REG - Blackstone Loan Fin - Dividend Declaration

Blackstone Loan FinancingAnnouncement

23/01/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240123:nRSW5324Aa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5324A  Blackstone Loan Financing Limited  23 January 2024

23 January 2024

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO U.S.
PERSONS OR INTO OR IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN.

 

 

Blackstone Loan Financing Limited

(the "Company" or "BGLF")

 

Dividend Declaration

 

The Board of Directors of the Company has today declared a dividend of €0.03
per ordinary share in respect of the period from 1 October 2023 to 31 December
2023. This quarterly payment brings the aggregate dividends payable for the
2023 financial year to €0.09 per ordinary share which is at the top end of
the guidance set out in the Dividend Policy announced on 23 January 2023. The
dividend will be payable to the Company's shareholders of record as detailed
below:

 

 

 Dividend:                      €0.03 per ordinary share
 Ex-Dividend Date:              1 February 2024
 Record Date:                   2 February 2024
 Final Currency Election Date:  9 February 2024
 Payment Date:                  8 March 2024

 

The dividend is capable of being paid in Pound Sterling, rather than Euros,
provided that the relevant shareholder has registered to receive their
dividend in Pound Sterling by the above-referenced Final Currency Election
Date.

 

A copy of the Dividend Currency Election form, which should be sent to Link
Group, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL when completed,
can be found on the Company's website at http://blackstone.com/bglf
(http://blackstone.com/bglf) .

 

The Dividend Currency Election Form should only be completed by shareholders
who hold shares in certificated form. CREST shareholders must elect via CREST.

 

Full details of how to elect are set out in the Terms and Conditions which are
included on the Company's website.

 

Dividend Policy

 

The Company's dividend policy during its managed wind-down was set out in the
Company's circular published on 25 August 2023 (the "Circular"), which stated
that the Board intends to continue to distribute as dividends the interest
payments deemed to be received from BCF on a quarterly basis, having regard to
any amounts which the Board deem prudent to retain.

 

Consequently, the Board is pleased to announce that it is targeting a total
2024 annual dividend of at least €0.09 per ordinary share, which will
consist of quarterly payments of €0.0225 per ordinary share.((1)) The 2024
total target dividend represents a dividend yield of 15.3% based on the BGLF
closing price of €0.59 on 22 January 2024.

 

In addition, the Board is evaluating a return of capital through the
compulsory redemption mechanism (as further described in the Circular) before
the end of 2Q24 at a price representing the prevailing NAV per share and
adjusted (including taking into account the attributable costs) as the
Directors consider appropriate.  Shareholders will be notified of further
details of the proposed compulsory redemption in due course.

The Board also confirms that following the approval by shareholders of the
managed wind-down that the Company's dividend reinvestment plan ('DRIP') has
been terminated.

 

(1)   The target dividend set out in this announcement is a target only and
not a profit forecast. It should not be taken as an indication of the
Company's expected future performance or results. There is no guarantee that
the target dividend set out in this announcement can or will be achieved or
can be continued if achieved. There may be other additional risks,
uncertainties and factors that could cause the returns generated by the
Company to be materially lower than the target dividend set out in this
announcement. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on such
target.

 

NOTE: PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE
RESULTS AND THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT BGLF WILL ACHIEVE COMPARABLE
RESULTS.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Any reference herein to future returns or distributions is a target and not a
forecast and there can be no guarantee or assurance that it will be achieved.

This document has been issued by Blackstone Loan Financing Limited (the
"Company"), and should not be taken as an offer, invitation or inducement to
engage in any investment activity and is solely for the purpose of providing
information about the Company. This document does not constitute or form part
of, and should not be construed as, any offer for sale or subscription of, or
solicitation of any offer to buy or subscribe for, any share in the Company or
securities in any other entity, in any jurisdiction, including the United
States, Canada, Japan or South Africa nor shall it, or any part of it, or the
fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection
with, any contract or investment decision whatsoever, in any jurisdiction.

This document, and the information contained therein, is not for viewing,
release, distribution or publication in or into the United States, Canada,
Japan, South Africa or any other jurisdiction where applicable laws prohibit
its release, distribution or publication, and will not be made available to
any national, resident or citizen of the United States, Canada, Japan or South
Africa. The distribution of this document in other jurisdictions may be
restricted by law and persons into whose possession this document comes must
inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions. Any failure to
comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the federal
securities law of the United States and the laws of other jurisdictions.

The Company has not been and will not be registered under the US Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act") and, as such,
holders of the Shares will not be entitled to the benefits of the Investment
Company Act.  The shares issued by the Company (the "Shares") have not been
and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the "Securities Act"), or with any securities regulatory authority of any
state or other jurisdiction of the United States. The Shares may not be
offered, sold, resold, pledged, taken up, exercised, renounced, delivered,
distributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, into or within
the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, US persons (as
defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) except pursuant to an
exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration
requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable
securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and in
a manner which would not require the Company to register under the Investment
Company Act. No public offering of the Shares is being made in the United
States.

In addition, the Shares are subject to restrictions on transferability and
resale in certain jurisdictions and may not be transferred or resold except as
permitted under applicable securities laws and regulations. Investors may be
required to bear the financial risks of their investment in the Shares for an
indefinite period of time. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may
constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdictions.

 

This document may contain forward-looking statements that represent the
Company's opinions, expectations, beliefs, intentions, estimates or
projections. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates",
"anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or "should" or, in each
case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. Any
statement other than a statement of historical fact is a forward-looking
statement. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors because they
relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future
whether or not outside the control of the Company. Actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement
and even if the results of the Company are consistent with such
forward-looking statement, those results may not be indicative of results in
subsequent periods. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. Recipients of this document should not place
undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, which speaks only as of the
date of its issuance.

No liability whatsoever (whether in negligence or otherwise) arising directly
or indirectly from the use of this document is accepted and no representation,
warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is or will be made by the
Company, or any of its directors, officers, employees, advisers,
representatives or other agents ("Agents") for any information or any of the
opinions contained herein or for any errors, omissions or misstatements. None
of the Agents makes or has been authorised to make any representation or
warranties (express or implied) in relation to the Company or as to the truth,
accuracy or completeness of this document, or any other written or oral
statement provided. In particular, no representation or warranty is given as
to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on
any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts contained in this document
and nothing in this document is or should be relied on as a promise or
representation as to the future.

Unless otherwise indicated, the information provided herein is based on
matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future
date. Recipients of this document are encouraged to contact the Company's
representatives to discuss the procedures and methodologies used to make the
projections and other information provided herein.

All investments are subject to risk, including the loss of the principal
amount invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future
results, and there can be no assurance that BGLF will achieve comparable
results, will meet its target returns, achieve its investment objectives or be
able to implement its investment strategy. All investments to be held by the
Company involve a substantial degree of risk, including the risk of total
loss. The value of shares and the income from them is not guaranteed and can
fall as well as rise due to stock market and currency movements.  When you
sell your investment you may get back less than you originally invested. You
should always seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice
before making any investment decision.

Blackstone Loan Financing Limited is a self-managed Jersey registered
alternative investment fund, and is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services
Commission as a 'listed fund' under the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey)
Law 1988 (the "Funds Law") and the Jersey Listed Fund Guide published by the
Jersey Financial Services Commission. The Jersey Financial Services Commission
is protected by the Funds Law against liability arising from the discharge of
its functions thereunder.  The Jersey Financial Services Commission has
neither reviewed nor approved the issue of this document.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DIVEAFFAASXLEAA