REG - VPC Specialty - Proposed Managed Wind-Down

VPC Specialty Lending InvestmentsAnnouncement

22/12/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5456K  VPC Specialty Lending Invest. PLC  22 December 2022

22 December 2022

VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC

 

Proposed Managed Wind-Down

 

The Board of VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC ("VSL" or the "Company")
has for some time been reviewing options for reducing the continuing deep
discount of the Company's share price to Net Asset Value (the "Discount"). The
Board has taken professional advice and has also consulted the Company's major
Shareholders. Given the current level of the Discount, the Board considers it
likely that the Company would be required to propose a 25% exit opportunity
following the AGM in 2023, in keeping with the commitment it made to
Shareholders in 2020 (the "25% Exit Opportunity").

The Board and its advisers do not believe that the 25% Exit Opportunity alone
would have a lasting impact on the Discount and that it might have a
potentially detrimental impact for the Company's Shareholders. This is because
the Company would shrink in size, resulting in the Company's shares
potentially becoming less liquid and the ratio of fees and other costs
increasing as a proportion of Net Asset Value.

After further consultation with its major Shareholders, the Board has
therefore determined that it would be in the best interests of the Company and
Shareholders to put forward formal proposals to Shareholders for a managed
wind-down of the Company instead of the 25% Exit Opportunity.

The Board intends to publish a circular in due course to convene a general
meeting at which it will seek approval from Shareholders by ordinary
resolution to amend the Company's investment objective and investment policy
required for a managed wind-down.

If approved by Shareholders, the Board will then endeavour to realise all of
the Company's investments in a cost-effective manner that achieves a balance
between maximising the value received from investments and making timely
returns of capital to shareholders.

The Board also notes that on 7 December 2022, it announced that it had
received a request seeking to requisition a general meeting to consider
certain changes to the Company's investment policy and share capital structure
(the "Requisition").

The Board has engaged with the signatories of the Requisition, being Global
Value Fund Limited, Staude Capital Value Fund LP and Metage Funds Limited, and
the signatories have agreed to withdraw the Requisition on the basis that
their proposals will not be necessary given the Board's intention to recommend
a managed wind-down of the Company.

Graeme Proudfoot, chairman of the Company commented:

"The Board has been consistently focused on the issue of the continuing
discount, and the provisions and thresholds established in 2020 were designed
to provide clear measures of future performance. Two of the three performance
thresholds have been met. The third, being the discount measure, is not due to
be assessed until the end of March 2023.  Over the last 3 years, Shareholders
have received an annualised share price total return of 13.8% and an
annualised NAV total return of 11.3% together with a dividend that has been
maintained for over 4 years. Notwithstanding, as a Board, we need to take
decisions that we feel are in the best long-term interests of our
shareholders, and we have decided that, rather than to shrink the size of the
trust and decrease liquidity through the 25% Exit Opportunity, the better
course of action is for a wind down of the Company which will provide a
managed exit for all shareholders."

Brendan Carroll, Co-Founder and Senior Partner of the Company's investment
manager, Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC ("VPC"), said:

"VPC has always been focused on maximizing value for VSL shareholders and
continuing to maintain the Company's dividend yield. Notwithstanding the
Company's strong NAV returns and consistent dividend yield since inception in
2015, we acknowledge the Company's resilient discount and will prudently take
steps to wind down VSL over the course of the coming years. VPC's overall
business continues to grow, having recently closed on over $2.4 billion in
investor capital and deployed over $1 billion in the last twelve months on
behalf of institutional investors around the world."

A further announcement containing full details of the proposals will be made
when the circular is published.

The information contained within this announcement constitutes inside
information. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this
announcement on behalf of the Company is Michael Conway of Link Company
Matters Limited.

Enquiries

 Victory Park Capital             via Jefferies or Winterflood (below)

 Gordon Watson                    info@vpcspecialtylending.com

 Sora Monachino

 Jefferies International Limited  Tel: +44 20 7029 8000
 Stuart Klein
 Gaudi le Roux

 Winterflood Securities Limited   Tel: +44 20 3100 0000
 Joe Winkley
 Neil Morgan

 Montfort Communications
 Gay Collins/Matthew Jervois      +44 (0)7798 626282/+44 (0)7717 857736

                                  vpc@montfort.london

 

 

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