BlackRock Emerging Europe Liquidation and Rollover

 
TIDMBEEP 
 
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR 
INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF 
SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MAY 
RESULT IN THE CONTRAVENTION OF ANY REGISTRATION OR OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENT OF 
SUCH JURISDICTION 
 
 17 August 2018 
 
                         BlackRock Emerging Europe plc 
 
                          (LEI: 549300OGTQA24Y3KMI14) 
 
                           Liquidation and Rollover 
 
BlackRock Emerging Europe plc ("BEEP" or the "Company") announced on 14 June 
2018 that the proposed tender offer to BEEP's shareholders would result in the 
remaining assets of the Company being below the minimum level which the Board 
deemed necessary for the Company to continue. The Board therefore elected not 
to proceed with the tender offer and confirmed that revised proposals would be 
put to shareholders, which would include the option of a full cash exit. 
 
The Board of BEEP has undertaken a review of the options available to the 
Company and today announces that it intends to put forward proposals to put the 
Company into voluntary liquidation and to offer shareholders the option of 
electing for any combination of: 
 
  * receiving cash at net asset value less costs; and 
 
  * rolling their investment into new C shares to be issued by BlackRock 
    Frontiers Investment Trust plc ("BRFI"). 
 
The costs incurred by BRFI in connection with the proposals will be deducted 
from the C share pool. BlackRock has agreed to meet any costs exceeding 1 per 
cent. of the value of the C share pool such that the opening NAV of the C 
shares will be not less than 99 pence per C share.  It is expected that the C 
shares will be converted into ordinary shares in BRFI on a NAV for NAV basis 
once the C share portfolio has been substantially invested in accordance with 
BRFI's investment policy. 
 
BRFI is a closed-ended investment trust that seeks to achieve long term capital 
growth by investing in companies domiciled or listed in, or exercising the 
predominant part of their economic activity in, less developed countries. These 
countries are those which are neither part of the MSCI World Index of developed 
markets nor one of the eight largest countries by market capitalisation in the 
MSCI Emerging Markets Index as at 1 April 2018 (being Brazil, China, India, 
Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Taiwan).  Sam Vecht, the co-portfolio 
manager of BEEP, is also the co-portfolio manager of BRFI, alongside Emily 
Fletcher, a highly-rated investment management team. BRFI shares have traded at 
an average premium to net asset value of 3.18 per cent. over the last 12 
months. 
 
The proposals will provide BEEP shareholders with the ability to elect to 
rollover some or all of their interests into BRFI in order to enable them to 
maintain some or all of their exposure to a strategy managed by BlackRock's 
highly-regarded Emerging Markets team. 
 
The proposals will be effected by way of a scheme of reconstruction of BEEP 
under section 110 of the Insolvency Act 1986, resulting in the voluntary 
liquidation of BEEP and a rollover of assets of BEEP into BRFI. The transaction 
would be subject to approval from shareholders of both BEEP and BRFI. 
 
A circular convening general meetings to seek approval of BEEP shareholders for 
the proposals is expected to be sent to BEEP shareholders in due course. 
 
The Company's portfolio will remain fully invested according to its investment 
policy until the above proposals have been approved by shareholders at the 
relevant General Meeting. 
 
Enquiries: 
 
BlackRock Investment Management (UK)                          020 7743 3000 
Limited 
Simon White 
Sarah Beynsberger 
 
                                                              020 3100 0000 
Winterflood Securities 
Neil Langford 
Chris Mills 
 
Important information 
 
This announcement contains information that is inside information for the 
purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014, and is being made by 
the Company solely to comply with its regulatory disclosure obligations. 
 
The content of this announcement has been prepared by, and is the sole 
responsibility of, BlackRock Emerging Europe plc. The information contained in 
this announcement is given at the date of its publication (unless otherwise 
marked) and may be subject to updating, revision and amendment from time to 
time. 
 
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation 
to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any 
shares in the Company nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its 
distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any 
contract therefore. 
 
Winterflood Securities Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the 
Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, acting through its division, 
Winterflood Investment Trusts ("Winterflood"), is acting exclusively for the 
Company and no-one else in connection with the proposals set out in this 
announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for 
providing the protections afforded to customers of Winterflood or for providing 
advice in relation to the proposals set out in this announcement. Nothing in 
this paragraph shall serve to exclude or limit any responsibilities which 
Winterflood may have under the FSMA or the regulatory regime established 
thereunder. 
 
Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed 
on Winterflood by the FSMA or the regulatory regime established thereunder, 
Winterflood accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the contents of this 
announcement or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it or 
on its behalf in connection with the Company or the proposals set out in this 
announcement. Winterflood accordingly disclaims all and any liability whether 
arising in tort or contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which it 
might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any such statement. 
 
This announcement contains (or may contain) certain forward-looking statements 
with respect to the Company's current expectations and projections about future 
events. These statements, which sometimes use, but are not limited to, words 
such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'intend', 'estimate', 'expect' and words of 
similar meaning, reflect the Directors' beliefs and expectations and involve a 
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results 
and performance to differ materially from any expected future results or 
performance expressed or implied by the forward looking statement. Statements 
contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not 
be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in 
the future. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change 
without notice and, except as required by applicable law, neither the Company 
nor Winterflood assumes any responsibility or obligation to update publicly or 
review any of the forward looking statements contained herein. You should not 
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the 
date of this announcement. 
 
 
 
END 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)