425 1 d831342d425.htm 425 425
 

Filed by UBS Group AG and

UBS AG

Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933

 

Subject Company: UBS AG

 

Registration Statement No. 333-199011

 

LOGO  

UBS AG

ORXS

P.O. Box

8098 Zurich

Switzerland

 

Confidential

<forename> <surname>

<addressline1>

<addressline2>

<addressline3>

<addressline4>

<addressline5>

<addressline6>

 

Contact Information

UBS AG New York Branch

787 Seventh Avenue

14th Floor (CEFS International)

New York, NY 10019

United States

+1-866-861-0055

www.equateplus.com

 

Account Information

GPN number/ACCT #

 

2 December 2014

UBS Group Exchange offer: Additional Acceptance Period

Dear Participant,

On October 1, 2014, UBS announced the launch of a share-for-share exchange offer in order to establish a group holding company. The initial acceptance period commenced on October 14, 2014 and closed, following an extended period, on November 20, 2014. The first settlement date of the exchanged shares was November 28, 2014. On November 26, 2014, UBS AG and UBS Group AG announced an additional acceptance period to participate in the exchange, thus the election form on EquatePlus has reopened and will close at 11:59pm EST December 9, 2014.

WHAT TO KNOW

 

  1. As you have not made an election or decided to withdraw from the exchange, no UBS shares currently held in your EquatePlus account will be tendered for exchange.

 

  2. To participate in the exchange and tender any vested and unvested UBS shares currently held in your EquatePlus account you must submit an election form by 11:59pm EST December 9, 2014.

 

  3. Once tendered, your vested UBS shares will be blocked from trading until the expected settlement date of December 18, 2014.

WHAT TO DO

 

  1. To access the election form go to www.equateplus.com and login with your user ID and password. If you do not have a login please call the call center below for assistance.

 

  2. On your landing page, click on the applicable link in the “Open To Dos” section if no election has yet been made, complete and then submit your Tender Offer election.

 

  3. If an election has been made, and you wish to amend, please go to Home>Elections>UBS Group Exchange Offer 2014 and select Review. On the form select Edit>Delete.

For more information about the exchange, please go to www.ubs.com/exchangeoffer. Additionally, more detailed information about the exchange offer as it relates to EquatePlus holdings can be found in the document library under Share for Share Exchange.

U.S Call Centre (for US employees)

USA (toll free): 1 866 861 0055

Best Regards,

UBS AG, New York Branch

 

 

Page 1 / 3


LOGO  

UBS AG

ORXS

P.O. Box

8098 Zurich

Switzerland

 

Important Notices

The exchange offer described herein is addressed to UBS AG’s shareholders and only to persons to whom it may be lawfully addressed. The exchange offer is made to the public in Switzerland and the United States. The making of the exchange offer to specific persons who are residents, nationals or citizens of jurisdictions outside Switzerland or the United States or to custodians, nominees or trustees of such persons (the “Excluded Shareholders”) may be made only in accordance with the laws of the relevant jurisdiction.

The exchange offer is not made, directly or indirectly, by mail or by any means in or into any jurisdiction within which, under its laws, rules and regulations, the submission, the making or the presentation of the exchange offer or the mailing or distribution of this announcement, the Swiss offer prospectus, a declaration of acceptance and any other document or material relevant thereto (together, the “Exchange Offer Documents”) is illegal or contravenes any applicable legislation, rule or regulation (together, the “Excluded Territories”). Accordingly, copies of any Exchange Offer Document will not be, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed, distributed or otherwise sent to anyone or from anyone in or into or from any Excluded Territory.

No person receiving a copy of any Exchange Offer Document in any jurisdiction outside Switzerland may treat any such document as if it constituted a solicitation or offer to such person and under no circumstances may such person use any Exchange Offer Document if, in the relevant jurisdiction, such solicitation or offer may not be lawfully made to such person or if such Exchange Offer Document may not be lawfully used without breaching any legal requirements. In those instances, any such Exchange Offer Document is sent for information purposes only. Separate documentation related to the exchange offer has been made available in the United States. No offering of securities shall be made in the United States except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

It is the responsibility of the Excluded Shareholders wishing to accept the exchange offer to inform themselves of and ensure compliance with the laws of their respective jurisdictions in relation to the exchange offer. If you are an Excluded Shareholder and have any doubts as to your status, you should consult with your professional advisor in the relevant jurisdiction.

UBS Group AG (“UBS Group”) has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form F-4, which includes an offer to exchange/prospectus. UBS AG has filed a related solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC. This document is not a substitute for the registration statement, offer to exchange/prospectus or any other offering materials or other documents that UBS AG and UBS Group have filed or will file with the SEC or have sent or will send to shareholders. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE POTENTIAL TRANSACTION FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors will be able to obtain a copy of such filings, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov) once such documents are filed with the SEC. Copies of such documents may also be obtained from UBS AG, without charge, once they are filed with the SEC.

