Nyrstar NV to exercise put option in NN2 for EUR 20 million
Regulated Information – Inside information –
Press release issued in the framework of article 7:97 BCCA
Nyrstar
NV to exercise put
option in NN2 for EUR 20 million
28 July 2022 at 07.00 CEST
Nyrstar NV (the “Company”) today advises
that it has completed its detailed review process in respect of the
decision whether or not to exercise the put option that the Company
has in relation to its entire 2% shareholding in NN2 NewCo Limited
(“NN2”), which holds the former Nyrstar operational
group, entitling it to sell such 2% to Nyrstar Holdings Plc (or
another member of the Trafigura group) for a fixed amount
of EUR 20 million (the “Put Option”). The review
process started in the fourth quarter of 2021 in light of the Put
Option’s expiry date on 31 July 2022.
Considering the independent expert report
prepared by Moore Corporate Finance, which values the 2%
shareholding in NN2 in a range of EUR 0 million to EUR 3.4 million,
the opinion of the independent directors of the Company, questions
and comments raised by certain minority shareholders and other
information made available to it, the Company believes it is in its
corporate benefit to exercise the Put Option. Further, the exercise
of the Put Option limits the Company’s liquidity risks for the
foreseeable future and avoids insolvency that would, on the basis
of current projections, have arisen in the second quarter of 2023.
A full summary of the background, the process followed and the
summary of the analysis is made below. The Company informs that it
will exercise the Put Option before the expiry on 31 July 2022.
Background
In October 2018, the former Nyrstar group
initiated a review of its capital structure (the "Capital Structure
Review") in response to the challenging financial and operating
conditions being faced by the Nyrstar group. The Capital Structure
Review identified a very substantial additional funding requirement
that the Nyrstar group was unable to meet without a material
reduction of the Nyrstar group's indebtedness. Consequently, the
Capital Structure Review necessitated negotiations between the
Nyrstar group's financial creditors that ultimately resulted in the
restructuring of the Nyrstar group, which became effective on 31
July 2019 (the “Restructuring”). As a result of the Restructuring,
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., via its indirect 98% ownership of the
new holding company NN2, became the ultimate parent company of the
former (direct and indirect) subsidiaries of the Company (the
"Operating Group”), with the remaining 2% stake in NN2 (and thereby
the Operating Group) being owned by the Company.
The lock-up agreement (“Lock-Up Agreement”)
entered into on 14 April 2019 between, among others, the Company
and representatives of its key financial creditor groups, envisaged
that the Company, Trafigura Pte Ltd (“Trafigura”) and Nyrstar
Holdings Limited ("Nyrstar Holdings", a Trafigura special-purpose
vehicle incorporated, amongst other things, for the purpose of
implementing the Restructuring, now known as Nyrstar Holdings Plc)
would enter into a deed confirming their agreement in respect of
(i) certain steps necessary for the implementation of the
restructuring as envisaged in the Lock-Up Agreement and (ii) the
terms of the ongoing relationship between the Company and the
Trafigura group (the "NNV-Trafigura Deed"). The NNV-Trafigura Deed
was duly executed on 19 June 2019.
Pursuant to the NNV-Trafigura Deed, the Company
and Trafigura also agreed that Trafigura granted an option to the
Company to require Nyrstar Holdings(or another Trafigura entity) to
purchase the Company's entire interest in NN2. The terms of this
option are set out in a separate deed, dated 25 June 2019, between
the Company, Trafigura and Nyrstar Holdings (the "Put Option
Deed"). Under the terms of the Put Option Deed, the Company can put
all (but not only a part) of its 2% holding in NN2 to Trafigura at
a price equal to EUR 20 million (subject to any applicable
mandatory regulatory conditions to the sale being satisfied).
The Put Option served to give liquidity to the Company for, and
enhance and crystallise the value of, an otherwise illiquid 2%
minority holding in NN2, a non-listed company, in the corporate
benefit of the Company. The Put Option can be exercised by the
Company until 31 July 2022.
