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Tender Offer

3rd Feb 2012 09:59

RNS Number : 7563W
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
03 February 2012
 

 

 

February 2, 2012

 

Bank of America Announces Increase in Maximum Consideration

of Tender Offer for Certain Subordinated Notes

 

CHARLOTTE - Bank of America Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (the "Offerors") today announced that they have increased the maximum aggregate consideration in their pending tender offer (the "Offer") for certain subordinated notes listed in the table below (collectively, the "Notes") to $3.5 billion or its equivalent in the currencies in which certain of the Notes are denominated (as amended, the "Maximum Tender Consideration"). Previously, the Maximum Tender Consideration had been $1.5 billion (or its equivalent).

 

As previously announced, a total of approximately $3.593 billion or its equivalent in aggregate principal amount of the Notes had been tendered and not withdrawn as of the "Early Tender Deadline" for the Offer, which was 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 1, 2012.

 

The Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on February 15, 2012, unless extended (the "Expiration Date").

 

Tendered Notes may be subject to proration if the aggregate principal amount tendered on or prior to the Expiration Date would cause the aggregate cash consideration (excluding accrued interest) to exceed the Maximum Tender Consideration. The Notes tendered in each series will be accepted in numerical order according to the Acceptance Priority Level for that series as set forth in the table below. However, based on the increased size of the Offer and assuming no additional Notes are tendered subsequent to the Early Tender Deadline, all Notes that were tendered as of the Early Tender Deadline would be accepted for purchase.

 

The following table lists the series of Notes that are subject to the Offer, certain terms of the Offer and the aggregate principal amount of each series of Notes tendered and not withdrawn as of the Early Tender Deadline:

 

Title of Notes

CUSIP Number/

ISIN

Issuer/

Obligor

Total Consideration1

Acceptance Priority Level

Principal Amount Tendered(in millions)

6.50% Subordinated Notes, due September 2037

060505DL5

BofA

952.08

1

USD 307

6.22% Subordinated Notes due September 15, 2026

59022CAB9

ML&Co.

950.78

2

USD 517

6 7/8% Subordinated Debentures due 20282

338915AH4

BofA

972.51

3

USD 130

8.125% Subordinated Fixed Rate Notes due June 2, 2028

XS0365909125

ML&Co.

954.10

4

GBP 130

7¼% Subordinated Notes, due 20253

638585AP4

BofA

1,000.00

5

USD 194

4.625% Subordinated Notes, due February 2017

XS0286040331

BofA

917.50

6

EUR 238

6.80% Subordinated Notes, due 20283

638585BF5

BofA

950.15

7

USD 74

5.25% Subordinated Notes, due November 2016

XS0274375673

BofA

936.73

8

GBP 46

5.15% Subordinated Notes, due May 2017

CA060505DE15

BofA

941.98

9

CAD 162

5.42% Subordinated Notes, due March 15, 2017

060505DA9

BofA

976.66

10

USD 416

6.70% Subordinated Debentures due 20282

338915AM3

BofA

939.43

11

USD 65

Subordinated 5.50% Fixed Rate Registered Notes due November 22, 2021

XS0275719135

ML&Co.

805.39

12

GBP 34

Floating Rate Subordinated Notes, due 2016

060505CN2

BofA

810.39

13

USD 94

5.70% Subordinated Notes due May 2, 2017

59022CCS0

ML&Co.

981.74

14

USD 197

6.050% Subordinated Notes due May 16, 2016

5901884M7

ML&Co.

1,000.00

15

USD 224

Subordinated 4.625% Fixed Rate Registered Notes due September 14, 2018

XS0267828308

ML&Co.

818.85

16

EUR 13

4.00% Fixed/Floating Rate Callable Subordinated Notes, due March 2018

XS0249443879

BofA

825.00

17

EUR 185

4.75% Fixed/Floating Callable Subordinated Notes, due May 2017

XS0301928262

BofA

835.00

18

EUR 208

5¼% Subordinated Notes, due 2015

060505BG8

BofA

986.21

19

USD 45

_______________

1 The Total Consideration is expressed per 1,000 USD, EUR, GBP or CAD, as applicable. The Total Consideration includes the Early Tender Payment described below.

2 Originally issued by Fleet Financial Group, Inc.

3 Originally issued by NationsBank Corporation.

 

 

The "Total Consideration" listed in the table above includes a cash payment of 30.00 in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD, as applicable, per 1,000 principal amount in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD, as applicable. This "Early Tender Payment" will be made only for Notes that were validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Deadline and that are accepted for purchase. Notes that are tendered after the Early Tender Deadline will only be eligible to receive the "Tender Offer Consideration" for each series, which is an amount equal to the applicable Total Consideration for that series, minus the Early Tender Payment.

 

Payment for Notes of any series that is accepted for purchase will be made in the same currency in which such series of Notes is denominated. Payment is expected to occur within two business days after the Expiration Date. Holders of Notes accepted for purchase will also receive accrued and unpaid interest on their purchased Notes from the last interest payment date applicable to such Notes to, but not including, the payment date.

Except for the increase in the Maximum Tender Consideration described above, all other terms and conditions of the Offer remain unchanged.

 

Withdrawal rights with respect to tendered Notes have expired. Accordingly, tendered Notes may no longer be withdrawn.

