CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - May 13, 2015) - PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. ("PrairieSky") (TSX:PSK) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of CDN $0.10833 per common share to be paid on June 15, 2015 to shareholders of record on May 29, 2015.
The Board of Directors has declared the dividend payable in either cash or common shares at the election of the shareholder. This dividend is designated as an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes.
Stock Dividend Program
PrairieSky is also pleased to provide further details regarding its stock dividend program ("SDP") which was approved by PrairieSky's shareholders at its Annual and Special Meeting held on April 28, 2015.
The SDP provides an additional option to PrairieSky's shareholders with respect to the receipt of dividends. The SDP will enable shareholders to receive dividends in the form of common shares of PrairieSky in lieu of receiving a cash dividend on the dividend payment date. Participation in the SDP is optional and shareholders will continue to have the option to receive dividend payments in cash or to reinvest their cash dividends into additional common shares through PrairieSky's Dividend Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP").
The benefits of the SDP are as follows:
- The SDP will generally be available to most shareholders, as described below;
- The SDP will provide many shareholders with Canadian tax treatment that is expected to be more favourable than the Corporation's DRIP; and
The SDP will take effect for the May 29, 2015 record date with the first stock dividend to be issued on June 15, 2015.
With the approval of the SDP, PrairieSky's shareholders have three options with respect to receipt of dividend payments, each of which is outlined below.
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Cash
Dividend |
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Dividend
Reinvestment Plan |
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Stock
Dividend Program |
| Participation |
Default |
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Optional |
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Optional |
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| Eligibility |
All shareholders |
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U.S. citizens or residents are not eligible to participate in PrairieSky's DRIP. |
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All shareholders with the exception of residents in certain U.S. States. |
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| Tax Treatment for Canadian Residents(1) |
Full amount of dividend is included in income in the year the cash dividend is received. |
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Full amount of reinvested dividend is included in income in the year the cash dividend is received and reinvested. |
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No material amount expected to be included in income in the year the stock dividend is received.
May increase a capital gain (or decrease a capital loss) realized on a subsequent disposition of the common shares received. |
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| Discount and Fees |
Not applicable |
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Dividends reinvested at a 1% discount to five day weighted average trading price.
No brokerage fees. |
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Common shares issued at a 1% discount to five day weighted average trading price.
No brokerage fees. |
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| Enrollment |
Not applicable |
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Full or partial(2) |
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Full or partial(2) |
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| Election |
No election required |
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Election required |
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Election required(3) |
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| (1) |
All shareholders are encouraged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences to them of any of these options. |
| (2) |
Shareholders who participate in the SDP will not be able to participate in the DRIP; however, a shareholder is entitled to participate in the SDP or the DRIP with respect to a portion of their shares and to receive cash dividends with respect to the remainder of their shares. |
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Beneficial shareholders will need to contact their financial intermediary to determine whether they will be able to participate in the SDP. |
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To participate in the SDP, registered shareholders must deliver a properly completed Stock Dividend Enrollment Form to Equity Financial Trust Company ("TMX") by no later than the fifth business day immediately preceding a dividend record date in order to receive stock dividends. Registered shareholders who wish to receive the May 2015 dividend (payable on June 15, 2015) as a stock dividend pursuant to the SDP, must deliver a completed and signed enrollment form to TMX no later than May 22, 2015.
Beneficial shareholders (i.e. owners of common shares which are held through a broker, investment dealer, financial institution or other nominee) who wish to participate in the SDP should contact the broker, investment dealer, financial institution or other nominee who holds their common shares to inquire about the enrollment application and enrollment deadline.
Additional details on how to participate in the SDP and DRIP are available on PrairieSky's website (www.prairiesky.com) and TMX Equity Transfer Services Inc.'s website (www.tmxequitytransferservices.com). Further details regarding the SDP are outlined in PrairieSky's 2015 Management Information Circular - Proxy Statement dated March 20, 2015 which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on PrairieSky's website at www.prairiesky.com.
Participation in the DRIP or SDP is optional. Shareholders who do not wish to participate in the DRIP or SDP will continue to receive cash dividends. Shareholders should carefully read the complete text of the DRIP and SDP before making any decisions regarding their participation in either program.
About PrairieSky Royalty Ltd.
PrairieSky is a royalty-focused company, generating royalty revenues as petroleum and natural gas are produced from its properties. PrairieSky has a diverse portfolio of properties that have a long history of generating stable free cash flow and that represent one of the largest and most concentrated independently-owned fee simple mineral title positions in Canada. PrairieSky common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PSK.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements regarding the expected benefits of the SDP, the expected tax treatment of the SDP and DRIP to shareholders and the expectation that the Canadian tax treatment of the SDP will be more favourable to shareholders than the DRIP. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the current Canadian tax rules and we have assumed that such rules will continue to apply in their current form. Readers and investors are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such forward-looking statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control, including the impact of changes in tax or other legislation. The foregoing and other risks are described in more detail in PrairieSky's final prospectus dated May 22, 2014 under "Risk Factors" and in our MD&A and Annual Information Form for the period ended December 31, 2014 under the heading "Risk Management" and "Risk Factors", respectively, each of which is available at www.sedar.com.
Further, the implementation of the SDP should not be construed as a guarantee that future dividends will continue to be paid by PrairieSky or as to the amount of future dividends. The Board of Directors continually evaluates the dividend policy and any decision to pay dividends on the common shares will be made by the Board of Directors on the basis of the relevant conditions existing at the applicable time. Furthermore, the declaration and payment of stock dividends is solely within the discretion of the Board of Directors and there can be no assurance that PrairieSky will continue to declare stock dividends or otherwise continue the stock dividend program in the future.
Any forward-looking statement is made only as of the date of this press release, and PrairieSky undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for PrairieSky to predict all of these factors or to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on PrairieSky's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.