GE Announces Tender Offer to Purchase up to $7,000,000,000 Aggregate Purchase Price (U.S. Dollar Equivalent) of the Securities Listed in the Table Below
- GE plans to form three well-capitalized, investment-grade standalone companies, including GE HealthCare which is prepared to separate the first week of January 2023.
- GE HealthCare plans to issue debt securities, the proceeds of which are expected to be used to continue to pay down outstanding GE debt over time, including through the tender offer announced today.
BOSTON – November 8, 2022 – GE (NYSE:GE) announces for its own account (including as successor of General Electric Capital Corporation and General Electric Capital Services, Inc.) and on behalf of GE Capital International Funding Company Unlimited Company (formerly GE Capital International Funding Company), GE Capital European Funding Unlimited Company (formerly GE Capital European Funding), GE Capital UK Funding Unlimited Company (formerly GE Capital UK Funding), GE Capital Funding, LLC, and Security Capital Group Incorporated (for its own account and as successor of SUSA Partnership, L.P.) (collectively, the “Subsidiary Issuers”) an offer to purchase for cash (such offer to purchase, the “Tender Offer”) up to $7,000,000,000 (as converted on the basis set forth herein) aggregate purchase price of the securities listed in the table below (such securities, the “Securities”) (excluding the accrued and unpaid interest on such Securities) (the “Total Maximum Amount”) issued by GE or an affiliate (and assumed or guaranteed by GE).
The Tender Offer is made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase, dated November 8, 2022 (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Offer to Purchase”). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Offer to Purchase.
Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available from the Information and Tender Agent as set out below. All documentation relating to the Offer to Purchase, together with any updates will be available via the Offer Website: www.dfking.com/ge.
Purpose of the Tender Offer
The purpose of the Tender Offer is to purchase certain outstanding debt issued by GE or an affiliate (and assumed or guaranteed by GE) and to reduce GE’s leverage consistent with its previously announced plans. Securities that are accepted in the Tender Offer will be purchased, retired and cancelled and will no longer remain outstanding obligations of GE or any affiliate of GE.
Details of the Tender Offer
The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on December 7, 2022, unless extended or earlier terminated by GE in its sole and absolute discretion (such date and time, as the same may be extended, the “Expiration Date”). Securities tendered may be withdrawn at any time on or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 22, 2022, unless extended by GE in its sole and absolute discretion (such date and time, as the same may be extended, the “Withdrawal Date”), but not thereafter.
Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer and accepted for purchase by GE will be accepted for purchase based on the acceptance priority levels set forth in the table above (the “Acceptance Priority Levels”), subject to the limitation that the maximum aggregate purchase price to be paid for the Securities in the Tender Offer (excluding the accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities) will not exceed the Total Maximum Amount, and may be subject to proration, all as more fully described herein and in the Offer to Purchase.
A separate instruction must be submitted for each beneficial owner of Securities due to possible proration.
Holders (the “Holders”) of Securities that are validly tendered at or before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 22, 2022, unless extended by GE (such date and time, as the same may be extended, the “Early Participation Date”), and not subsequently validly withdrawn, and accepted for purchase will receive the applicable Total Consideration (as defined below) for their Securities, which includes the applicable early participation amount for the applicable series of Securities set forth in the table above (the applicable “Early Participation Amount”), together with any accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities from, and including, the most recent interest payment date prior to the applicable Payment Date up to, but not including, the applicable Payment Date (“Accrued Interest”). Subject to the terms and conditions described in herein and in the Offer to Purchase, including the Total Maximum Amount, the Acceptance Priority Levels and the proration procedures, Holders of Securities that are validly tendered after the Early Participation Date and at or before the Expiration Date and are accepted for purchase will receive only the applicable “Late Tender Offer Consideration,” which consists of the applicable Total Consideration minus the applicable Early Participation Amount, for each $1,000, £1,000 or €1,000 principal amount of such tendered Securities, plus any Accrued Interest. The applicable Total Consideration and the Late Tender Offer Consideration will be payable in cash.
The Tender Offer is subject to certain conditions, including the Financing Condition. Subject to GE’s right to terminate the Tender Offer, and subject to the Total Maximum Amount, the Acceptance Priority Levels and proration, GE will purchase the Securities that have been validly tendered (and not subsequently validly withdrawn) at or before the Expiration Date, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offer having been satisfied or waived by GE promptly following the Expiration Date (the date of such purchase, which is expected to be the first business day following the Expiration Date, the “Final Payment Date”). GE reserves the right, but is not obligated, in its sole and absolute discretion, to purchase the Securities that have been validly tendered (and not subsequently validly withdrawn) at or before the Early Participation Date or following the Early Participation Date but prior to the Expiration Date, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offer having been satisfied or waived by GE (the date of such purchase, the “Early Payment Date” and together with the Final Payment Date, each a “Payment Date”).
The Securities accepted for purchase will be accepted in accordance with their Acceptance Priority Levels (with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 38 being the lowest Acceptance Priority Level), subject to the limitation that the overall aggregate purchase price to be paid for the Securities in the Tender Offer (excluding the accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities) will not exceed the Total Maximum Amount.
Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before the Early Participation Date having a higher Acceptance Priority Level will be accepted before any Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before the Early Participation Date having a lower Acceptance Priority Level are accepted in the Tender Offer, and all Securities validly tendered after the Early Participation Date having a higher Acceptance Priority Level will be accepted before any Securities tendered after the Early Participation Date having a lower Acceptance Priority Level are accepted in the Tender Offer, in each case subject to the Total Maximum Amount. Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before the Early Participation Date will be accepted for purchase in priority to other Securities tendered after the Early Participation Date, even if such Securities tendered after the Early Participation Date have a higher Acceptance Priority Level than Securities tendered on or before the Early Participation Date. Furthermore, if the amount of Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to or at the Early Participation Date exceeds the Total Maximum Amount, Holders who validly tender Securities in the Tender Offer after the Early Participation Date will not have any of their Securities accepted for purchase regardless of the Acceptance Priority Level of such Securities unless GE increases the Total Maximum Amount.
GE reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion and in accordance with applicable law, to waive or modify any one or more of the conditions to the Tender Offer in whole or in part at any time on or prior to the date that any Securities are first accepted for purchase or to (i) increase the Total Maximum Amount or (ii) decrease the Total Maximum Amount. Any such increase or decrease may be made on the basis of Securities validly tendered through the Early Participation Date and promptly announced on the business day immediately following the Early Participation Date. Any such increase or decrease may be made without extending the Withdrawal Date or otherwise reinstating withdrawal rights, except as required by applicable law.
If GE exercises its right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to purchase the Securities on an Early Payment Date and, on such Early Payment Date, or on the Final Payment Date, if there are sufficient remaining funds to purchase some, but not all, of the remaining tendered Securities in any Acceptance Priority Level without exceeding the Total Maximum Amount, GE will accept for payment such tendered Securities on a prorated basis, with the proration factor for such Acceptance Priority Level depending on the aggregate principal amount (converted into U.S. Dollars where applicable as described above) of Securities of such Acceptance Priority Level validly tendered.
