Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) today announced the commencement of
its offers to purchase for cash (i) any and all of the $950,000,000
current outstanding principal amount of 6.950% Notes due 2018 (the “2018
Notes”) issued by Citigroup’s wholly owned subsidiary, Associates
First Capital Corporation (formerly known as Associates Corporation of
North America) (“AFCC”), and (ii) up to U.S. $1,000,000,0000
aggregate principal amount (the “Maximum Tender Cap”) of
Citigroup’s current outstanding U.S. $1,660,000,000 5.375% Notes due
2020 (the “2020 Notes,” together with the 2018 Notes, the “Notes”).
The offers to purchase the Notes are referred to as the “Offers.”
Concurrently with the Offers, Citigroup announced its
solicitation of consents from holders of the 2018 Notes to adopt certain
amendments to the indenture governing the 2018 Notes. The solicitation
of consents is referred to as the “Solicitation.”
The Offers and Solicitation are consistent with Citigroup’s liability
management strategy, and reflect its ongoing efforts to enhance the
efficiency of its funding and capital structure. Since 2013, Citigroup
redeemed or retired U.S. $29.3 billion of securities, excluding
exchanged securities, of which U.S. $7.2 billion was redeemed or retired
in 2015, reducing Citigroup’s overall funding costs. Citigroup will
continue to consider opportunities to redeem or repurchase securities,
based on several factors, including without limitation, the economic
value, potential impact on Citigroup’s net interest margin and borrowing
costs, the overall remaining tenor of Citigroup’s debt portfolio,
capital impact, as well as overall market conditions.
Title of Security
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CUSIP / ISIN
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Principal Amount Outstanding
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Maximum Tender Cap
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Reference U.S. Treasury Security
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Bloomberg Reference page
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Fixed Spread (basis points)
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6.950% Notes due 2018 issued by AFCC
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046003JU4 / US046003JU47
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$950,000,000
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N/A
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0.875% Treasury due October 15, 2018
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FIT1
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+75 bps
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5.375% Notes due 2020 issued by Citigroup
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172967FF3 / US172967FF30
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$1,660,000,000
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$1,000,000,000
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1.375% Treasury due September 30, 2020
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FIT1
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+90 bps
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The Offers are being made pursuant to the offer to purchase and consent
solicitation statement dated October 28, 2015 (the “Offer to Purchase
and Consent Solicitation Statement,” as may be amended or
supplemented from time to time), and the related consent and letter of
transmittal (the “Consent and Letter of Transmittal,” as may be
amended or supplemented from time to time) which set forth in more
detail the terms and conditions of the Offers and Solicitation.
The Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on November
25, 2015, unless extended or earlier terminated (such date and time, as
the same may be extended, the “Expiration Date”). Subject to the
terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent
Solicitation Statement and the Consent and Letter of Transmittal,
Holders of Notes that are validly tendered and consents validly
delivered on or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 10,
2015, unless extended (such date and time, as the same may be extended,
the “Early Tender Date”) and accepted for purchase shall be
entitled to receive the total consideration calculated in the manner set
forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement (the “Total
Consideration”), which includes an early tender premium in the
amount indicated in the table above (the “Early Tender Premium”).
The Total Consideration with respect to (i) the 2018 Notes will
be equal to the price, determined in accordance with standard market
practice, as described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation
Statement, that equates to a yield to maturity equal to the fixed spread
of 75 basis points over the yield, which shall be based on the bid-side
price of the 0.875% U.S. Treasury Note due October 15, 2018, at 2:00
p.m., New York City time, on November 12, 2015 (subject to certain
exceptions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation
Statement, such time and date, as the same may be extended, the “Price
Determination Date”) and (ii) the 2020 Notes will be equal to the
price, determined in accordance with standard market practice, as
described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement,
that equates to a yield to maturity equal to the fixed spread of 90
basis points over the yield, which shall be based on the bid-side price
of the 1.375% U.S. Treasury Note due September 30, 2020, on the Price
Determination Date.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase
and Consent Solicitation Statement, Holders of Notes that are validly
tendered and consents validly delivered after the Early Tender Date but
on or before the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase will receive
only the tender offer consideration, which is equal to the Total
Consideration minus the Early Tender Premium (the “Tender Offer
Consideration”).
