Non-voting shares will be exchanged for common shares effective February
4, 2013
VANCOUVER, Jan. 25, 2013 /CNW/ - TELUS is moving ahead with the
court-approved exchange of its non-voting shares for common shares on a
one-for-one basis, which will become effective at 12:01 a.m. (PDT) on
February 4, 2013.
"Our shareholders' strong support for this exchange was made clear
during the shareholder vote on October 17, and we are very pleased that
we can now conclude this important and beneficial share exchange," said
Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. "Having a single class of
widely-traded shares is going to benefit all of our shareholders
through enhanced trading volumes, liquidity and marketability and, as
well, TELUS common shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange
for the first time. Moreover, the sole class of common shares will
further enhance TELUS' track record of excellence in corporate
governance."
TELUS expects that its approximately 151 million outstanding non-voting
shares will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on or
about February 5, 2013 and from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on or
about February 8, 2013. An equivalent number of additional TELUS common
shares would then be listed and begin trading on the NYSE for the first
time on or about February 5, 2013 under the symbol "TU," the same
symbol under which TELUS' non-voting shares have traded on the
exchange. TELUS' common shares will continue to trade under the current
symbol "T" on the TSX. TELUS expects the additional TELUS common shares
issued as a result of the exchange will be listed and begin trading on
the TSX on or about February 11, 2013. TELUS will have a single class
of approximately 326 million common shares listed and trading on both
the TSX and NYSE.
TELUS is proceeding with the share exchange as Mason Capital Management
LLC and TELUS have agreed to abandon all litigation relating to the
court approved plan of arrangement. The agreement does not involve the
payment of funds to either party.
As a result, the Supreme Court of British Columbia's decision to grant a
final order approving TELUS' share exchange stands and all conditions
precedent to completion of the exchange have now been satisfied.
TELUS non-voting shareholders, with or without a physical share
certificate, do not need to take any action because the company is
moving to a Direct Registration System (DRS). As soon as practicable
following the effective time, TELUS' transfer agent Computershare will
send non-voting shareholders a DRS advice form, which will represent
the total number of common shares that they will be entitled to receive
upon the exchange. This will allow shareholders to hold their new
common shares in a "book entry" form without having a physical share
certificate issued.
Forward looking statement: This news release contains statements about expected future events of
TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking
statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and
are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There can be no
assurance that the associated benefits for TELUS shareholders of the
share exchange will be realized or that the expected listing and
delisting dates will be accurate. There is significant risk that the
forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as
a number of factors could cause actual future events to differ
materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements.
Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise forward-looking statements.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications
company in Canada, with $10.8 billion of annual revenue and
13.0 million customer connections including 7.6 million wireless
subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million
Internet subscribers and more than 635,000 TELUS TV customers. Led
since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a
wide range of communications products and services including wireless,
data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and
video.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team
members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to
charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million
hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS
Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was
honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation
globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals,
becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious
international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.
SOURCE: TELUS Corporation