Report by Independent
Directors
As a result of Urion Holdings (Malta) Ltd, a
subsidiary of Trafigura B.V., holding 24,42% in the Company and
also indirectly controlling Nyrstar Holdings, Nyrstar Holdings
constitutes a related party of the Company in the meaning of IAS 24
such that article 7:97 of the Belgian Code of Companies and
Associations (the “BCCA”) applies to the decision whether or not to
exercise the Put Option.
On 18 November 2021, the Company announced that
it had appointed Moore Corporate Finance, to prepare an independent
expert’s opinion (the “Expert Report”) for the independent
directors of the Company (“Committee of Independent Directors”), in
the framework of article 7:97 BCCA. The independent expert’s
opinion was to advise the Committee of Independent Directors in
examining the benefit to the Company, taking all relevant
circumstances into account, of the exercise or non-exercise of the
Put Option that the Company has in relation to its (entire) 2%
investment in NN2. In making its decision on whether or not
to exercise the Put Option, the Committee of Independent Directors
was to also duly consider any substantiated third-party bids,
including of the Company’s shareholders other than Trafigura and/or
of other stakeholders and third parties, that it may receive in
respect of the 2% shareholding in NN2. Any such bids for the 2%
shareholding in NN2 were requested to be addressed to the Company
prior to 15 February 2022. As advised by the Company in the annual
report and financial statements issued on 13 April 2022, via a
press release on 27 May 2022 and at the annual general shareholders
meeting on 28 June 2022, the Company has not received any bids.
Moore Corporate Finance was asked to advise on
the following:
- The current valuation of the Operating Group and the equity
value to be assessed for the Company’s 2% equity interest in
NN2.
- The financial consequences of (not) exercising the Put Option
for the Company and possible other consequences related to such
decision.
- Benefits and disadvantages for the Company if the Board
resolves to exercise the Put Option, including considering the
alternative investments that the Board could consider pursuing with
the proceeds of the Put Option. In doing so, the expert was
instructed to consider the financial viability of the Company over
at least the next 24 months, after date of issuance of the Expert
Report if it decides to not exercise the Put Option.
- The potential outcomes under the alternative options to the
exercise of the Put Option, including the ability of the Company to
sell the 2% stake in NN2 to a third party and the likely sales
proceeds that the Company may be able to generate from such a
sale.
In preparing the Expert Report, Moore Corporate
Finance has reviewed the information made available by Nyrstar and
by the Operating Group to conduct the valuation of the Operating
Group and was given the opportunity to request additional
information and engage in a question-and-answer process with both
Nyrstar and the Operating Group. In addition, Moore Corporate
Finance has, among other things, reviewed certain publicly
available business and historic financial information relating to
the Company and the Operating Group as well as other market data to
test the robustness and reasonableness of the information and
projections provided by the Company and the Operating Group
management. Moore Corporate Finance has confirmed that it
found no indication to doubt the reliability of the information
provided. The information was requested pursuant to the
information rights granted to the Company by Trafigura in the
framework of the Restructuring and stored in an electronic data
room. The Committee of Independent Directors requested the
Company’s management to facilitate this process and monitored that
BDO, the Company’s statutory auditor, was duly informed early in
the process and was given the opportunity to raise questions,
including with Moore Corporate Finance.
As part of the review process, the Company’s
management assessed the amounts that would be repayable under the
Company’s EUR 13.5 million Limited Recourse Loan Facility (“LRLF”)
with NN2 if the decision of the Board were to exercise the Put
Option. This assessment of the repayment obligations of the
LRLF was shared with Moore Corporate Finance. It is noted that
there are limited recourse provisions in the LRLF which limit
the Company’s obligations to make any repayments under the LRLF and
NN2’s recourse to the Company, to the extent of the Company ’s net
assets (as defined in the LRLF). . It has been concluded by
the Company’s analysis of the LRLF that there will be no immediate
repayment obligation of the EUR 9.8 million that is currently
outstanding under the LRLF, nor for the foreseeable future given
the current and forecast value of the Company’s net assets (as
defined in the LRLF). The Company will continue to monitor the
development of its net asset position to consider whether any
repayment of the LRLF would be needed.
