Vericity Stockholders to Receive $11.43
per Share in Cash
Vericity, Inc. (“Vericity”) (NASDAQ: VERY)
today announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement
whereby iA American Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of iA Financial
Corporation, Inc. (“iA”) (collectively, “iA”) (TSX: IAG) will
acquire Vericity in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately
$170 million. Vericity is majority owned by J.C. Flowers & Co.
(“J.C. Flowers”), a leading private investment firm dedicated to
investing globally in the financial services industry.
James Hohmann, Vericity’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “This
is an exciting transaction that we believe offers compelling value
for all of our stockholders and reflects the strength of our
business. We look forward to accelerating our strategic advancement
within iA as we further grow the eFinancial platform, the business
overall, and create new opportunities for our people and the
franchise.”
"Over the course of our investment in Vericity, J.C. Flowers
supported Management in transforming the business model by
combining AI and rich data analytics to deliver innovative
proprietary technology to power all aspects of the business,” said
Eric Rahe, Co-President of J.C. Flowers. "We are gratified to see
these efforts recognized by iA, one of the largest insurance and
wealth management groups in Canada with a presence in the United
States. We are confident that Vericity will continue to thrive as
part of iA to the benefit of all of its stakeholders."
As part of the agreement, each issued and outstanding share of
the total 14,875,000 shares of Vericity common stock will be
converted into the right to receive $11.43 in cash at closing of
the merger, funded by iA with existing cash on hand. The per share
merger consideration represents a 101% premium to Vericity’s
closing share price of $5.70 on October 2, 2023, the last full
trading day prior to the announcement of the transaction. The
transaction is not subject to any financing condition or
contingency.
Vericity’s board of directors unanimously approved the merger
agreement. The merger is expected to close in the first half of
2024. It is subject to certain customary closing conditions for a
transaction of this type, including the expiration or termination
of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended and receipt of
insurance regulatory approvals. Following the execution of the
merger agreement, stockholders representing more than a majority of
the issued and outstanding shares of Vericity common stock
delivered a stockholder written consent adopting and approving the
merger agreement.
For further information regarding the definitive merger
agreement, please see Vericity’s current report on Form 8-K, which
will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) and will contain a summary of the material terms and
conditions of the merger agreement, as well as a copy of the merger
agreement.
Advisors
Raymond James Financial, Inc. is serving as financial advisor
and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as
legal advisor to Vericity on this transaction.
About Vericity
Vericity, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERY), through its subsidiaries,
Fidelity Life Association and eFinancial, LLC, is a leader in
direct-to-consumer life insurance solutions. As an innovator in
product design and distribution, the company makes life insurance
affordable and accessible for middle market consumers. With
national call centers, digital and digitally enabled sales and
underwriting processes, quick policy issuance, and an emphasis on
products not medically underwritten at the time of sale, it is
easier for customers to get the coverage they need at a price they
can afford. For more information, visit
https://www.vericity.com/.
About J.C. Flowers & Co.
J.C. Flowers is a leading private investment firm dedicated to
investing globally in the financial services industry. Founded in
1998, the firm has approximately $4 billion of assets under
management. J.C. Flowers has offices in New York, London and Palm
Beach with a 21-person investment staff who have a combined 300+
years of experience. Over its 25-year history, J.C. Flowers has
invested more than $17 billion of capital in 65 portfolio companies
in 18 countries across a range of industry subsectors including
banking, insurance and reinsurance, securities firms, specialty
finance, and services and asset management. For more information,
please visit https://www.jcfco.com/.
About iA Financial Group
iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth
management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States.
Founded in 1892, it is an important Canadian public company and is
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IAG
(common shares) and IAF (preferred shares). For more information,
visit https://ia.ca/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release
and oral statements made by representatives of Vericity are not
descriptions of historical facts, they are forward-looking
statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of
Vericity made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements that represent our beliefs concerning future operations,
strategies, financial results or other developments, and contain
words and phrases such as “may,” “expects,” “should,” “believes,”
“anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends” or similar expressions. Such
forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and
uncertainties that could cause Vericity’s future results,
performance or achievements to differ significantly from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
The proposed transaction is subject to risks and uncertainties
and factors that could cause Vericity’s actual results to differ,
possibly materially, from those in the specific projections, goals,
assumptions and statements herein which include, but are not
limited to: (i) that Vericity and iA may be unable to complete the
proposed transaction because, among other reasons, conditions to
the closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or
waived, including that a governmental authority may prohibit, delay
or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the
transaction; (ii) uncertainty as to the timing of completion of the
proposed transaction; (iii) the occurrence of any event, change or
other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the
merger agreement; (iv) risks related to disruption of management’s
attention from Vericity’s ongoing business operations due to the
proposed transaction; (v) the effect of the announcement of the
proposed transaction on Vericity’s relationships with its clients,
employees, operating results and business generally; and (vi) the
outcome of any legal proceedings to the extent initiated against
Vericity or others following the announcement of the proposed
transaction, as well as Vericity management’s response to any of
the aforementioned factors.
Vericity undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not
be relied upon as representing Vericity’s views as of any date
subsequent to the date hereof. For a further description of the
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well
as risks relating to Vericity’s business in general and ownership
of shares of Vericity’s common stock, see the “Risk Factors”
section of Vericity’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with
the SEC on June 4, 2019, and the other reports Vericity files with
the SEC.
References to additional information about Vericity have been
provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such
websites is not incorporated by reference into this press
release.
Additional Information about the Proposed Transaction and
Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed transaction, Vericity intends to
file relevant materials with the SEC, including Vericity’s
information statement in preliminary and definitive form. Vericity
stockholders are strongly advised to read all relevant documents
filed by Vericity with the SEC, including Vericity’s information
statement, because they will contain important information about
the proposed transaction. These documents will be available at no
charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, documents
will also be available without charge by visiting the Vericity
website at www.vericity.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003057170/en/
John Buchanan, General Counsel Vericity, Inc.
John.Buchanan@FidelityLife.com
Vericity (NASDAQ:VERY)
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