VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/18/13 -- Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: BPF.UN) announced today that it has established an automatic securities purchase plan ("ASPP") with its broker, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., to allow for the repurchase of Fund units under the Fund's current Normal Course Issuer Bid at any time, including when it ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. The ASPP will terminate on the earliest of: (a) the date on which the purchase limits specified in the ASPP have been attained, (b) the date on which the Normal Course Issuer Bid terminates, (c) the Fund terminates the ASPP in accordance with the terms of the ASPP, in which case the Fund will issue a press release announcing such termination, and (d) August 31, 2013. All purchases under the ASPP will be made on the open market through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") in accordance with the requirements of the TSX or other Canadian marketplaces by registered investment dealers.
The Fund previously announced on August 22, 2012 that the Fund had received TSX approval of a Notice of Intention to Make a Normal Course Issuer Bid through the facilities of the TSX from September 4, 2012 to no later than August 31, 2013. This Normal Course Issuer Bid permits the Fund to repurchase for cancellation up to 1,442,522 Fund units. In accordance with the rules of the TSX, the maximum number of units that can be purchased on a daily basis by the Fund is 7,174 units, subject to the block purchase exception. The Fund intends to finance purchases under the current Normal Course Issuer Bid by drawing on the $26 million of available debt capacity that it has under existing credit facilities established by a subsidiary of the Fund, Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership, with a Canadian Chartered Bank. As at March 18, 2013, the Fund has not purchased any Fund units under its current Normal Course Issuer Bid.
The Fund is a limited purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of British Columbia to acquire indirectly certain trade marks and trade names used by Boston Pizza International Inc. ("BPI") in its Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada. The trade marks are licensed to BPI for 99 years for which BPI pays the Fund 4% of franchise revenues of its 348 Boston Pizza restaurants in the royalty pool.
The trustees of the Fund approved the contents of this news release.
Contacts:
Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund
Jordan Holm
Vice President of Investor Relations
604-303-6083
investorrelations@bostonpizza.com
www.bpincomefund.com