 

The complete terms and conditions of the Offer are described in the Offer to Purchase, dated January 19, 2012 (the "Offer to Purchase"), and the related Letters of Transmittal (the "Letters of Transmittal").

 

The following series of Notes that are subject to the Offer are listed on the London Stock Exchange: ML&Co. 8.125% Subordinated Fixed Rate Notes due June 2, 2028 (ISIN: XS0365909125); BofA 4.625% Subordinated Notes, due February 2017 (ISIN: XS0286040331); BofA 5.25% Subordinated Notes, due November 2016 (ISIN: XS0274375673); ML&Co. Subordinated 5.50% Fixed Rate Registered Notes due November 22, 2021 (ISIN: XS0275719135); ML&Co. Subordinated 4.625% Fixed Rate Registered Notes due September 14, 2018 (ISIN: XS0267828308); BofA 4.00% Fixed/Floating Rate Callable Subordinated Notes, due March 2018 (ISIN: XS0249443879); and BofA 4.75% Fixed/Floating Callable Subordinated Notes, due May 2017 (ISIN: XS0301928262). The BofA 5¼% Subordinated Notes, due 2015 (CUSIP No. 060505BG8) are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The remaining series of Notes subject to the Offer are not listed on any securities exchange or regulated market.

 

D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as tender agent and information agent for the Offer. Requests for documents and questions regarding procedures for submission of tenders should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at 800.549.6746 (U.S. toll-free), 212.269.5550 (international) or [email protected]. You may also obtain these documents without charge by accessing http://www.dfking.com/bofa. Other questions regarding the Offer may be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch, the dealer manager for the Offer, at 888.292.0070 (U.S. toll-free) or 980.388.3646 (international).

 

This announcement shall not constitute a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase any securities. The Offer is being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and the related applicable Letter of Transmittal. No offer, solicitation, purchase or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. None of the Offerors, the dealer manager, the tender agent or the information agent is making any recommendation as to whether holders should tender their Notes in the Offer.

 

Offer Restrictions. The making of the Offer and the distribution of this announcement and/or the Offer to Purchase and related documents or materials in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any related documents or materials come are required by each of the Offerors, the dealer manager and the tender agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.

 

Italy. The Offer is not being made in Italy. None of the Offer, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) and/or the Bank of Italy pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. Accordingly, holders of Notes are notified that, to the extent holders are located or resident in Italy, the Offer is not available to them, they may not tender Notes pursuant to the Offer and, as such, any tender instructions received from or on behalf of such persons shall be ineffective and void, and neither the Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer or the Notes may be distributed or made available in Italy, except (i) to qualified investors (investitori qualificati), as defined pursuant to Article 100 of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the "Italian Financial Services Act") and Article 34-ter, first paragraph, letter b), of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended (the "Regulation No. 11971"), or (ii) in other circumstances which are exempted pursuant to Article 35-bis of the Regulation No. 11971. Any offer or distribution of documents or materials relating to the Offer to Purchase in Italy under (i) or (ii) above must be (a) made by an investment firm, bank or financial intermediary permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Italian Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007 (as amended from time to time) and Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended; and (b) in compliance with any other applicable laws and regulations or requirement imposed by CONSOB or other Italian authorities.

 

United Kingdom. The communication of the Offer, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer is not being made by, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by, an authorized 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 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 (the "Financial Promotion Order"), persons who are within Articles 42 and 43 of the Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order.

 

Belgium. Neither the Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission (Commission bancaire, financière et des assurances/Commissie voor het Bank-, Financie- en Assurantiewezen) and, accordingly, the Offer may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Article 3 of the Belgian Law of 1 April 2007 on public takeover bids or as defined in Article 3 of the Belgian Law of 16 June 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets (each as amended or replaced from time to time) (together, the "Belgian Public Offer Law").  Accordingly, the Offer may not be advertised and the Offer will not be extended, and neither the Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Public Offer Law (as amended or replaced from time to time), acting on their own account. Insofar as Belgium is concerned, the Offer to Purchase has been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offer. Accordingly, the information contained in the Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium.

France. The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in France.  Neither the Offer to Purchase nor any other document or material relating to the Offer has been or shall be distributed to the public in France and only (i) providers of investment services relating to portfolio management for the account of third parties (personnes fournissant le service d'investissement de gestion de portefeuille pour compte de tiers) and/or (ii) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) other than individuals, in each case acting on their own account and all as defined in, and in accordance with, Articles L.411-1, L.411-2 and D.411-1 to D.411-3 of the French Code Monétaire et Financier, are eligible to participate in the Offer. The Offer to Purchase has not been and will not be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release represent the current expectations, plans or forecasts of Bank of America and are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements often use words like "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "targets," "intends," "plans," "predict," "goal" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "might," "should," "would" and "could." The forward-looking statements made in this press release include, without limitation, statements concerning the expected timing of payment for the tendered Notes. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Bank of America undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

 

These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond Bank of America's control. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider all of the following uncertainties and risks, as well as those more fully discussed under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of Bank of America's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2011, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of Bank of America's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in any of Bank of America's other subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings: Satisfaction of the conditions to the Offer and the timing of the payment for the tendered Notes.

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
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