BOSTON, May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At a joint
special meeting of shareholders held on April 16, 2021 (the "Special Meeting"),
shareholders of Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Income Trust (NYSE: EFT)
(the "Fund") approved a new investment advisory agreement (the "New
Agreement") with Eaton Vance Management, the Fund's investment
adviser.
Tender Offers. As previously announced on
March 16, 2021, the Board authorized
a conditional cash tender offer for up to 25% of the Fund's
outstanding common shares at a price per share equal to 99% of the
Fund's net asset value per share ("NAV") as of the close of regular
trading on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") on the date the
tender offer expires, conditioned on Fund shareholders' approving
the New Agreement (the "Initial Tender Offer"). The Fund is
announcing today an increase in the amount of the Initial Tender
Offer from up to 25% of the Fund's outstanding shares to up to 50%
of the Fund's outstanding common shares. All other terms of
the Initial Tender Offer are as previously announced. The
Fund will commence the Initial Tender Offer by July 1, 2021 and purchase common shares tendered
and accepted in the Initial Tender Offer by August 13, 2021.
Additional terms and conditions of the Initial Tender Offer will
be set forth in the associated Fund offering materials and
additional press releases, as applicable. If the number of
shares tendered in the Initial Tender Offer exceeds 50% of the
Fund's outstanding common shares, the Fund will purchase shares
from tendering shareholders on a pro rata basis (disregarding
fractional shares). Accordingly, there is no assurance that
the Fund will purchase all of a shareholder's tendered common
shares in the Initial Tender Offer.
In addition to increasing the Initial Tender Offer, the Fund is
announcing today that it will conduct cash tender offers by the end
of the fourth quarter of each of 2022, 2023 and 2024 (each, a
"Conditional Tender Offer" and, collectively with the Initial
Tender Offers, the "Tender Offers") for up to 10% of the Fund's
then-outstanding common shares if, from January to August of the
relevant year, the Fund's shares trade at an average discount to
NAV of more than 10% (based upon the Fund's volume-weighted average
market price and NAV on business days during the period). If
triggered, common shares tendered and accepted in a Conditional
Tender Offer would be repurchased at a price per share equal to 98%
of the Fund's NAV as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on
the date such Conditional Tender Offer expires. If a
Conditional Tender Offer is triggered, the Fund will issue a press
release providing notification and additional information about
such Conditional Tender Offer.
Distribution Rate Increase. On March 16, 2021, the Fund announced an increase in
its regular monthly distributions on common shares of approximately
25% from the Fund's March 2021
distribution, conditioned on Fund shareholders' approval of the New
Agreement. This condition has been met, and the distribution
rate increase will be reflected in the Fund's regular monthly
distribution beginning in June 2021.
Fund distributions may include amounts from sources other
than net investment income. When that is estimated to be the
case, shareholders will be notified on a monthly basis. The
final determination of the tax character of Fund distributions will
occur after the end of each calendar year, at which time that
determination will be reported to shareholders. Fund
distributions in any period may be more or less than the net return
earned by the Fund on investments, and therefore should not be used
as a measure of performance or confused with "yield" or "income."
Distributions in excess of Fund returns will cause the Fund's net
assets and NAV per share to decline.
Eaton Vance Corp. was acquired by Morgan Stanley on March 1, 2021. Its Eaton Vance Management,
Parametric, Atlanta Capital and Calvert investment affiliates are
now part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset
management division of Morgan Stanley.
About the Fund
Except pursuant to a tender offer, common shares of the Fund are
available for purchase or sale only through secondary market
trading at their current market price. Shares of closed-end funds
often trade at a discount from their NAV. The market price of Fund
shares may vary from NAV based on factors affecting the supply and
demand for shares, such as Fund distribution rates relative to
similar investments, investors' expectations for future
distribution changes, the clarity of the Fund's investment strategy
and future return expectations, and investors' confidence in the
underlying markets in which the Fund invests. Fund shares are
subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal
invested. Shares of the Fund are not FDIC-insured and are not
deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, any bank. The
Fund is not a complete investment program and you may lose money
investing therein. An investment in the Fund may not be appropriate
for all investors. Before investing, prospective investors should
consider carefully a Fund's investment objective, strategies,
risks, charges and expenses.
This announcement is not a recommendation, an offer to purchase
or a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of the Fund. The
Fund has not commenced the Tender Offers described in this
release. Each Tender Offer will be made only if the condition
described above is satisfied, and only by an offer to purchase, a
related letter of transmittal and other documents filed with the
SEC as exhibits to a tender offer statement on Schedule TO, with
all such documents available on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. For each Tender Offer, the Fund will also make
available to shareholders without charge the offer to purchase and
the letter of transmittal. Shareholders should read these
documents carefully, as they would contain important information
about the Tender Offer.
This press release is for informational purposes only and is
not intended to, and does not, constitute an offer to purchase or
sell shares of the Fund. Additional information about the Fund,
including performance and portfolio characteristic information, is
available at eatonvance.com.
Statements in this press release that are not historical
facts may be forward-looking statements, as defined by the U.S.
securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and
relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to
uncertainties and other factors that may be beyond the Fund's
control and could cause actual results to differ materially from
those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eaton-vance-floating-rate-income-trust-announces-results-of-special-meeting-of-shareholders-increased-initial-tender-offer-and-additional-conditional-tender-offers-301290213.html
SOURCE Eaton Vance Management