Certain minority shareholders have raised
questions and comments in the framework of the Put Option for Moore
Corporate Finance at the occasion of the Company’s annual
shareholders meeting on 28 June 2022 (see minutes on the Company’s
website). The Committee of Independent Directors has considered
these questions and also ensured that these questions and comments
were passed to Moore Corporate Finance and/or considered by the
Company’s management in the memoranda prepared by management for
the Committee of Independent Directors.
The Expert Report concluded that the benefits
for the Company of exercising the Put Option is a degree of
financial security considering that its valuation shows that the
strike price of the Put Option (EUR 20 million) by far exceeds its
valuation of the 2% holding in NN2 (which lies in a range of EUR 0
million to EUR 3.4 million as at 31 May 2022). This in turn
limits the Company’s liquidity risks for the foreseeable future and
avoids insolvency that would risk, on the basis of current
projections, to arise in the second quarter of 2023. Further, based
on the valuation, the exercise of the Put Option for EUR 20 million
is significantly higher than the amount a third party would be
likely willing to pay. The disadvantages are that the Company’s
major asset will be realised and thus its activity will now consist
in managing the proceeds of the Put Option and the management of
the ongoing legal and other regulatory proceedings. The
Expert Report lists a number of investments for the Company that
are suited in such circumstances, which the Board of Directors is
considering.Decision to exercise the Put
Option
The Committee of Independent Directors has
considered the Expert Report, as well as the information provided
by the Company’s management when evaluating the decision whether or
not to exercise the Put Option as well as the comments raised by
certain minority shareholders at the occasion of the latest annual
shareholders meeting. On this basis, the Committee of Independent
Directors has advised the Company’s board of directors on the
exercise or non-exercise of the Put Option in accordance with
article 7:97 of the BCCA.
The key conclusions from the detailed review
conducted by the Committee of Independent Directors in accordance
with article 7:97 of the BCCA which were material for the decision
by the Company to exercise the Put Option are summarised as
follows:
- The valuation performed by Moore Corporate Finance shows that
the fair market valuation of the Company’s 2% equity interest is in
the range of EUR 0 million to EUR 3.4 million as at 31 May 2022.
This valuation is substantially below the EUR 20 million exercise
price of the Put Option. The amount of EUR 20 million that the
Company would receive upon exercising the Put Option would thus
result in a clear financial advantage to the Company compared to
not exercising it. The Put Option expires on 31 July
2022.
- The exercise of the Put Option would result in the cancellation
of NN2’s commitments under the LRLF and the requirement for
repayment of certain amounts outstanding thereunder (subject to the
limited recourse provisions). The net effect of any
obligation to repay amounts under the LRLF would be to reduce the
portion of the EUR 20 million proceeds received from the exercise
of the Put Option available for use by the Company. However,
the limited recourse provisions of the LRLF result in the Company
not being required to pay amounts under the LRLF to the
extent it would not have sufficient Company net assets (as defined
in the LRLF). This allows deduction of the Company’s non-LRLF
liabilities (including its contingent liabilities), which are
broadly defined. (The Company net assets are defined in the LRLF
and such definition is unrelated to IFRS or Belgian GAAP rules and
reporting).
As long as the Company net asset position,
calculated on the basis of the provisions of the LRLF, remains
negative, the EUR 20 million that the Company will receive upon
exercising the Put Option (and the sale completing subject to any
applicable mandatory regulatory conditions being satisfied) will
therefore not be required to be used towards repayment of the LRLF.
