THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN
THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU)
596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.
NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY
PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS
TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE "UNITED STATES") OR IN OR
INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION
WHERE OR TO WHOM IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
13
June 2024
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY ANNOUNCES TENDER OFFERS
British Telecommunications public
limited company (the "Offeror") announces that it is inviting
holders of its outstanding EUR 650,000,000 0.500 per cent. Notes
due 12 September 2025 (ISIN: XS2051494222) (the "2025 Notes") and EUR 1,300,000,000
1.750 per cent. Notes due 10 March 2026 (ISIN: XS1377679961) (the
"2026 Notes" and together
with the 2025 Notes, the "Notes" and each a "Series") to tender their Notes for
purchase by the Offeror for cash in an aggregate nominal amount of
up to the Maximum Acceptance Amount (as defined below), subject to
pro rata scaling, if
applicable, and subject to applicable law and regulation and the
offer and distribution restrictions and the satisfaction or waiver
of the New Financing Condition (as defined below) and the other
conditions described in the tender offer memorandum dated 13 June
2024 (the "Tender Offer
Memorandum") (each such invitation an "Offer" and together the "Offers").
Description
|
ISIN
|
Outstanding Nominal Amount
|
Benchmark Rate
|
Fixed Spread
(basis points)
|
Purchase Price
|
Maximum Acceptance Amount
|
EUR 650,000,000 0.500 per cent. Notes
due 12 September 2025
|
XS2051494222
|
EUR 650,000,000
|
2025 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap
Rate
|
+0
|
To be determined at the Pricing
Time
|
Subject as set out herein, up to an
aggregate nominal amount of the Notes expected to be equal to the
aggregate nominal amount of the New Notes (as defined below) (the
"Maximum Acceptance
Amount"). The Maximum Acceptance Amount will be announced as
soon as practicable after the pricing of the New Notes, subject to
the right of the Offeror to increase or decrease such amount in its
sole and absolute discretion
|
EUR 1,300,000,000 1.750 per cent.
Notes due 10 March 2026
|
XS1377679961
|
EUR 1,300,000,000
|
2026 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap
Rate
|
+15
|
To be determined at the Pricing
Time
|
THE OFFERS WILL COMMENCE ON
13 JUNE 2024 AND WILL EXPIRE AT 4.00 P.M. (LONDON TIME) ON 19 JUNE
2024 (THE "EXPIRATION TIME") UNLESS EXTENDED, WITHDRAWN, AMENDED OR
TERMINATED AT THE SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION OF THE
OFFEROR.
THE DEADLINES SET BY ANY
INTERMEDIARY OR CLEARING SYSTEM WILL BE EARLIER THAN THE ABOVE
DEADLINE.
|
The Offers are made on the terms and
subject to the conditions (including satisfaction or waiver of the
New Financing Condition) contained in the Tender Offer Memorandum
and should be read in conjunction with the Tender Offer Memorandum.
Capitalised terms used but not otherwise defined in this
announcement shall have the meaning given to them in the Tender
Offer Memorandum.
Rationale for the Offers
The rationale for the Offers is to
optimise the liquidity and debt maturity profile of the Offeror and
BT Group plc. Notes purchased by the Offeror pursuant to the Offers
will be cancelled and will not be re-issued or re-sold. Notes which
have not been validly submitted and accepted for purchase pursuant
to the Offers will remain outstanding.
Details of the Offers
The submission of a valid Tender
Instruction through the Clearing Systems will be irrevocable except
in the limited circumstances in which the revocation of a Tender
Instruction is specifically permitted in accordance with the terms
of the Offers.
Purchase
Price
The 2025 Notes Purchase Price will
be calculated at or around the Pricing Time as the price (expressed
as a percentage of the nominal amount of the 2025 Notes accepted
for purchase pursuant to the 2025 Notes Offer and rounded to the
third decimal place, with 0.0005 being rounded upwards) equal to
(a) each remaining payment of principal and interest on the 2025
Notes up to and including 12 September 2025 (being the maturity
date of the 2025 Notes), discounted to the Settlement Date at a
discount rate equal to the 2025 Notes Repurchase Yield (being the
sum of the 2025 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate and the 2025 Notes
Fixed Spread), less (b) the Accrued Interest in respect of the 2025
Notes.
