R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. Announces Initial Settlement of Tender Offer for its 7-3/4% Notes due 2006
July 05 2005 - 8:10PM
PR Newswire (US)
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. Announces Initial Settlement
of Tender Offer for its 7-3/4% Notes due 2006 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.,
July 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE:RAI),
announced today that its direct wholly owned subsidiary, R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. (RJR), has accepted for payment,
and intends to promptly pay for, approximately $309.5 million in
principal amount, or approximately 62%, of its outstanding $500
million aggregate principal amount of 7-3/4% Notes due 2006 (CUSIP
Nos. 76182KAK1, 74960LBK1 and 74960LBL9) (the Notes) tendered
pursuant to RJR's previously announced tender offer for those
Notes. The Notes accepted for payment were all tendered on or prior
to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, today (the Consent Date). The
tender offer and the related consent solicitation to amend the
indenture governing the Notes are described in the Offer to
Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement dated June 21, 2005
(the Offer to Purchase). (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040720/CLTU061LOGO ) Pursuant
to the Offer to Purchase, the total consideration for each $1,000
principal amount of Notes validly tendered and not validly
withdrawn on or prior to the Consent Date is $1,029.90, plus
accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the initial
settlement date, which is expected to be tomorrow, July 6, 2005.
The total consideration was determined by reference to a fixed
spread of 50 basis points over the yield to maturity of the 2.00%
U.S. Treasury Note due May 15, 2006, based on the bid price for
such security as of 2:00 p.m., New York City time, today. Included
in the total consideration is a consent payment of $30 for each
$1,000 in principal amount of the Notes validly tendered, and
consents delivered, on or prior to the Consent Date. Holders who
tender Notes after the Consent Date are not eligible to receive the
consent payment. Holders may not tender their Notes without
delivering consents or deliver consents without tendering their
Notes. The consents are being solicited to eliminate substantially
all of the restrictive covenants and one of the events of default
contained in the indenture governing the Notes. As of the Consent
Date, the requisite number of consents to amend the indenture had
been received, and RJR currently intends to promptly execute, with
the other parties to the indenture, a supplemental indenture to
effect the amendments. RJR intends to finance the payment for Notes
tendered pursuant to the tender offer primarily with the proceeds
from its private offering of $300 million in aggregate principal
amount of 6.500% Secured Notes due 2010 and $200 million aggregate
principal amount of 7.300% Secured Notes due 2015, which closed on
June 29, 2005. The Offer to Purchase will expire at 12:00 midnight,
New York City time, on July 19, 2005, unless such date is extended
or earlier terminated by RJR (the Expiration Date), and RJR
intends, subject to the Offer to Purchase, to accept for payment
and promptly pay for all remaining Notes validly tendered before
the Expiration Date promptly following the Expiration Date.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. are
acting as the dealer managers and solicitation agents for the
tender offer and consent solicitation. Holders of the Notes can
obtain copies of the Offer to Purchase and related materials from
Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the information agent, at
(212) 430-3774 or toll free at (866) 540-1500. Questions regarding
the solicitation can be directed to either dealer manager,
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at (212) 723-6106 or toll free at
(800) 558-3745, or J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. at (212) 834-3424 or
toll free at (866) 834-4666. Neither RJR or RAI, nor either dealer
manager or the information agent, makes any recommendations as to
whether holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the tender
offer or consent to the proposed amendments to the indenture
governing the Notes, and no one has been authorized by any of them
to make such recommendations. Holders must make their own decisions
as to whether to consent to the proposed amendments to the
indenture and to tender Notes and, if so, the principal amount of
Notes to tender. This announcement is not an offer to purchase, a
solicitation of an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of consents
with respect to the Notes nor is this announcement an offer to sell
or solicitation of an offer to buy new securities of RJR.
Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included in this news release that are not historical in
nature are forward-looking statements. These statements regarding
RAI's future performance and financial results inherently are
subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, described in the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include:
the substantial and increasing regulation and taxation of the
cigarette industry; various legal actions, proceedings and claims
relating to the sale, distribution, manufacture, development,
advertising, marketing and claimed health effects of cigarettes
that are pending or may be instituted against RAI or its
subsidiaries; the substantial payment obligations and limitations
on the advertising and marketing of cigarettes under various
litigation settlement agreements; the continuing decline in volume
in the domestic cigarette industry; competition from other
cigarette manufacturers, including increased promotional activities
and the growth of deep-discount brands; the success or failure of
new product innovations and acquisitions; the responsiveness of
both the trade and consumers to new products and marketing and
promotional programs; the ability to realize the benefits and
synergies arising from the combination of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company and the U.S. cigarette and tobacco business of Brown &
Williamson Tobacco Corporation; any potential costs or savings
associated with realigning the cost structure of RAI and its
subsidiaries; the ability to achieve efficiencies in manufacturing
and distribution operations without negatively affecting sales; the
cost of tobacco leaf and other raw materials and other commodities
used in products; the effect of market conditions on the
performance of pension assets, foreign currency exchange rate risk,
interest rate risk and the return on corporate cash; the rating of
RJR's securities; any adverse impacts from the transition of the
packaging operations formerly conducted by RJR Packaging, LLC, an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of RJR, to the buyers of RJR
Packaging, LLC's businesses; and the potential existence of
significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal
controls over financial reporting that may be identified during the
performance of testing required under Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Due to these uncertainties and risks,
you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
news release. Except as provided by federal securities laws, RAI is
not required to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Reynolds American Inc. is the parent company of R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc.,
Lane Limited and R.J. Reynolds Global Products, Inc. R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company, the second- largest U.S. tobacco company,
manufactures about one of every three cigarettes sold in the United
States, including five of the nation's 10 best-selling brands:
Camel, Winston, Kool, Salem and Doral. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco
Company, Inc. manufactures Natural American Spirit cigarettes and
other tobacco products, and markets them both nationally and
internationally. Lane Limited manufactures several roll-your-own,
pipe tobacco and little cigar brands, and distributes Dunhill
tobacco products. R.J. Reynolds Global Products, Inc. manufactures,
sells and distributes American-blend cigarettes and other tobacco
products to a variety of customers worldwide. Copies of RAI's news
releases, annual reports, SEC filings and other financial materials
are available on the company's Web site,
http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040720/CLTU061LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Reynolds American Inc.
CONTACT: Investors, Ken Whitehurst of Reynolds American Inc.,
+1-336-741-0951; or Media, Seth Moskowitz, +1-336-741-7698, for
Reynolds American Inc. Web site: http://www.rjrt.com/
http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/
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