However, exercising the Put Option would terminate the provision of
certain ongoing operational and administrative services under the
LRLF (the “Ongoing Services”). The effect of the latter would be
minimal as the Ongoing Services period also automatically expires
on 31 July 2022.
- As a result of the limited recourse provisions in the
LRLF, the exercise of the Put Option provides the Company with
sufficient headroom to cover its expected near-term costs and
consider appropriate use for the net proceeds In this context,
however, and as noted above, the Company will continue to monitor
the development of its Company Net Asset position to consider
whether any repayment of the LRLF needs to be made in accordance
with its terms.
- The consequence of exercising the Put Option (and the sale
completing subject to any applicable mandatory regulatory
conditions being satisfied) will result in the Company forfeiting
the opportunity to receive future dividends from NN2, if any, and
will result in the Company no longer having the option to dispose
of the Company’s 2% equity interest in NN2 to a third party or
Trafigura at a potentially higher price than the Put Option
exercise price of EUR 20 million. The Company has assessed
the probability of not exercising the Put Option and instead
waiting until a future moment in time when the value of the
Company’s 2% equity interest would exceed EUR 20 million or a third
party or Trafigura would offer more. The Company considers,
based on the Expert Report and lack of interest shown, including by
sector players, that this seems a very unlikely hypothesis as the
Company has already approached the market to learn whether there
would be a possibility of any substantiated third-party bids and
did not receive any bids since the announcement in its press
release on 18 November 2021.
- Importantly, the proposition not to exercise the Put Option
before it is set to expire on 31 July 2022 would likely place the
Company in insolvency during H1 2023 as the Company’s liquidity
forecasts, in the absence of the EUR 20 million of Put Option
proceeds, show the Company becoming illiquid in Q2 2023.
The opinion of the Committee of Independent
Directors is therefore as follows:
On the basis of the considerations set out
above, including the Expert Report, the information provided [by
management] in Annex 2 as well as the comments made by minority
shareholders, the Committee is of the opinion that the decision to
exercise the Put Option is not such as to imply a disadvantage to
the Company that, in light of its current policies, would be
manifestly illegitimate.
Furthermore, the Committee is of the opinion
that it is unlikely that the decision to exercise the Put Option
would lead to disadvantages for the Company which will not be
outweighed by the benefits for the Company of such decision.
The Company’s statutory auditor, BDO, has
reviewed the Expert Report, the report by the Committee and the
minutes of the Board of Directors of the Company in accordance with
article 7:97 BCCA and its assessment is as follows.
Based on our review, nothing has come to our
attention that causes us to believe that the financial and
accounting data reported in the advice of the committee of
independent directors dated 27 July 2022 and in the minutes of the
administrative body dated 27 July 2022, which justify the proposed
transaction, are not consistent, in all material respects, compared
to the information we have in the context of our assignment as
statutory auditor of Nyrstar NV.
Our assignment is solely executed for the
purposes described in article 7:97 of the Code of Companies and
Associations and therefore our report is not to be used for any
other purpose.
The Expert Report, the report by the Committee
and BDO’s report are all available on the Company’s website:
https://www.nyrstar.be/en/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/2022
About Nyrstar
NV
The Company is incorporated
in Belgium and, following completion of the
recapitalisation/restructuring has a 2% shareholding in
the Nyrstar group. The Company is listed on Euronext
Brussels under the symbol NYR. For further information please visit
the Nyrstar website: www.nyrstar.be.
About Moore Corporate
Finance
Moore Corporate Finance is the largest
independent professional services provider in Belgium. Moore
Corporate Finance provides services in the areas of Accountancy,
Audit, Business Analytics, Business Consulting, Corporate Finance,
Interim Management and Tax & Legal Services. As a member of
Moore Global – a global accounting and consulting network – Moore
Corporate Finance assists its clients in more than 100 countries.
