainable investment and multi-asset portfolios and funds.
Legal Notice and Information
No Offer
The information contained in this release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer or invitation to purchase, sell, exchange or issue, or a solicitation of an offer to sell, purchase, exchange or subscribe for any registered shares or other securities of GAM Holding AG or Liontrust Asset Management Plc, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor. This release is not part of the Offer Documentation (as defined below) relating to the exchange offer of Liontrust Asset Management Plc for all publicly held registered shares of GAM Holding AG (the "Offer"). Terms and conditions of the Offer have been and/or will be published in the Offer Documentation (as defined below) regarding the Offer. Shareholders of GAM Holding AG are urged to read the Offer Documentation (as defined below), which is and/or will be available at www.liontrust.co.uk/gam-acquisition.
Certain Offer Restrictions
1. General
The release, publication or distribution of the pre-announcement of the Offer, the offer prospectus relating to the Offer and any other materials relating to the Offer (the "Offer Documentation") and the making of the Offer may in certain jurisdictions (including, but not limited to, Japan) (the "Restricted Jurisdictions") be restricted by law, be considered unlawful or otherwise violate any applicable laws or regulations, or may require Liontrust Asset Management Plc or any of its direct and indirect subsidiaries to change or amend the terms or conditions of the Offer in any way, to make an additional filing with any governmental, regulatory or other authority or take additional action in relation to the Offer. Therefore, persons obtaining any Offer Documentation or into whose possession any Offer Documentation otherwise comes, are required to, and should inform themselves of and observe, all such restrictions. Neither GAM Holding AG nor Liontrust Asset Management Plc nor the receiving agent accept or assume any responsibility or liability for any violation by any person whomsoever of any such restriction. The Offer is not being and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into the Restricted Jurisdiction. It is not intended to extend the Offer to any such Restricted Jurisdictions. The Offer Documentation should not be sent or otherwise distributed in or into the Restricted Jurisdictions and the Offer cannot be accepted by any such use, means or instrumentality, in or from within the Restricted Jurisdictions. Accordingly, copies of the Offer Documentation are not being, and must not be, sent or otherwise distributed in or into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction or, in their capacities as such, to custodians, trustees or nominees holding shares for persons in any Restricted Jurisdictions, and persons receiving any such Offer Documentation (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not distribute or send them in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Any purported acceptance of the Offer resulting directly or indirectly from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid. No shares are being solicited in the Offer for purchase or sale from or to a resident of the Restricted Jurisdictions and, if sent in response by a resident of the Restricted Jurisdictions, Liontrust Asset Management Plc reserves the right to reject such acceptance. Such Offer Documentation must not be used for the purpose of soliciting the purchase or sale or exchange of any shares in GAM Holding AG (the "GAM Shares") or shares in Liontrust Asset Management Plc (the "Liontrust Shares") by any person or entity resident or incorporated in any Restricted Jurisdiction. Each person delivering an acceptance form in connection with the Offer will be required to certify that, unless and to the extent otherwise agreed with and authorized by Liontrust Asset Management Plc in accordance with applicable law and regulations: (i) such person has not received the Offer, the Offer Documentation, the acceptance form or any other document relating to the Offer in a Restricted Jurisdiction, nor has such person mailed, transmitted or otherwise distributed any such document in or into a Restricted Jurisdiction; (ii) such person has not utilized, directly or indirectly, the mails, or any means or instrumentality of commerce, or the facilities of any national securities exchange, of a Restricted Jurisdiction in connection with the Offer; (iii) such person is not and was not located in a Restricted Jurisdiction at the time such person accepted the terms of the Offer or at the time such person returned the acceptance form; and (iv) if such person is acting in a fiduciary, agency or other capacity as an intermediary, then either (a) such person has full investment discretion with respect to the securities covered by the acceptance form or (b) the person on whose behalf such person is acting was located outside the Restricted Jurisdictions at the time he or she instructed such person to accept the Offer.