The “Total Consideration” payable for each series of Fixed Spread Securities will be a price per $1,000, £1,000 or €1,000 principal amount of such series of Fixed Spread Securities validly tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer on or prior to the Early Participation Date, and accepted for purchase by us (subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels, the Total Maximum Amount and proration, if any), equal to an amount in the currency in which the applicable Securities are denominated, calculated in accordance with Schedule C-1, C-2 or C-3 to the Offer to Purchase, as applicable, that would reflect, as of the Early Payment Date or, to the extent GE does not exercise its right to purchase the Securities on such Early Payment Date, as of the Final Payment Date: (i) for each series of Fixed Spread Dollar Securities and Fixed Spread Sterling Securities, a yield to the applicable maturity date of such series of Securities equal to the sum (such sum being annualized in the case of the Fixed Spread Sterling Securities) of (a) the Reference Yield (as defined below) of the applicable Reference Security, determined at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the first business day following the Early Participation Date (the “Reference Yield Determination Date”), plus (b) the fixed spread applicable to such series, as set forth in the table above (the “Fixed Spread”); and, (ii) for each series of Fixed Spread Euro Securities, a yield to the applicable maturity date of such series of Securities equal to the sum of (a) the Reference Yield (corresponding to the applicable Interpolated Rate as set forth in the table above) determined at the Reference Yield Determination Date, plus (b) the applicable Fixed Spread for such series of Securities; in each case, minus accrued and unpaid interest on such Securities from, and including, the most recent interest payment date prior to the applicable Payment Date up to, but not including, such Payment Date. The applicable Total Consideration includes the Early Participation Amount for the applicable series of Fixed Spread Securities set forth in the table above.
The “Total Consideration” payable for each series of Fixed Price Securities will be a price per $1,000, £1,000 or €1,000 principal amount of such series of Fixed Price Securities listed in the table above.
The applicable Total Consideration includes the applicable Early Participation Amount for the applicable series of Fixed Price Securities.
For further details on the procedures for tendering the Securities, please refer to the Offer to Purchase, including the procedures set out under the heading “The Tender Offer—Procedures for Tendering Securities” of the Offer to Purchase.
GE has retained BofA Securities, Merrill Lynch International and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to act as the Global Coordinators and along with BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs International to act as the Lead Dealer Managers, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. to act as the Senior Co-Dealer Managers, and Blaylock Van, LLC and Mischler Financial Group, Inc. to act as the Co-Dealer Managers in connection with the Tender Offer (collectively, the “Dealer Managers”). Questions regarding terms and conditions of the Tender Offer should be directed to BofA Securities at +1 (888) 292-0070 (toll free) or +1 (980) 683-3215 (collect), to Merrill Lynch International at +44 20 7996 5420 (collect), to Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC at +1 (800) 624-1808 (toll free), +1 (212) 761-1057 (collect).
D.F. King has been appointed the information and tender agent with respect to the Tender Offer (the “Information and Tender Agent”). The Offer to Purchase can be accessed at the Tender Offer website: http://www.dfking.com/ge. Questions or requests for assistance in connection with the tendering procedures for the Securities in the Tender Offer or for additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Information and Tender Agent at +1 (800) 714-3312 (toll free), +1 (212) 269-5550 (collect), +44 20 7920 9700 (London) or via e-mail at [email protected]. You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank or trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Tender Offer.
GE reserves the right, in its sole discretion, not to purchase any Securities or to extend, re-open, withdraw or terminate the Tender Offer and to amend or waive any of the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer in any manner, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
Holders are advised to read carefully the Offer to Purchase for full details of and information on the procedures for participating in the Tender Offer.
Holders are advised to check with any custodian or nominee, or other intermediary through which they hold Securities, whether such entity would require the receipt of instructions to participate in, or notice of a revocation of their instruction to participate in, the Tender Offer before the deadlines specified above. The deadlines set by any custodian or nominee, or by the relevant Clearing System, for the submission and revocation of valid electronic tender and blocking instructions, in the form required by the relevant Clearing System, may be earlier than the relevant deadlines specified above.
Unless stated otherwise, announcements in connection with the Tender Offer will be made available on GE’s website at www.genewsroom.com. Such announcements may also be made by (i) the issue of a press release and (ii) the delivery of notices to the Clearing Systems for communication to Direct Participants. Copies of all such announcements, press releases and notices can also be obtained from the Information and Tender Agent, the corresponding contact details for whom are set out above. Significant delays may be experienced where notices are delivered to the Clearing Systems and Holders are urged to contact the Information and Tender Agent for the relevant announcements relating to the Tender Offer. In addition, all documentation relating to the Tender Offer, together with any updates, will be available via the Offer Website: http://www.dfking.com/ge.