The 2026 Notes Purchase Price will
be calculated at or around the Pricing Time as the price (expressed
as a percentage of the nominal amount of the 2026 Notes accepted
for purchase pursuant to the 2026 Notes Offer and rounded to the
third decimal place, with 0.0005 being rounded upwards) equal to
(a) each remaining payment of principal and interest on the 2026
Notes up to and including 10 March 2026 (being the maturity date of
the 2026 Notes), discounted to the Settlement Date at a discount
rate equal to the 2026 Notes Repurchase Yield (being the sum of the
2026 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate and the 2026 Notes Fixed
Spread), less (b) the Accrued Interest in respect of the 2026
Notes.
The determination of the 2025 Notes Purchase Price and the 2026
Notes Purchase Price will, in the absence of manifest error, be
final and binding on all parties.
Tender
Consideration
The consideration (the "Tender Consideration") payable, subject
to satisfaction or waiver of the New Financing Condition, on the
Settlement Date to a Qualifying Holder whose Notes are validly
Offered for Sale and accepted for purchase by the Offeror pursuant
to the Offers will be an amount in EUR equal to the sum of: (i) the
product of (x) the relevant Purchase Price and (y) the nominal
amount of the relevant Notes; and (ii) the relevant Accrued
Interest Amount in respect of such Notes, rounded, if necessary, to
the nearest EUR 0.01, with EUR 0.005 being
rounded upwards.
Maximum Acceptance Amount
and Acceptance on a Pro-Rata Basis
The Offeror proposes to accept Notes
for purchase up to the Maximum Acceptance Amount on the terms and
subject to the conditions (including the satisfaction or waiver of
the New Financing Condition) contained in the Tender Offer
Memorandum (although the Offeror reserves the right, in its sole
and absolute discretion and for any reason, to increase or decrease
the Maximum Acceptance Amount).
Until the Offeror announces the
final aggregate nominal amount of each Series (if any) accepted for
purchase, no assurance can be given that any Notes validly Offered
for Sale pursuant to the Offers will be accepted. Even if the New
Financing Condition is satisfied, the acceptance of any Notes
validly Offered for Sale is at the sole and absolute discretion of
the Offeror and the Offeror reserves the absolute right not to
accept any Notes validly Offered for Sale pursuant to the Offers.
The Offeror will determine the allocation of the aggregate nominal
amount accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offers among each
Series (the "Series Acceptance
Amounts" and each, a "Series Acceptance Amount") in its sole
and absolute discretion and may purchase considerably less (or
none) of one Series than of another Series.
If the Offeror decides to accept
Notes of any Series for purchase pursuant to the Offers and in the
event that valid Tender Instructions are received in respect of an
aggregate nominal amount of a Series which is greater than the
relevant Series Acceptance Amount, such Tender Instructions will be
accepted on a pro rata
basis as further set out in the Tender Offer Memorandum such that
the aggregate nominal amount of such Series accepted for purchase
is no greater than the relevant Series Acceptance
Amount.
New Notes and New Financing
Condition
The Offeror announced on 13 June
2024 its intention, subject to market conditions, to issue a new
series of euro-denominated fixed rate notes (the "New Notes"), unconditionally and
irrevocably guaranteed by BT Group plc. Whether the Offeror will
accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered in the Offers is
subject, without limitation, to (unless such condition is waived by
the Offeror in its sole and absolute discretion) the successful
completion (in the sole determination of the Offeror) of the issue
of the New Notes (the "New
Financing Condition").
Allocation of the New
Notes
When considering allocation of the
New Notes, the Offeror intends to give preference to those Holders
who, prior to such allocation, have validly tendered (or have given
a firm indication to the Offeror or any Dealer Manager that they
intend to tender) their Notes pursuant to the Offers. Therefore, a
Holder who wishes to subscribe for New Notes in addition to
tendering its Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offers may be
eligible to receive, at the sole and absolute discretion of the
Offeror, priority in the allocation of the New Notes, subject to
the issue of the New Notes and such Holder making a separate
application for the purchase of such New Notes to a Dealer Manager
(in its capacity as a joint lead manager of the issue of the New
Notes) in accordance with the standard new issue procedures of such
Dealer Manager. However, the Offeror is not obliged to allocate the
New Notes to a Holder who has validly tendered or indicated a firm
intention to tender the Notes pursuant to the Offers and, if New
Notes are allocated, the nominal amount thereof may be less or more
than the nominal amount of Notes tendered by such Holder and
accepted by the Offeror pursuant to the Offer. Any such allocation
will also, among other factors, take into account the minimum
denomination of the New Notes (being EUR 100,000 in the case of the
New Notes).
All allocations of the New Notes,
while being considered by the Offeror as set out above, will be
made in accordance with customary new issue allocation processes
and procedures. In the event that a Holder validly tenders Notes
pursuant to the Offer, such Notes will remain subject to such
tender and the conditions of the Offers as set out in the Tender
Offer Memorandum irrespective of whether that Holder receives all,
part or none of any allocation of New Notes for which it has
applied.
Holders should note that the pricing
and allocation of the New Notes are expected to take place prior to
the Expiration Time and any Holder that wishes to subscribe for New
Notes in addition to tendering existing Notes for purchase pursuant
to the Offers should therefore provide, as soon as practicable, and
prior to the allocation of the New Notes, to any Dealer Manager any
indications of a firm intention to tender Notes for purchase
pursuant to the Offers and the quantum of Notes that it intends to
tender in order for this to be taken into account as part of the
New Notes allocation process.
Expected Timetable of Events
Events/Dates
|
Times and Dates
|
Launch
Date
Offers announced. Clearing System Notices
distributed via the Clearing Systems and Tender Offer Memorandum
available to Qualifying Holders upon request from the Tender
Agent.
|
13 June 2024
|
Announcement of the Maximum Acceptance
Amount
Announcement of the Maximum Acceptance Amount
for the Offers.
|
As soon as reasonably practicable
following pricing of the New Notes and expected to be on 14 June
2024
|
Expiration
Time
Deadline for receipt by the Tender Agent of
Tender Instructions.
Qualifying
Holders should note that Tender Instructions must be submitted in
accordance with the deadlines of the Clearing System, which will be
before the Expiration Time.
|
4.00 p.m. (London time) on 19 June
2024
|
Announcement of
indicative results of the Offers
Announcement by the Offeror of a non-binding
indication of the level at which it expects to set the Series
Acceptance Amounts and indicative pro-ration factors (if any) in
the event the Offeror decides to accept Notes which have been
validly Offered for Sale pursuant to the Offers.
|
As soon as reasonably practicable after the
Expiration Time and expected to be on 20 June 2024
|
Pricing
Time
Determination of the 2025 Notes Interpolated
Mid-Swap Rate, the 2026 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate, the 2025
Notes Repurchase Yield, the 2026 Notes Repurchase Yield, the 2025
Notes Purchase Price and the 2026 Notes Purchase Price.
|
At or around 11.00 a.m. (London time) on 20 June
2024
|
Announcement of
the results of the Offers
Announcement of (i) whether the
Offeror will accept (subject to satisfaction or waiver of the New
Financing Condition) any Notes pursuant to the Offers and, if so
accepted, of the aggregate nominal amount of Notes of each Series
so accepted for purchase, (ii) for any Series accepted for
purchase, the pricing details, being, as applicable, the 2025 Notes
Interpolated Mid-Swap Rate, the 2025 Notes Repurchase Yield, the
2025 Notes Purchase Price, the 2026 Notes Interpolated Mid-Swap
Rate, the 2026 Notes Repurchase Yield and the 2026 Notes Purchase
Price and (iii) the final Series Acceptance Amounts and pro-ration
factors (if any) in respect of each Series.
|
As soon as reasonably practicable after the
Pricing Time on 20 June 2024
|
Settlement
Date
Subject to satisfaction or waiver of the New
Financing Condition on or prior to such date, settlement of the
Offers.
Payment of Tender Consideration in respect of
Notes accepted for purchase.
|
Expected to be 24 June 2024
|
This is an indicative timetable and is subject to the right of
the Offeror to extend, re-open, amend and/or terminate the Offers
(subject to applicable law and as provided in the Tender Offer
Memorandum). Announcements and notices to
be given to Qualifying Holders in connection with the Offers will
be made (i) by publication via the
Regulatory News Service and (ii) by the delivery of
notices to the Clearing Systems for communication to Direct
Participants. Announcements may also be made by issue of a press
release to one or more Notifying News Service(s). Copies of all
such announcements, press releases and notices can also be obtained
upon request from the Tender Agent.
Qualifying Holders are advised to check with any Intermediary
through which they hold their Notes as to the deadlines by which
such Intermediary would require receipt of instructions from
Qualifying Holders to participate in, or to withdraw their
instructions to participate in, the Offers in accordance with the
terms and conditions of the Offers as described in the Tender Offer
Memorandum in order to meet the relevant deadlines (which will be
earlier than the deadlines set out above) and the corresponding
deadlines set by the Clearing Systems.
Qualifying Holders are advised to read carefully the Tender
Offer Memorandum for full details of, and information on the
procedures for participating in, the Offers.
Barclays Bank PLC and J.P. Morgan Securities plc
are acting as
Dealer Managers for the Offers and Kroll Issuer Services Limited is
acting as Tender Agent. For detailed terms of the Offers please
refer to the Tender Offer Memorandum which (subject to offer and
distribution restrictions) can be obtained from the Dealer Managers
and the Tender Agent referred to below.
DEALER
MANAGERS
|
Barclays Bank PLC
1 Churchill Place
London E14 5HP
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3134
8515
Attn: Liability Management
Group
Email: eu.lm@barclays.com
|
J.P. Morgan Securities plc
25 Bank Street
Canary Wharf
London E14 5JP
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 207 134
2468
Attn: EMEA Liability Management
Group
Email:
liability_management_EMEA@jpmorgan.com
|
THE TENDER AGENT
|
Kroll Issuer Services Limited
The Shard
32 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9SG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7704 0880
Attn: David Shilson
Email: bt@is.kroll.com
Website: https://deals.is.kroll.com/bt
|
This announcement is released by
British Telecommunications public limited company and contains
information that qualified or may have qualified as inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom
domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018,
as amended ("UK MAR"), encompassing
information relating to the Offers, as described above. For the
purposes of UK MAR and the Implementing Technical Standards, this
announcement is made by Andrew Binnie, BT Group Treasury Director
of the Offeror.
DISCLAIMER
This announcement must be read in
conjunction with the Tender Offer Memorandum. This announcement and
the Tender Offer Memorandum contain important information which
should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect
to the Offers. If any Qualifying Holder is in any doubt as to the
contents of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or the
action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own financial,
legal, regulatory and tax advice, including in respect of any tax
consequences, immediately from its broker, bank manager, solicitor,
accountant or other independent financial, tax or legal
adviser.
None of the Offeror, the Dealer
Managers or the Tender Agent or any of their respective directors,
employees, officers, agents or affiliates expresses any opinion
about the merits of the Offers or makes any recommendation as to
whether or not any Qualifying Holder should offer to sell its Notes
and no one has been authorised by the Offeror, the Dealer Managers
or the Tender Agent to make any such recommendation.
OFFER RESTRICTIONS
UNITED STATES
The Offers are not being made, and
will not be made, directly or indirectly in or into, or by use of
the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities
exchange of, the United States. This includes, but is not limited
to, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone, the
internet and other forms of electronic communication. The Notes may
not be tendered in the Offers by any such use, means,
instrumentality or facility from or within the United States or by
persons located or resident in the United States as defined in
Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities
Act").
Accordingly, copies of this
announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents
or materials relating to the Offers are not being, and must not be,
directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise transmitted,
distributed or forwarded (including, without limitation, by
custodians, nominees or trustees) in or into the United States. Any
purported tender of Notes in the Offers resulting directly or
indirectly from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid,
and any purported tender of Notes made by a person located in the
United States or any agent, fiduciary or other intermediary acting
on a non-discretionary basis for a principal giving instructions
from within the United States will be invalid and will not be
accepted.
This announcement or the Tender Offer
Memorandum is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an
offer to buy or sell, any Notes or other securities in the United
States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States
absent registration under, or an exemption from the registration
requirements of, the Securities Act.
Each Holder of Notes participating in
the Offers will represent that it is not a U.S. person, it is not
located in the United States and it is not participating in the
Offers from the United States or it is acting on a
non-discretionary basis for a principal located outside the United
States that is not giving an order to participate in the Offers
from the United States.
