PHILADELPHIA, April 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen
Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE American: AEF)
(the "Fund") announces today that it has successfully completed the
reorganizations of Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company
Opportunities Fund, Inc. ("ABE"), Aberdeen Israel Fund, Inc.
("ISL"), Aberdeen Indonesia Fund, Inc. ("IF"), Aberdeen Latin
America Equity Fund, Inc. ("LAQ"), Aberdeen Singapore Fund, Inc.
("SGF"), Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc. ("GCH") and The Asia
Tigers Fund, Inc. ("GRR") into the Aberdeen Chile Fund, Inc. ("CH")
after close of regular business on April 27,
2018. Effective today, the consolidated fund has been
renamed and will trade on the NYSE American Exchange under the
ticker symbol "AEF."
In the reorganizations, common shareholders of ABE, ISL, IF,
LAQ, SGF, GCH and GRR, respectively, received an amount of CH
common shares with a net asset value equal to the aggregate net
asset value of their holdings of ABE, ISL, IF, LAQ, SGF, GCH and/or
GRR common shares, as applicable, as determined at the close of
business on April 27, 2018.
Relevant details pertaining to the reorganizations are as
follows:
Fund
|
NAV per Share
($)
4/27/18
|
Conversion
Ratio
|
Aberdeen Emerging
Markets Smaller Company
Opportunities Fund,
Inc. (ABE)
|
15.6741
|
1.6215
|
Aberdeen Israel Fund,
Inc. (ISL)
|
19.9425
|
2.0631
|
Aberdeen Indonesia
Fund, Inc. (IF)
|
7.5631
|
0.7824
|
Aberdeen Latin
America Equity Fund, Inc.
(LAQ)
|
28.2129
|
2.9187
|
Aberdeen Singapore
Fund, Inc. (SGF)
|
14.4589
|
1.4958
|
Aberdeen Greater
China Fund, Inc. (GCH)
|
12.9360
|
1.3383
|
The Asia Tigers Fund,
Inc. (GRR)
|
11.6849
|
1.2088
|
Aberdeen Chile Fund,
Inc. (CH)
|
9.6662
|
n/a
|
The Fund will seek to provide both current income and long-term
capital appreciation by investing, under normal market conditions,
at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment
purposes, in emerging market equity securities. The Fund intends to
use leverage for investment purposes through borrowing in an amount
currently estimated to be approximately 10% of total
assets.
The global emerging markets equity ("GEM") investment team of
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited ("AAML") will be responsible for
the day-to-day management of the Fund. The GEM team works in a
collaborative fashion, with all team members having both portfolio
management and research responsibilities. Devan Kaloo and Joanne
Irvine will continue to lead the team that is jointly and
primarily responsible for managing the Fund.
Barring exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, the Fund
anticipates the amount of the previously announced tender offer and
an estimate of the special capital gains distribution will be made
within approximately 10 business days, both of which are expected
to be completed and paid within approximately 60 days. The tender
offer, together with a special distribution of capital gains, will
aggregate up to a maximum distribution of 50%, and not less than
40%, of the net assets of the Fund post-consolidation.
Nancy Yao Maasbach, C.
William Maher and Rahn Porter today join the Board of Directors of
the Fund as Class I, Class II and Class I Directors, respectively,
joining James Cattano, Lawrence Fox and Steven
Rappaport, whose terms continue.
The Fund plans to establish and announce a targeted discount
policy as required by the Standstill Agreement with City of London
Investment Management Company Limited ("CoL"). The policy will seek
to manage the Fund's share trading discount by: (1) committing the
Fund to repurchase shares in the open market when the Fund's shares
trade at a discount of 10% or more to NAV and (2) undertaking a 15%
tender offer if the average discount exceeds 11% of NAV over any
rolling 12-month period commencing on April
30, 2018 and ending on December 31,
2019, provided that the Fund shall not be required to
conduct more than one tender offer during such period.
Also effective April 30, 2017, the
Fund's investment adviser will waive fees and/or reimburse expenses
(excluding leverage costs, interest, brokerage commissions and any
non-routine expenses) to the extent necessary so that the Fund's
total expense ratio does not exceed 1.20% for two years from
April 30, 2018, as provided in the
Fund's expense limitation agreement.
Important Information
This press release may contain statements regarding plans and
expectations for the future that constitute forward-looking
statements within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking and can be identified by the use of words such as
"may,""will," "expect,""anticipate,""estimate,""believe,""continue"
or other similar words. Such forward-looking statements are based
on the Fund's current plans and expectations, and are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties are
contained in the Fund's filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC").
The information in this press release is for informational
purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to
buy any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in
any jurisdiction pursuant to or in connection with the proposed
transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or
transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of
applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by
means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The Fund has not commenced the tender offer described in this
release. Any tender offer will be made only by an Offer for
Repurchase or Offer to Purchase for Cash, a related Letter of
Transmittal and other documents which will be filed with the SEC as
exhibits to a tender offer statement on Schedule TO. Holders of
Fund shares and Target Fund shares should read these documents once
they are filed and become available because they will contain
important information about the tender offer. These and other
documents filed by the Fund will be available to investors for free
both on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and from the Fund.
The offer is not being made to, nor will tenders be accepted from
or on behalf of, holders of shares in any jurisdiction in which
making or accepting the offer would violate that jurisdiction's
laws.
International investing entails special risk considerations,
including currency fluctuations, lower liquidity, economic and
political risks, and difference in accounting methods.
Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one
of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal
value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more
or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may
trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value
("NAV") of the Fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the
Fund will achieve its investment objective.
If you wish to receive this information
electronically, please contact
InvestorRelations@aberdeenstandard.com
aberdeenaef.com
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SOURCE Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc.