NEW YORK, June 12, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) today announced
the pricing of $150 million of senior unsecured notes due 2015 through an
offering to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The closing of the
offering is expected to occur on or about June 17, 2008.
The notes will be sold to investors at a price of 98.681% of the principal
amount thereof, plus accrued interest from June 17, 2008. The notes will pay
interest semiannually at a rate of 7.75% per annum and will mature on June 15,
2015.
Sotheby's expects to use the proceeds from this offering, together with the
proceeds from its concurrent offering of $175 million of senior convertible
notes, to finance the acquisition of its York Avenue property and to redeem its
$100 million of existing 6.875% Notes due 2009. In addition, Sotheby's expects
to use a portion of the proceeds from the transactions and from the warrant
sales referred to below to fund convertible note hedge transactions that
Sotheby's has entered into with the initial purchasers of the convertible notes
or their affiliates. Sotheby's has sold warrants to the initial purchasers of
the convertible notes or their affiliates and will use the proceeds of those
warrant sales to partially offset the cost of the convertible note hedge
transactions. Any remaining proceeds from these transactions will be used for
general corporate purposes.
The notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable
state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This
press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities
in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This
announcement does not constitute a notice of redemption of the 6.875% Notes due
2009 referred to above.
Sotheby's is a global company that engages in art auction, private sales and
art-related financing activities. The Company operates in 40 countries, with
principal salesrooms located in New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. Sotheby's
also regularly conducts auctions in six other salesrooms around the world.
Sotheby's is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BID.
Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements relating to the terms and
timing of the proposed offering, the expected use of proceeds from the offering
and Sotheby's ability to implement its strategic and business initiatives. These
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and
that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or
indicated by them. Additional risks and factors are identified in Sotheby's
filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including its
annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and its
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, which are
available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Sotheby's undertakes no
obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any
other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
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CONTACT: Sotheby's
Press Department:
Diana Phillips
(212) 606-7176
Investor Relations:
Jennifer Park
(212) 894-1023