More information about Moore Corporate Finance can be found at
www.moore.be
For further information
contact:
Anthony
Simms - Head of External
Affairs & Legal
anthony.simms@nyrstar.com
Regulated Information – Inside information – Press release
issued in the framework of article 7:97 BCCANyrstar NV to exercise
put option in NN2 for EUR 20 million28 July 2022 at 07.00
CESTNyrstar NV (the “Company”) today advises that it has completed
its detailed review process in respect of the decision whether or
not to exercise the put option that the Company has in relation to
its entire 2% shareholding in NN2 NewCo Limited (“NN2”), which
holds the former Nyrstar operational group, entitling it to sell
such 2% to Nyrstar Holdings Plc (or another member of the Trafigura
group) for a fixed amount of EUR 20 million (the “Put Option”). The
review process started in the fourth quarter of 2021 in light of
the Put Option’s expiry date on 31 July 2022.Considering the
independent expert report prepared by Moore Corporate Finance,
which values the 2% shareholding in NN2 in a range of EUR 0 million
to EUR 3.4 million, the opinion of the independent directors of the
Company, questions and comments raised by certain minority
shareholders and other information made available to it, the
Company believes it is in its corporate benefit to exercise the Put
Option. Further, the exercise of the Put Option limits the
Company’s liquidity risks for the foreseeable future and avoids
insolvency that would, on the basis of current projections, have
arisen in the second quarter of 2023. A full summary of the
background, the process followed and the summary of the analysis is
made below. The Company informs that it will exercise the Put
Option before the expiry on 31 July 2022.BackgroundIn October 2018,
the former Nyrstar group initiated a review of its capital
structure (the "Capital Structure Review") in response to the
challenging financial and operating conditions being faced by the
Nyrstar group. The Capital Structure Review identified a very
substantial additional funding requirement that the Nyrstar group
was unable to meet without a material reduction of the Nyrstar
group's indebtedness. Consequently, the Capital Structure Review
necessitated negotiations between the Nyrstar group's financial
creditors that ultimately resulted in the restructuring of the
Nyrstar group, which became effective on 31 July 2019 (the
“Restructuring”). As a result of the Restructuring, Trafigura Group
Pte. Ltd., via its indirect 98% ownership of the new holding
company NN2, became the ultimate parent company of the former
(direct and indirect) subsidiaries of the Company (the "Operating
Group”), with the remaining 2% stake in NN2 (and thereby the
Operating Group) being owned by the Company.The lock-up agreement
(“Lock-Up Agreement”) entered into on 14 April 2019 between, among
others, the Company and representatives of its key financial
creditor groups, envisaged that the Company, Trafigura Pte Ltd
(“Trafigura”) and Nyrstar Holdings Limited ("Nyrstar Holdings", a
Trafigura special-purpose vehicle incorporated, amongst other
things, for the purpose of implementing the Restructuring, now
known as Nyrstar Holdings Plc) would enter into a deed confirming
their agreement in respect of (i) certain steps necessary for the
implementation of the restructuring as envisaged in the Lock-Up
Agreement and (ii) the terms of the ongoing relationship between
the Company and the Trafigura group (the "NNV-Trafigura Deed"). The
NNV-Trafigura Deed was duly executed on 19 June 2019.Pursuant to
the NNV-Trafigura Deed, the Company and Trafigura also agreed that
Trafigura granted an option to the Company to require Nyrstar
Holdings(or another Trafigura entity) to purchase the Company's
entire interest in NN2. The terms of this option are set out in a
separate deed, dated 25 June 2019, between the Company, Trafigura
and Nyrstar Holdings (the "Put Option Deed"). Under theterms of the
Put Option Deed, the Company can put all (but not only a part) of
its 2% holding in NN2 to Trafigura at a price equal to EUR 20
million (subject to any applicable mandatory regulatory conditions
to the sale being satisfied). The Put Option served to give
liquidity to the Company for, and enhance and crystallise the value
of, an otherwise illiquid 2% minority holding in NN2, a non-listed
company, in the corporate benefit of the Company. The Put Option
can be exercised by the Company until 31 July 2022.Report by
Independent DirectorsAs a result of Urion Holdings (Malta) Ltd, a
subsidiary of Trafigura B.V., holding 24,42% in the Company and
also indirectly controlling Nyrstar Holdings, Nyrstar Holdings