This document is an advertisement and not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for or purchase any transferable securities referred to in this document except on the basis of information contained in the Prospectus proposed to be published by UBS Group in due course in connection with the proposed tender offer.

In member states of the European Economic Area (“EEA”), this announcement and any offer if made subsequently is directed only at persons who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive (Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended) (“Qualified Investors”). Any person in the EEA who acquires securities in any offer (an “investor”) or to whom any offer of the securities is made will be deemed to have represented and agreed that it is a Qualified Investor. Any investor will also be deemed to have represented and agreed that any securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on behalf of persons in the EEA other than Qualified Investors, nor have the securities been acquired with a view to their offer or resale in the EEA to persons where this would result in a requirement for publication by UBS Group or the dealer-manager for the proposed exchange offer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive. UBS Group, the dealer-manager for the proposed exchange offer and any of their respective affiliates and others will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations and agreements.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements”, including but not limited to management’s outlook for UBS’s financial performance and statements relating to the anticipated effect of transactions and strategic initiatives on UBS’s business and future development. While these forward-looking statements represent UBS’s judgments and expectations concerning the matters described, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from UBS’s expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: (i) the degree to which UBS is successful in executing its announced strategic plans, including its efficiency initiatives and its planned further reduction in its Basel III risk-weighted

 

 

Page 2 / 3


LOGO  

UBS AG

ORXS

P.O. Box

8098 Zurich

Switzerland

 

assets (RWA) and leverage ratio denominator (LRD); (ii) developments in the markets in which UBS operates or to which it is exposed, including movements in securities prices or liquidity, credit spreads, currency exchange rates and interest rates and the effect of economic conditions and market developments on the financial position or creditworthiness of UBS’s clients and counterparties; (iii) changes in the availability of capital and funding, including any changes in UBS’s credit spreads and ratings, or arising from requirements for bail-in debt or loss-absorbing capital; (iv) changes in or the implementation of financial legislation and regulation in Switzerland, the US, the UK and other financial centers that may impose more stringent capital (including leverage ratio), liquidity and funding requirements, incremental tax requirements, additional levies, limitations on permitted activities, constraints on remuneration or other measures; (v) uncertainty as to when and to what degree the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) will approve reductions to the incremental RWA resulting from the supplemental operational risk-capital analysis mutually agreed to by UBS and FINMA effective 31 December 2013, or will approve a limited reduction of capital requirements due to measures to reduce resolvability risk; (vi) the degree to which UBS is successful in executing the announced creation of a new Swiss banking subsidiary, a holding company for the UBS Group (including the announced exchange offer to exchange shares of UBS AG for shares UBS Group), a US intermediate holding company, changes in the operating model of UBS Limited and other changes which UBS may make in its legal entity structure and operating model, including the possible consequences of such changes, and the potential need to make other changes to the legal structure or booking model of UBS Group in response to legal and regulatory requirements, including capital requirements, resolvability requirements and proposals in Switzerland and in other countries for mandatory structural reform of banks; (vii) changes in UBS’s competitive position, including whether differences in regulatory capital and other requirements among the major financial centers will adversely affect UBS’s ability to compete in certain lines of business; (ix) the liability to which UBS may be exposed, or possible constraints or sanctions that regulatory authorities might impose on UBS, due to litigation, contractual claims and regulatory investigations; (x) the effects on UBS’s cross-border banking business of tax or regulatory developments and of possible changes in UBS’s policies and practices relating to this business; (xi) UBS’s ability to retain and attract the employees necessary to generate revenues and to manage, support and control its businesses, which may be affected by competitive factors including differences in compensation practices; (xii) changes in accounting or tax standards or policies, and determinations or interpretations affecting the recognition of gain or loss, the valuation of goodwill, the recognition of deferred tax assets and other matters; (xiii) limitations on the effectiveness of UBS’s internal processes for risk management, risk control, measurement and modeling, and of financial models generally; (xiv) whether UBS will be successful in keeping pace with competitors in updating its technology, particularly in trading businesses; (xv) the occurrence of operational failures, such as fraud, unauthorized trading and systems failures; and (xvi) the effect that these or other factors or unanticipated events may have on our reputation and the additional consequences that this may have on our business and performance. The sequence in which the factors above are presented is not indicative of their likelihood of occurrence or the potential magnitude of their consequences. Our business and financial performance could be affected by other factors identified in our past and future filings and reports, including those filed with the SEC. More detailed information about those factors is set forth in documents furnished by UBS and filings made by UBS with the SEC, including UBS’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2013 and UBS’s Report on Form 6-K filed with the SEC on 29 September 2014. UBS is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

 

 

Page 3 / 3