Subject to applicable securities laws and regulations, Liontrust Asset Management Plc intends to make available a "vendor placement" arrangement with respect to the Offer for holders of GAM Shares in the United States of America and any other jurisdictions where, in the sole discretion of Liontrust Asset Management Plc, an offer of securities to such persons would require filing of a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or another relevant regulatory body, or who are otherwise not eligible to participate in the Offer in accordance with applicable laws or regulations. Accordingly, Liontrust Asset Management Plc intends to structure the Offer in a manner whereby each such holder would receive average net cash proceeds from the sale of the Liontrust Shares that it would otherwise be entitled to receive in the Offer (such arrangement, a "Vendor Placement"), unless such holder makes such representations, warranties and confirmations as Liontrust Asset Management Plc may require, and Liontrust Asset Management Plc, in its sole discretion, determines that such holder may receive the Liontrust Shares without filing of a registration statement with the SEC or another relevant regulatory body. Any sale of shares in Liontrust Asset Management Plc pursuant to a Vendor Placement would occur outside of the United States of America and any Restricted Jurisdictions pursuant to a centralized sale process and would be subject to deduction of applicable fees and expenses.
2. United States of America
Shareholders of GAM Holding AG in the United States of America are advised that the GAM Shares are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and that GAM Holding AG is not subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with the SEC thereunder.
The Liontrust Shares to be offered in exchange for GAM Shares pursuant to the Offer have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("U.S. Securities Act"), nor under any law of any state of the United States of America, and may not be offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Offer Documentation does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States of America. Liontrust Asset Management Plc will not register or make a public offer of its securities, or otherwise conduct the Offer, in the United States of America.
The securities referred to herein have not been and are not presently expected to be listed on any US securities exchange or quoted on any inter-dealer quotation system in the United States of America. None of GAM Holding AG or Liontrust Asset Management Plc presently intends to take any action to facilitate a market in such securities in the United States of America.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor any U.S. state securities commission, has approved or disapproved of the securities to be offered in exchange for GAM Shares pursuant to the Offer or any related transaction or determined if the information contained herein or in any offering circular to be prepared in connection with the Offer is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense in the U.S.
As used herein, "United States of America", "U.S." or "US" means the United States of America, its territories and possessions (including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island and the Northern Mariana Islands), any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia.
3. United Kingdom
The Offer is only being made within the United Kingdom pursuant to an exemption under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended and together with any applicable adopting or amending measures in the United Kingdom, the "UK Prospectus Regulation") from the requirement to publish a prospectus that has been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and published in accordance with the UK Prospectus Regulation.
4. European Economic Area
The Offer is only being made within the European Economic Area ("EEA") pursuant to an exemption under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended and together with any applicable adopting or amending measures in any relevant member state of the EEA, the "Prospectus Regulation"), from the requirement to publish a prospectus that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state and published in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation.
5. Japan
The Offer is not addressed to shareholders of GAM Holding AG whose place of residence, seat or habitual abode is in Japan, and such shareholders may not accept the offer.
Reference is made to the offer prospectus for the full offer restrictions.
Other Important Information
This release contains or may contain statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, "estimate", "aim", “project”, “forecast”, "risk", “likely”, “intend”, “outlook”, “should”, “could”, "would", “may”, “might”, "will", "continue", "plan", "probability", "indicative", "seek", “target”, “plan” and other similar expressions are intended to or may identify forward-looking statements.
Any such statements in this release speak only as of the date hereof and are based on assumptions and contingencies subject to change without notice, as are statements about market and industry trends, projections, guidance and estimates. Any forward-looking statements in this release are not indications, guarantees, assurances or predictions of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the person making such statements, its affiliates and its and their directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors and may involve significant elements of subjective judgement and assumptions as to future events which may or may not be correct and may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such statements. You are strongly cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and no person accepts or assumes any liability in connection therewith.
This release is not a financial product or investment advice, a recommendation to acquire, exchange or dispose of securities or accounting, legal or tax advice. It has been prepared without taking into account the objectives, legal, financial or tax situation and needs of individuals. Before making an investment decision, individuals should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own objectives, legal, financial and tax situation and needs and seek legal, tax and other advice as appropriate for their individual needs and jurisdiction.
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