constitutes a related party of the Company in the meaning of IAS 24
such that article 7:97 of the Belgian Code of Companies and
Associations (the “BCCA”) applies to the decision whether or not to
exercise the Put Option.On 18 November 2021, the Company announced
that it had appointed Moore Corporate Finance, to prepare an
independent expert’s opinion (the “Expert Report”) for the
independent directors of the Company (“Committee of Independent
Directors”), in the framework of article 7:97 BCCA. The independent
expert’s opinion was to advise the Committee of Independent
Directors in examining the benefit to the Company, taking all
relevant circumstances into account, of the exercise or
non-exercise of the Put Option that the Company has in relation to
its (entire) 2% investment in NN2. In making its decision on
whether or not to exercise the Put Option, the Committee of
Independent Directors was to also duly consider any substantiated
third-party bids, including of the Company’s shareholders other
than Trafigura and/or of other stakeholders and third parties, that
it may receive in respect of the 2% shareholding in NN2. Any such
bids for the 2% shareholding in NN2 were requested to be addressed
to the Company prior to 15 February 2022. As advised by the Company
in the annual report and financial statements issued on 13 April
2022, via a press release on 27 May 2022 and at the annual general
shareholders meeting on 28 June 2022, the Company has not received
any bids.Moore Corporate Finance was asked to advise on the
following:i. The current valuation of the Operating Group and the
equity value to be assessed for the Company’s 2% equity interest in
NN2.ii. The financial consequences of (not) exercising the Put
Option for the Company and possible other consequences related to
such decision.iii. Benefits and disadvantages for the Company if
the Board resolves to exercise the Put Option, including
considering the alternative investments that the Board could
consider pursuing with the proceeds of the Put Option. In doing so,
the expert was instructed to consider the financial viability of
the Company over at least the next 24 months, after date of
issuance of the Expert Report if it decides to not exercise the Put
Option.iv. The potential outcomes under the alternative options to
the exercise of the Put Option, including the ability of the
Company to sell the 2% stake in NN2 to a third party and the likely
sales proceeds that the Company may be able to generate from such a
sale.In preparing the Expert Report, Moore Corporate Finance has
reviewed the information made available by Nyrstar and by the
Operating Group to conduct the valuation of the Operating Group and
was given the opportunity to request additional information and
engage in a question-and-answer process with both Nyrstar and the
Operating Group. In addition, Moore Corporate Finance has, among
other things, reviewed certain publicly available business and
historic financial information relating to the Company and the
Operating Group as well as other market data to test the robustness
and reasonableness of the information and projections provided by
the Company and the Operating Group management. Moore Corporate
Finance has confirmed that it found no indication to doubt the
reliability of the information provided. The information was
requested pursuant to the information rights granted tothe Company
by Trafigura in the framework of the Restructuring and stored in an
electronic data room. The Committee of Independent Directors
requested the Company’s management to facilitate this process and
monitored that BDO, the Company’s statutory auditor, was duly
informed early in the process and was given the opportunity to
raise questions, including with Moore Corporate Finance.As part of
the review process, the Company’s management assessed the amounts
that would be repayable under the Company’s EUR 13.5 million
Limited Recourse Loan Facility (“LRLF”) with NN2 if the decision of
the Board were to exercise the Put Option. This assessment of the
repayment obligations of the LRLF was shared with Moore Corporate
Finance. It is noted that there are limited recourse provisions in
the LRLF which limit the Company’s obligations to make any
repayments under the LRLF and NN2’s recourse to the Company, to the
extent of the Company ’s net assets (as defined in the LRLF). . It
has been concluded by the Company’s analysis of the LRLF that there
will be no immediate repayment obligation of the EUR 9.8 million
that is currently outstanding under the LRLF, nor for the
foreseeable future given the current and forecast value of the
