WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Great-West Lifeco
Inc. ("Lifeco") (TSX: GWO) has been notified of an unsolicited
mini-tender offer by Obatan LLC, made to residents of the
United Kingdom, to purchase up to
25,000 common shares of Lifeco. The unsolicited offer represents a
discount of approximately 39.6% to the closing price of the
common shares, on the TSX on February 11,
2022, the last trading day before the offer was commenced.
The common shares do not trade on a recognized stock exchange in
the UK.
Lifeco does not endorse Obatan's unsolicited offer, has no
association with Obatan or its offer, and does not recommend
acceptance of the offer. Obatan's offer has been made at prices
below the current market prices for the shares.
Mini-tender offers such as Obatan's seek less than 5% of a class
of outstanding shares and so avoid many of the investor protections
like disclosure and procedural protections applicable to most bids
under Canadian law. Securities regulators have expressed serious
concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that
investors might tender to such offers without understanding the
offer price relative to the actual market price of their
securities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has noted
that some bidders make these offers at below-market prices "hoping
that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not
compare the offer price to the current market price".
Lifeco urges shareholders to obtain current market quotes
for their shares and to consult with their broker or financial
advisor in considering Obatan's offer. According to Obatan's offer
documents, shareholder tenders are irrevocable and cannot be
withdrawn once lodged. Further, tendering shareholders do not have
the option to tender only a portion of their shares. Obatan has
reserved the right to purchase an additional amount of shares over
and above 25,000 common shares, such additional amount not to
exceed 2% of the outstanding common shares.
To read more about the risks of mini-tender offers, please
review the Canadian Securities Administrators' comments
at https://docs.mbsecurities.ca/msc/notices/en/item/103061/index.do.
Lifeco requests that a copy of this news release be included in
any distribution of materials relating to Obatan's mini-tender
offer for Lifeco common shares.
About Great-West Lifeco Inc.
Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding
company with interests in life insurance, health insurance,
retirement and investment services, asset management and
reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United
States and Europe under the
brands Canada Life, Empower, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2021, our
companies had approximately 28,000 employees, 215,000 advisor
relationships, and thousands of distribution partners – all serving
over 33 million customer relationships across these regions. Great-
West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the
ticker symbol GWO and is a member of the Power Corporation group of
companies. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.com.
Media Relations, Liz
Kulyk, 204-391-8515, Media.Relations@canadalife.com; Investor
Relations, Deirdre Neary, 647-328-2134, Deirdre.Neary@canadalife.com