Varia US Properties: Shareholders approve capital increase
At an Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders of Varia US Properties AG approved all proposals of the Board of Directors and thus confirmed the planned ordinary capital increase.
A total of 4,312,093 shares, or 59.89 percent of the voting shares, were present or represented at the Annual General Meeting held last Friday (Dec. 8) in Zurich. The proceeds from the upcoming capital increase will be used for the further expansion of the portfolio in the USA. A good 1.8 million new shares will be issued. The total number of shares will increase from currently around 7.2 to a new maximum of 9 million.
Subscription period for new shares begins on December 13
Under the rights offering, eligible holders of existing shares in the Company will receive subscription rights, i.e. existing shareholders will receive one subscription right for each registered share. Four subscription rights grant the right to subscribe for one new share. In the context of the share offering, offered shares for which the subscription right has not been effectively exercised will be offered to the market at the offer price. The offer price per new registered share has been set at CHF 35.50. The expected gross proceeds from the ordinary capital increase amount to approximately 63.9 million.
The subscription rights exercise period, during which eligible holders of existing shares may exercise the subscription right to subscribe for the offered shares, will start on December 13, 2017 and end on January 11, 2018 (12 noon CET). The share offer period will also start on December 13, 2017 and end on January 11, 2018 (4 p.m.). Listing and first trading day of the new registered shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange as well as delivery of the new registered shares against payment of the offer price are scheduled for January 16, 2018.
Cash dividend distribution planned
In addition, Varia US Properties intends to distribute a cash dividend of CHF 2.10 per share from reserves from capital contributions. The distribution corresponds to a reduction of reserves from capital contributions of approximately 15.1 million. The ex-dividend date is December 12, 2017; the distribution will be made on December 14, 2017 (value date).
The Varia Board of Directors is also aiming for a dividend payout of CHF 2.50 per share for the 2018 financial year. This is subject to the expected results underlying such a target dividend being achieved and shareholder approval, writes the listed real estate company.