Company’s net assets (as defined in the LRLF). The Company will
continue to monitor the development of its net asset position to
consider whether any repayment of the LRLF would be needed.Certain
minority shareholders have raised questions and comments in the
framework of the Put Option for Moore Corporate Finance at the
occasion of the Company’s annual shareholders meeting on 28 June
2022 (see minutes on the Company’s website). The Committee of
Independent Directors has considered these questions and also
ensured that these questions and comments were passed to Moore
Corporate Finance and/or considered by the Company’s management in
the memoranda prepared by management for the Committee of
Independent Directors.The Expert Report concluded that the benefits
for the Company of exercising the Put Option is a degree of
financial security considering that its valuation shows that the
strike price of the Put Option (EUR 20 million) by far exceeds its
valuation of the 2% holding in NN2 (which lies in a range of EUR 0
million to EUR 3.4 million as at 31 May 2022). This in turn limits
the Company’s liquidity risks for the foreseeable future and avoids
insolvency that would risk, on the basis of current projections, to
arise in the second quarter of 2023. Further, based on the
valuation, the exercise of the Put Option for EUR 20 million is
significantly higher than the amount a third party would be likely
willing to pay. The disadvantages are that the Company’s major
asset will be realised and thus its activity will now consist in
managing the proceeds of the Put Option and the management of the
ongoing legal and other regulatory proceedings. The Expert Report
lists a number of investments for the Company that are suited in
such circumstances, which the Board of Directors is
considering.Decision to exercise the Put OptionThe Committee of
Independent Directors has considered the Expert Report, as well as
the information provided by the Company’s management when
evaluating the decision whether or not to exercise the Put Option
as well as the comments raised by certain minority shareholders at
the occasion of the latest annual shareholders meeting. On this
basis, the Committee of Independent Directors has advised the
Company’s board of directors on the exercise or non-exercise of the
Put Option in accordance with article 7:97 of the BCCA.The key
conclusions from the detailed review conducted by the Committee of
Independent Directors in accordance with article 7:97 of the BCCA
which were material for the decision by the Company to exercise the
Put Option are summarised as follows:I. The valuation performed by
Moore Corporate Finance shows that the fair market valuation of the
Company’s 2% equity interest is in the range of EUR 0 million to
EUR 3.4 million as at 31 May 2022. This valuation is substantially
below the EUR 20 million exercise price of the PutOption. The
amount of EUR 20 million that the Company would receive upon
exercising the Put Option would thus result in a clear financial
advantage to the Company compared to not exercising it. The Put
Option expires on 31 July 2022. II. The exercise of the Put Option
would result in the cancellation of NN2’s commitments under the
LRLF and the requirement for repayment of certain amounts
outstanding thereunder (subject to the limited recourse
provisions). The net effect of any obligation to repay amounts
under the LRLF would be to reduce the portion of the EUR 20 million
proceeds received from the exercise of the Put Option available for
use by the Company. However, the limited recourse provisions of the
LRLF result in the Company not being required to pay amounts under
the LRLF to the extent it would not have sufficient Company net
assets (as defined in the LRLF). This allows deduction of the
Company’s non-LRLF liabilities (including its contingent
liabilities), which are broadly defined. (The Company net assets
are defined in the LRLF and such definition is unrelated to IFRS or
Belgian GAAP rules and reporting).As long as the Company net asset
position, calculated on the basis of the provisions of the LRLF,
remains negative, the EUR 20 million that the Company will receive
upon exercising the Put Option (and the sale completing subject to
any applicable mandatory regulatory conditions being satisfied)
will therefore not be required to be used towards repayment of the
LRLF. However, exercising the Put Option would terminate the
provision of certain ongoing operational and administrative
services under the LRLF (the “Ongoing Services”). The effect of the
latter would be minimal as the Ongoing Services period also
automatically expires on 31 July 2022.III. As a result of the
