Duff & Phelps Closed-End Funds Announce Election to Opt Into Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act

CHICAGO, June 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DNP Select Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: DNP), Duff & Phelps Utility and Infrastructure Fund Inc. (NYSE: DPG), Duff & Phelps Utility and Corporate Bond Trust Inc. (NYSE: DUC), and DTF Tax-Free Income Inc. (NYSE: DTF) (each, a "Fund" and collectively, the "Funds"), four closed-end funds advised by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., today announced that they had elected, by a unanimous resolution of each Fund's board of directors, to "opt in" to the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act (MCSAA), effective on June 8, 2020. 

The MCSAA protects the interests of all shareholders of a Maryland corporation by denying voting rights to "control shares" acquired in a "control share acquisition" unless the other shareholders of the corporation reinstate those voting rights by a vote of two-thirds of the shares held by shareholders other than the acquiring person (i.e., the holder or group of holders acting in concert that acquires, or proposes to acquire, "control shares").  Generally, "control shares" are shares that, when aggregated with shares already owned by an acquiring person, would entitle the acquiring person to exercise 10% or more, 33 1/3% or more, or a majority of the total voting power of shares entitled to vote in the election of directors.

The MCSAA limits the ability of an acquiring person to achieve a short-term gain at the expense of long-term value for the rest of the Fund's shareholders.  The MCSAA applies automatically to most types of Maryland corporations, but in the case of closed-end investment companies, it applies only if the board of directors elects to "opt in."  Because the Funds' boards "opted in" to the MCSAA on June 8, 2020, the MCSAA will only apply to "control shares" acquired after that date. 

The above description of the MCSAA is only a high-level summary and does not purport to be complete.  Investors should refer to the actual provisions of the MCSAA for more information, including definitions of key terms, various exclusions from the statute's scope, and the procedures by which shareholders may approve the reinstatement of voting rights to holders of "control shares."

About the Funds

DNP Select Income Fund Inc. is a closed-end diversified investment management company whose primary investment objectives are current income and long-term growth of income. The fund seeks to achieve these objectives by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed income securities of companies in the public utilities industry. For more information, please visit www.dpimc.com/dnp or call [phone].

Duff & Phelps Utility and Infrastructure Fund Inc. is a closed-end investment management company whose investment objective is to seek total return, resulting primarily from (i) a high level of current income, with an emphasis on providing tax-advantaged dividend income and (ii) growth in current income, and secondarily from capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve these objectives by investing in equities of domestic and foreign utility companies in the electric, gas, water, telecommunications, and midstream energy sectors. For more information, please contact shareholder services at [phone], by email at [e-mail], or visit the DPG website, www.dpimc.com/dpg.

Duff & Phelps Utility and Corporate Bond Trust Inc. is a closed-end diversified investment management company whose primary investment objective is high current income consistent with investing in securities of investment grade quality.  The fund seeks to achieve its objectives by investing substantially all of its assets in a diversified portfolio of utility income securities, corporate income securities, mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities. For more information, visit www.dpimc.com/duc or call [phone].

DTF Tax-Free Income Inc. is a closed-end diversified investment management company whose investment objective is current income exempt from regular federal income tax consistent with preservation of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of investment-grade tax-exempt obligations. For more information, please visit www.dpimc.com/dtf or call [phone].

About the Investment Adviser

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. has more than 40 years of experience managing investment portfolios, including institutional separate accounts and open- and closed-end funds investing in utilities, infrastructure and real estate investment trusts (REITs).  For more information, visit www.dpimc.com.

Duff & Phelps is a subsidiary of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ: VRTS), a multi-boutique asset manager with approximately $90.7 billion under management as of March 31, 2020.  Virtus provides investment management products and services to individuals and institutions through a multi-manager asset management business, comprising a number of individual affiliated managers, each with a distinct investment style, autonomous investment process and individual brand.  Additional information can be found at www.virtus.com.

 

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SOURCE DNP Select Income Fund Inc.; DTF Tax-Free Income Inc.; Duff & Phelps Utility and Corporate Bond Trust Inc.; Duff & Phelps Utility and Infrastructure Fund Inc.

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