PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of
Directors of The Asia Tigers Fund, Inc. (NYSE: GRR) (the
"Fund"), a closed-end investment company advised by Aberdeen Asset
Management Asia Limited announces that it has approved a
consolidation of the Fund into Aberdeen Chile Fund, Inc. (the
"Acquiring Fund"), subject to stockholder approval. The Board
of Directors of the Acquiring Fund has approved various changes
needed to implement a global emerging markets income strategy, as
described below.
The Asia Tigers Fund, Inc. joins six other funds listed below,
each of which is a closed-end investment company advised by one or
more affiliates of Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. (each an
"Acquired Fund", and collectively, the "Acquired Funds") that will
consolidate with the Acquiring Fund. Each Acquired Fund's
consolidation with the Acquiring Fund is subject to the receipt of
necessary stockholder approvals by such Fund.
Other Acquired Funds:
- Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund,
Inc. (NYSE American: ABE)
- Aberdeen Latin America Equity Fund, Inc. (NYSE American:
LAQ)
- Aberdeen Israel Fund, Inc. (NYSE American: ISL)
- Aberdeen Indonesia Fund, Inc. (NYSE American: IF)
- Aberdeen Singapore Fund, Inc. (NYSE: SGF)
- Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc. (NYSE: GCH)
The consolidation is also subject to approval by the
stockholders of the Acquiring Fund of the matters noted below.
The Board of Directors of the Acquiring Fund previously
announced that it had approved the consolidation of each Acquired
Fund into the Acquiring Fund as well as changes to the Acquiring
Fund's name, ticker symbol, investment objective and certain
investment policies, subject to stockholder approval and effective
upon the closing of a consolidation with one or more Acquired Funds
(the "Effective Date"). As a result of the proposed changes, as of
the Effective Date, the Acquiring Fund will be renamed Aberdeen
Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc. (the "Combined Fund") and
will invest in emerging market equity securities in order to seek
total return, consisting of a combination of capital appreciation
and income. The Combined Fund may also use leverage to achieve its
objective. It is anticipated that the Combined Fund's benchmark
would be the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Combined Fund would
trade on the NYSE American (formerly, NYSE MKT) under a new ticker
symbol, expected to be AEF.
The Combined Fund's strategy will seek to capitalize on
Aberdeen's global emerging market equity capability by investing in
a global portfolio of emerging market securities. The proposed
consolidation aims to result in a combined fund materially larger
in size than any of the Acquired Funds, which may help to provide
improved liquidity of shares, a lower overall expense ratio and
improved market awareness including research coverage. The advisers
to the Fund and the Acquiring Fund currently anticipate that higher
distributable income will be generated by the Combined Fund
compared to the Fund. There is no assurance that the
consolidation will achieve any of these results.
Prior to the consolidation, the Fund may be required to make a
capital gains distribution. Following the consolidation, it is
anticipated that the Board of Directors of the Combined Fund (the
"Combined Fund's Board") will consider the approval of a tender
offer at 99% of NAV. The tender offer size, in combination with
capital gains to be distributed in accordance with the U.S. tax
code, will be up to a maximum distribution of 50%, and not less
than 40%, of the net assets of the Combined Fund. The price, size
and terms of the offer will be determined by the Combined Fund's
Board at a later date.
The Combined Fund's Board will also establish a targeted
discount policy, which would include taking actions to be
implemented if the Combined Fund trades at a significant discount
to net asset value over a sustained period following the
consolidation.
The investment adviser to the Fund and the Board of Directors of
the Fund believe that the proposed consolidation is in the best
interests of the stockholders of the Fund.
Additional information regarding the consolidation and the
Combined Fund will be presented in a prospectus/proxy statement
sent to the Fund's stockholders and a proxy statement sent to the
Acquiring Fund's stockholders. Acquiring Fund stockholders will be
asked to vote on changes to the Acquiring Fund's investment
policies and other matters to restructure the Acquiring Fund into a
fund with an emerging markets equity income strategy to facilitate
the proposed consolidation at a special meeting targeted for the
first quarter of 2018. Acquiring Fund stockholders will be asked to
approve the issuance of additional shares in connection with the
consolidation. Stockholders of the Fund and each other Acquired
Fund will be asked to vote on the consolidation of their fund into
the Acquiring Fund at a special meeting currently targeted for
early-second quarter 2018.
Important Information
The information in this press
release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute
an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or the solicitation
of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to or in
connection with the proposed transaction or otherwise, nor shall
there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any
jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of
securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting
the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended.
In connection with the proposed combination, the Acquired Funds
and the Acquiring Fund plan to file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") a prospectus/proxy statement
and the Acquiring Fund plans to file a proxy statement. When
the prospectus/proxy statement or proxy statement, as the
case may be, becomes available, stockholders are advised to read it
because it will contain important information
about the proposed transaction and related matters.
When filed with the Commission, the prospectus/proxy statement and
proxy statement and other documents filed by the Fund, the Acquired
Funds and the Acquiring Fund will be available for free at the
Commission's website www.sec.gov.
International investing entails special risk considerations,
including currency fluctuations, lower liquidity, economic and
political risks, and difference in accounting methods.
Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one
of the stock exchanges. The funds' investment return and principal
value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more
or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may
trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value
(NAV) of the fund's portfolio.
There is no assurance that the Fund or the Combined Fund will
achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not
guarantee future results.
In the United States, Aberdeen
Asset Management (AAM) is the marketing name for the following
affiliated, registered investment advisers: Aberdeen Asset
Management Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd, Aberdeen Asset
Management Ltd, Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd and Aberdeen
Capital Management, LLC. Excluding Aberdeen Capital Management LLC,
each of these advisers are wholly owned by Standard Life Aberdeen
Plc. Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management Inc.
If you wish to receive information from or about
any Fund electronically, please contact
InvestorRelations@aberdeenstandard.com
http://cef.aberdeen-asset.us
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SOURCE The Asia Tigers Fund, Inc.