DISCLAIMER This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Tender Offer. If you are in any doubt as to the contents of this announcement or the Offer to Purchase or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own financial, legal and tax advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from your broker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Securities are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Tender Offer. None of GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates makes any recommendation as to whether or not Holders should tender their Securities in the Tender Offer.
None of GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates assumes any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning GE, the Securities or the Tender Offer contained in this announcement or in the Offer to Purchase. None of GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates is acting for any Holder, or will be responsible to any Holder for providing any protections which would be afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Tender Offer, and accordingly none of GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates assumes any responsibility for any failure by GE to disclose information with regard to GE or the Securities which is material in the context of the Tender Offer and which is not otherwise publicly available.
General
This announcement is for informational purposes only. The Tender Offer is being made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase. Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase, or the electronic transmission thereof, constitutes an offer to sell or buy Securities, as applicable, in any jurisdiction in which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation under applicable securities laws or otherwise. The distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Tender Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and the Dealer Managers or any of their respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Tender Offer shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Managers or such affiliate (as the case may be) on behalf of GE in such jurisdiction.
No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction that would permit the possession, circulation or distribution of either this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any material relating to GE, any subsidiary of GE or the Securities in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, none of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the Tender Offer may be distributed or published, in or from any such country or jurisdiction, except in compliance with any applicable rules or regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.
The distribution of this announcement and the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement or the Offer to Purchase comes are required by GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers and the Information and Tender Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.
This communication has not been approved by an authorized person for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (the “FSMA”). Accordingly, this communication is not being directed at persons within the United Kingdom save in circumstances where section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply.
This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities to the public in any Member State of the European Economic Area (a “Relevant State”). In any Relevant State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended or superseded) (the “Prospectus Regulation”) in that Relevant State. This announcement and information contained herein must not be acted on or relied upon by persons who are not qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation.
In the United Kingdom, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, who are also: (i) persons falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Financial Promotion Order”)); or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Financial Promotion Order (such persons together being “relevant persons”). The Securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such Securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Each Holder participating in the Tender Offer will give certain representations in respect of the jurisdictions referred to above and generally as set out in the Offer to Purchase. Any tender of Securities pursuant to the Tender Offer from a Holder that is unable to make these representations will not be accepted. Each of GE, the Subsidiary Issuers, the Dealer Managers and the Information and Tender Agent reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to investigate, in relation to any tender of Securities pursuant to the Tender Offer, whether any such representation given by a Holder is correct and, if such investigation is undertaken and as a result GE determines (for any reason) that such representation is not correct, such tender shall not be accepted.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For details on the uncertainties that may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements, including (1) the expected timing, size or other terms of the Tender Offer and GE’s ability to complete the Tender Offer; (2) our success in executing and completing asset dispositions or other transactions, including our planned spin-offs of GE HealthCare and our portfolio of energy businesses that are planned to be combined as GE Vernova (Renewable Energy, Power, Digital and Energy Financial Services), and sales of our equity interests in Baker Hughes Company (Baker Hughes) and AerCap Holdings N.V. (AerCap) and our expected equity interest in GE HealthCare after its spin-off, the timing of closing for such transactions, the ability to satisfy closing conditions, and the expected proceeds, consideration and benefits to GE; (3) changes in macroeconomic and market conditions and market volatility, including impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, risk of recession, inflation, supply chain constraints or disruptions, rising interest rates, the value of securities and other financial assets (including our equity ownership positions in Baker Hughes and AerCap, and expected equity interest in GE HealthCare after its spin-off), oil, natural gas and other commodity prices and exchange rates, and the impact of such changes and volatility on our business operations, financial results and financial position and (4) our de-leveraging and capital allocation plans, including with respect to actions to reduce our indebtedness, the capital structures of the three public companies that we plan to form from our businesses, the timing and amount of dividends, share repurchases, organic investments, and other priorities, see https://www.ge.com/investor-relations/important-forward-looking-statement-information, as well as our SEC filings. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
About GE
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