Readers are referred to the section
"Forward-Looking Statements" at the end of this release.
MONTRÉAL, Feb. 24, 2022 /CNW/ -
Power Corporation of Canada (TSX:
POW) ("Power Corporation" or the "Corporation") announced today
that it has filed with the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"), and
the TSX has accepted, the Corporation's notice of intention to make
a normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB").
Under the NCIB, the Corporation may purchase for cancellation,
on the open market, at its discretion during the period commencing
on February 28, 2022 and ending on
the earlier of February 27, 2023 and
the completion of purchases under the NCIB, up to 30,000,000
subordinate voting shares of the Corporation (the "Subordinate
Voting Shares"), representing approximately 5.3% of the "public
float" of the Subordinate Voting Shares (within the meaning of the
rules of the TSX) as of February 14,
2022, subject to the normal terms and limitations of such
bids.
Daily purchases on the TSX under the NCIB will be limited to
430,286 Subordinate Voting Shares, other than purchases made
pursuant to the block purchase exception, based on the average
daily trading volume for six months ending January 31, 2022 of 1,721,145. The actual number
of Subordinate Voting Shares which may be purchased under the NCIB
and the timing of any such purchases will be determined by the
management of the Corporation, subject to applicable law and the
rules of the TSX. Pursuant to a previous notice of intention to
conduct a normal course issuer bid, under which Power Corporation
sought acceptance of the TSX to purchase up to 30,000,000
Subordinate Voting Shares and which was accepted by the TSX on
February 23, 2021 and expires on
February 24, 2022, Power Corporation
had, as of February 23, 2022,
purchased 4,772,600 Subordinate Voting Shares on the open market at
an average purchase price of $38.18
per share.
Purchases under the NCIB are expected to be made through the
facilities of the TSX or through alternative trading systems in
Canada, at prevailing market
prices. The NCIB will be funded using Power Corporation's existing
cash resources, and any Subordinate Voting Shares repurchased by
the Corporation under the NCIB will be cancelled.
As of February 14, 2022, the
Corporation had 621,593,906 issued and outstanding Subordinate
Voting Shares and a "public float" (within the meaning of the rules
of the TSX) of 569,801,166 Subordinate Voting Shares.
Power Corporation believes that the NCIB will provide the
flexibility to manage the Corporation's capital position while
generating value for shareholders.
Power Corporation has entered into an automatic share purchase
plan (an "ASPP") with a designated broker to allow for the purchase
of Subordinate Voting Shares under the NCIB at times when the
Corporation would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase shares
due to regulatory restrictions or self-imposed blackout periods.
The ASPP has been pre-cleared by the TSX and is effective
February 28, 2022, the commencement
date of the NCIB.
About Power Corporation
Power Corporation is an international management and holding
company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its core holdings are leading insurance,
retirement, wealth management and investment businesses, including
a portfolio of alternative asset investment platforms. To learn
more, visit www.PowerCorporation.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release, other than statements
of historical fact, are forward-looking statements based on certain
assumptions and reflect the Corporation's current expectations.
Forward-looking statements are provided to present information
about management's current expectations and plans relating to the
future and the reader is cautioned that such statements may not be
appropriate for other purposes. These statements may include,
without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business,
financial condition, expected financial results, performance,
prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing
objectives, strategies and outlook of the Corporation and
statements related to the Corporation's intention to commence the
NCIB and the timing and quantity of any purchases of Subordinate
Voting Shares under the NCIB and the ASPP. Forward-looking
statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend
upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such
as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "estimates",
"seeks", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts" or negative
versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or
conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and
"could".
By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise
to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions,
projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that
assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals
and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, many of
which are beyond the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' control,
affect the operations, performance and results of the Corporation
and its subsidiaries and their businesses, and could cause actual
results to differ materially from current expectations of estimated
or anticipated events or results. These factors include, but are
not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general
economic, political and market factors in North America and internationally,
fluctuations in interest rates, inflation and foreign exchange
rates, monetary policies, business investment and the health of
local and global equity and capital markets, management of market
liquidity and funding risks, risks related to investments in
private companies and illiquid securities, risks associated with
financial instruments, changes in accounting policies and methods
used to report financial condition (including uncertainties
associated with significant judgments, estimates and assumptions),
the effect of applying future accounting changes, business
competition, operational and reputational risks, technological
changes, cybersecurity risks, changes in government regulation and
legislation, changes in tax laws, unexpected judicial or regulatory
proceedings, catastrophic events, man-made disasters, terrorist
attacks, wars and other conflicts, or an outbreak of a public
health pandemic or other public health crisis (such as COVID-19),
the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' ability to complete
strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and implement other
growth strategies, the disposition of the Corporation's equity
ownership in China Asset
Management Co. Ltd. ("ChinaAMC") to IGM Financial Inc. ("IGM") and
the sale by IGM of common shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. to a
subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation not occurring as
expected, including failure of any condition to such disposition or
such sale of shares, or the failure to achieve the anticipated
benefits of such disposition and such sale and the Corporation's
and its subsidiaries' success in anticipating and managing the
foregoing factors.
The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors,
uncertainties, and potential events carefully and not to put undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Information contained in
forward-looking statements is based upon certain material
assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a
forecast or projection, including, without limitation, the
availability of cash for repurchases of outstanding Subordinate
Voting Shares under the NCIB, the existence of alternative uses for
the Corporation's cash resources which may be superior to effecting
repurchases under the NCIB, compliance by third parties with their
contractual obligations, compliance with applicable laws and
regulations pertaining to the NCIB, management's perceptions of
historical trends, current conditions and expected future
developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to
be appropriate in the circumstances, including that the required
approvals for the disposition of the Corporation's equity ownership
stake in ChinaAMC will be received and that the list of factors in
the previous paragraph, collectively, are not expected to have a
material impact on the Corporation and its subsidiaries. While the
Corporation considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on
information currently available to management, they may prove to be
incorrect.
Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law,
the Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new
information, future events or results, or otherwise.
Additional information about the risks and uncertainties of the
Corporation's business and material factors or assumptions on which
information contained in forward-looking statements is based is
provided in its disclosure materials, including its most recent
Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form,
filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Power Corporation of Canada