For the purposes of this and above
paragraphs, "United States"
means the United States of America, its territories and
possessions, any state of the United States of America and the
District of Columbia.
UNITED KINGDOM
The communication of this
announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents
or materials relating to the Offers is not being made and such
documents and/or materials have not been approved by an authorised
person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are
not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general
public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents
and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to,
and may only be acted upon by, those persons in the United Kingdom
falling within the definition of investment professionals (as
defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act
2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the
"Financial Promotion
Order")) or persons who are within Article 43 of the
Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may
otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion
Order.
BELGIUM
None of this announcement, the Tender
Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials relating to
the Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval
or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets
Authority (Autorité des services
et marchés financiers / Autoriteit financiële diensten en
markten) and, accordingly, the Offers may not be made in
Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6
of the Belgian Law of 1 April 2007 on public takeover bids (the
"Belgian Takeover Law"), as
amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offers may
not be advertised and the Offers will not be extended, and none of
this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other
documents or materials relating to the Offers (including any
memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar
documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available,
directly or indirectly, to any individual or legal entity in
Belgium other than (i) in reliance upon any private placement
exemption set out in Article 6, §3 of the Belgian Takeover Law or
(ii) in any circumstances set out in Article 6, §4 of the Belgian
Takeover Law.
Insofar as Belgium is concerned, this
announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum have been issued only
for the personal use of the above investors qualifying for the
private placement exemption set out in Article 6, §3 of the Belgian
Takeover Law and exclusively for the purpose of the Offers.
Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and the
Tender Offer Memorandum may not be used for any other purpose or
disclosed to any other person in Belgium.
FRANCE
This announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any
documents or offering materials relating to the Offers may not be
distributed in the Republic of France except to qualified investors
(investisseurs qualifiés)
as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended
(the "Prospectus
Regulation") and Article L.411-2 of the French Code monétaire et financier as amended
from time to time. This announcement and the Tender Offer
Memorandum have not been and will not be submitted for clearance to
nor approved by the Autorité des
marchés financiers.
REPUBLIC OF ITALY
None of the Offers,
this announcement, the
Tender Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials
relating to the Offers has been or will be submitted to the
clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la
Borsa ("CONSOB")
pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offers are being
carried out in the Republic of Italy ("Italy") as exempted offers pursuant to
article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58
of 24 February 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article
35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999,
as amended. Holders or beneficial owners of the Notes that are
located in Italy may tender their Notes in the Offers through
authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial
intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in
accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No.
20307 of 15 February 2018, as amended from time to time, and
Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended) and in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with
requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian
authority.
Each intermediary must comply with the
applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties
vis-à-vis its clients in connection with the Notes and/or the
Offers.
GENERAL
This announcement and
the Tender Offer Memorandum do not constitute an
offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes, and
tenders of Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offers will not be
accepted from Holders in any circumstances in which such offer or
solicitation is unlawful.
NEW NOTES
Any investment decision to purchase
any New Notes should be made solely on the basis of the information
contained in (i) the prospectus dated 7 June 2024 prepared in
connection with the €20,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme
of the Offeror (the "Prospectus") and (ii) the relevant
final terms in respect of the New Notes pursuant to which the New
Notes are intended to be issued, and no reliance is to be placed on
any representations other than those contained in the Prospectus.
Subject to compliance with all applicable securities laws and
regulations, the Prospectus is available on the website of the
Offeror and from the joint lead managers of the issue of the New
Notes, on request.
The New Notes are not being, and will
not be, offered or sold in the United States. Nothing in this
announcement constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy the New Notes in the United States or any other
jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered, sold or delivered in
the United States absent registration under, or an exemption from
the registration requirements of, the Securities Act. The New Notes
have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act
or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the
United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly
or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account
or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the
Securities Act).
Compliance information for the New Notes:
EEA MiFID II / UK MiFIR professionals / ECPs-only
/No EEA or UK PRIIPs KID - Manufacturer target market (MiFID II /
UK MiFIR product governance) is eligible counterparties and
professional clients only (all distribution channels). No EEA or UK
PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not
available to retail in EEA or UK. See the Prospectus for further
information.
No action has been or will be taken in
any jurisdiction in relation to the New Notes to permit a public
offering of securities. The minimum denomination of the New Notes
will be EUR 100,000.