Notes tendered may be withdrawn and consents may be revoked at any time
prior to the earlier of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 10,
2015, unless extended (such date and time, as the same may be extended,
the “Withdrawal Date”), but not thereafter.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Offers, Citigroup is offering
to purchase the aggregate principal amount of 2020 Notes up to the
Maximum Tender Cap set forth in the table above. If the aggregate
principal amount of 2020 Notes validly tendered in the Offer exceeds the
Maximum Tender Cap, then, subject to the terms and conditions of the
Offer, Citigroup will accept tendered 2020 Notes on a pro rata basis as
described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement.
Payment for Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date
and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Date, and
accepted by Citigroup for purchase in the Offers, will be after the
Early Tender Date but prior to the Expiration Date (the “Early
Settlement Date”), expected to be November 16, 2015. Payment for
Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Date, but at or prior to
the Expiration Date, and accepted by Citigroup for purchase in the
Offers, will be promptly after the Expiration Time (the “Final
Settlement Date”), expected to be December 1, 2015. Payment for
purchased Notes will include accrued and unpaid interest from, and
including, the last interest payment date for the applicable series of
Notes up to, but not including the Early Settlement Date or Final
Settlement Date, as applicable.
Subject to applicable law, Citigroup may increase the Maximum Tender Cap
for the 2020 Notes at any time prior to the Final Settlement Date.
The obligation of Citigroup to accept for purchase, and to pay for Notes
validly tendered pursuant to the Offers is subject to, and conditional
upon, the satisfaction or, where applicable, waiver of a number of
conditions described in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation
Statement. Citigroup reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
waive any one or more of the conditions at any time.
The consents are being solicited to eliminate substantially all of the
restrictive covenants contained in the indenture governing the 2018
Notes. Holders may not tender their 2018 Notes without delivering
consents or deliver consents without tendering their 2018 Notes.
Citigroup has retained its affiliate Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to
serve as the sole dealer manager and solicitation agent for the Offers
and Solicitation. Global Bondholder Services Corporation has been
retained to serve as the depositary and information agent with respect
to the Notes.
For additional information regarding the terms of the Offers and
Solicitation, please contact Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at either
(800) 558-3745 (toll free) or (212) 723-6106. Requests for copies of the
Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and Consent and
Letter of Transmittal and questions regarding the tender of Notes or
delivery of consents may be directed to Global Bondholder Services
Corporation at (866) 807- 2200 (toll free) or (212) 430-3774 (collect).
None of Citigroup or AFCC or their respective boards of directors, the
dealer manager and solicitation agent, the depositary or the information
agent makes any recommendation as to whether any holder of the Notes
should tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of the
principal amount of the Notes or should consent to the proposed
indenture amendments.
This press release is neither an offer to purchase, a solicitation to
buy nor a solicitation of consents with respect to any of these Notes
nor is it a solicitation for acceptance of the Offers. Citigroup is
making the Offers and Solicitation only by, and pursuant to the terms
of, the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and the
related Consent and Letter of Transmittal. The Offers are not being made
to (nor will tenders of Notes be accepted from or on behalf of) holders
of Notes nor is any solicitation of consents being made in any
jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in
compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such
jurisdiction. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the
Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement and, where
applicable, the related Consent and Letter of Transmittal.
United Kingdom. The communication of the Offer to Purchase
and Consent Solicitation Statement and any other documents or materials
relating to the Offer and Solicitation is not being made 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 “Order”)
or within Article 43(2) of the Order, or to other persons to whom it may
lawfully be communicated in accordance with the Order.
Citigroup, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million
customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and
jurisdictions. Citigroup provides consumers, corporations, governments
and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services,
including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking,
securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.
Certain statements in this release, including without limitation the
anticipated consummation and successful completion of the Offer
(including the satisfaction of the conditions described in the Offer to
Purchase), the possible amendment, extension or abandonment of the
Offer, and Citigroup’s successful execution of its liability management
strategy, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. These statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in
circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included
in these statements due to a variety of factors, including without
limitation (i) the level of participation in the Offer and Solicitation,
and (ii) the precautionary statements included in this release and those
contained in Citigroup’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including without limitation the “Risk Factors” section of
Citigroup’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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