Readers are referred to
the section "Forward-Looking Statements" at the end of this
release.
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MONTRÉAL, Feb. 27,
2023 /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 intends to purchase for
cancellation, on the open market, during the period commencing on
March 1, 2023 and ending on the
earlier of February 29, 2024 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 5.4% of the "public
float" of the Subordinate Voting Shares (within the meaning of the
rules of the TSX) as of February 22,
2023, subject to the normal terms and limitations of such
bids.
Daily purchases on the TSX under the NCIB will be limited to
631,482 Subordinate Voting Shares, other than purchases made
pursuant to the block purchase exception, based on the applicable
average daily trading volume on the TSX for the six months ending
January 31, 2023 of 2,525,931. 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.
Purchases under the NCIB are expected to be made at prevailing
market prices through the facilities of the TSX and other
designated exchanges and/or alternative Canadian trading systems,
or by such other means as may be permitted by the Autorité des
marchés financiers or other applicable Canadian Securities
Administrators. 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 22, 2023, the
Corporation had 612,232,341 issued and outstanding Subordinate
Voting Shares and a "public float" (within the meaning of the rules
of the TSX) of 560,363,647 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.
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 24, 2022 and expires on February 27, 2023, Power Corporation had, as of
February 22, 2023 repurchased and
cancelled 10,515,700 Subordinate Voting Shares on the open market
at an average purchase price of $36.77 per share.
In addition, 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 March 1, 2023, 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 for the purposes of
assisting the reader in understanding the Corporation's financial
performance, financial position and cash flows as at and for the
periods ended on certain dates and 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 (such as the invasion of
Ukraine), or an outbreak of a
public health pandemic or other public health crises (such as
COVID-19), the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' ability to
complete strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and
implement other growth strategies, 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 list of
factors in the preceding 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 their disclosure materials, including the Corporation's
most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual
Information Form, filed with the securities regulatory authorities
in Canada available at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Power Corporation of Canada