limited recourse provisions in the LRLF, the exercise of the Put
Option provides the Company with sufficient headroom to cover its
expected near-term costs and consider appropriate use for the net
proceeds In this context, however, and as noted above, the Company
will continue to monitor the development of its Company Net Asset
position to consider whether any repayment of the LRLF needs to be
made in accordance with its terms.IV. The consequence of exercising
the Put Option (and the sale completing subject to any applicable
mandatory regulatory conditions being satisfied) will result in the
Company forfeiting the opportunity to receive future dividends from
NN2, if any, and will result in the Company no longer having the
option to dispose of the Company’s 2% equity interest in NN2 to a
third party or Trafigura at a potentially higher price than the Put
Option exercise price of EUR 20 million. The Company has assessed
the probability of not exercising the Put Option and instead
waiting until a future moment in time when the value of the
Company’s 2% equity interest would exceed EUR 20 million or a third
party or Trafigura would offer more. The Company considers, based
on the Expert Report and lack of interest shown, including by
sector players, that this seems a very unlikely hypothesis as the
Company has already approached the market to learn whether there
would be a possibility of any substantiated third-party bids and
did not receive any bids since the announcement in its press
release on 18 November 2021.V. Importantly, the proposition not to
exercise the Put Option before it is set to expire on 31 July 2022
would likely place the Company in insolvency during H1 2023 as the
Company’s liquidity forecasts, in the absence of the EUR 20 million
of Put Option proceeds, show the Company becoming illiquid in Q2
2023.The opinion of the Committee of Independent Directors is
therefore as follows:On the basis of the considerations set out
above, including the Expert Report, the information provided [by
management] in Annex 2 as well as the comments made by minority
shareholders, the Committee is of the opinion that the decision to
exercise the Put Option is not such as to imply a disadvantage to
the Company that, in light of its current policies, would be
manifestly illegitimate.Furthermore, the Committee is of the
opinion that it is unlikely that the decision to exercise the Put
Option would lead to disadvantages for the Company which will not
be outweighed by the benefits for the Company of such decision.The
Company’s statutory auditor, BDO, has reviewed the Expert Report,
the report by the Committee and the minutes of the Board of
Directors of the Company in accordance with article 7:97 BCCA and
its assessment is as follows.Based on our review, nothing has come
to our attention that causes us to believe that the financial and
accounting data reported in the advice of the committee of
independent directors dated 27 July 2022 and in the minutes of the
administrative body dated 27 July 2022, which justify the proposed
transaction, are not consistent, in all material respects, compared
to the information we have in the context of our assignment as
statutory auditor of Nyrstar NV.Our assignment is solely executed
for the purposes described in article 7:97 of the Code of Companies
and Associations and therefore our report is not to be used for any
other purpose.The Expert Report, the report by the Committee and
BDO’s report are all available on the Company’s website:
https://www.nyrstar.be/en/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/2022About
Nyrstar NVThe Company is incorporated in Belgium and, following
completion of the recapitalisation/restructuring has a 2%
shareholding in the Nyrstar group. The Company is listed on
Euronext Brussels under the symbol NYR. For further information
please visit the Nyrstar website: www.nyrstar.be.About Moore
Corporate FinanceMoore Corporate Finance is the largest independent
professional services provider in Belgium. Moore Corporate Finance
provides services in the areas of Accountancy, Audit, Business
Analytics, Business Consulting, Corporate Finance, Interim
Management and Tax & Legal Services. As a member of Moore
Global – a global accounting and consulting network – Moore
Corporate Finance assists its clients in more than 100 countries.
More information about Moore Corporate Finance can be found at
www.moore.beFor further information contact:Anthony Simms - Head of
External Affairs & Legal anthony.simms@nyrstar.com
- Nyrstar NV Put Option declaration 28072022
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