GRAPEVINE, Texas, Jan. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — United Development Funding IV (“UDF IV” or the “Trust”) announced that it recommends Trust shareholders reject the extended unsolicited tender offer made by hedge fund NexPoint Strategic Opportunities Fund (“NexPoint”) to purchase all Trust common shares (the “Shares”) for $1.10 per share (the “Tender Offer”).
The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has reviewed the terms and conditions of the extended Tender Offer, considered other information relating to the Trust’s portfolio of assets, current financial condition and future opportunities and evaluated various other factors it deemed relevant, such as its knowledge of NexPoint and its affiliates, including NexPoint Advisors, L.P., Highland Capital Management, L.P. and NexPoint’s portfolio manager, James Dondero (collectively, “NexPoint/Dondero”). As explained in the Trust’s press releases dated December 17, 2020 and January 8, 2021, the Board believes that NexPoint’s extended tender offer price of $1.10 per share represents a substantial discount to the current value of the Trust. In addition, the Board has serious concerns that the principal interests of NexPoint/Dondero and their affiliates in taking over the Trust may be to shield the participants in the illegal short and distort fraud scheme perpetrated against the Trust by notorious hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass. These and the Board’s additional reasons for recommending that shareholders reject the Tender Offer are described further in the press releases mentioned above, which are available at www.udfiv.com.
The Board also considered more recent events taking place in the Highland Capital Management, L.P. (also referred to as the “Debtor” or “HCMLP”) bankruptcy case, including a preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) on January 11, 2021, enjoining and restraining James Dondero from taking a variety of actions, including making express or implied threats against the Debtor and its directors, officers, employees, professionals, or agents, in whatever capacity they are acting, and from physically or virtually entering the Debtor’s offices, computer, email, or information systems, including office space that the Debtor shares with employees of NexPoint Advisors, NexPoint’s investment advisor. The Court previously issued a temporary restraining order enjoining James Dondero from threatening the Debtor and its representatives after the Debtor accused him of the same and of interfering with the bankruptcy proceeding. NexPoint and NexPoint Advisors are also defendants in a lawsuit associated with the HCMLP bankruptcy. On January 13, 2021, NexPoint and NexPoint Advisors were temporarily enjoined and restrained from interfering with or otherwise impeding, directly or indirectly, the Debtor’s business, and from conspiring, colluding, or collaborating with James Dondero or any entity he owns and/or controls, to engage in such conduct. The Board further observed that none of these significant events regarding the Highland bankruptcy proceeding have been disclosed to Trust shareholders by NexPoint in the Tender Offer materials.
Shareholders should be aware that they are not required to tender any Shares to NexPoint. To reject the Tender Offer, a shareholder should simply ignore it. A shareholder that has already agreed to tender its Shares pursuant to the Tender Offer may withdraw any tender of shares up until February 12, 2021 (as described in the Tender Offer materials). A copy of this press release will be posted to the Trust’s website at www.udfiv.com. The Trust requests that a copy of this press release also be included with all distributions of materials relating to the Tender Offer.
Highland Capital filed for bankruptcy in October 2019 and James Dondero ceded control over the bankrupt firm in January 2020 as part of a deal with creditors. The case and associated proceedings are Highland Cap. Mgmt., L.P. v. Highland Cap. Mgmt. Fund Advisors, L.P., Bankr. N.D. Tex., 19-34054, Highland Capital Management L.P. vs Highland Capital Management Fund Advisors, L.P., NexPoint Advisors, L.P., Highland Income Fund, NexPoint Strategic Opportunities Fund, et al, N.D. Tex., Adv. Proc. No. 21-03000 and Highland Cap. Mgmt., L.P. v. Dondero, Bankr. N.D. Tex., Adv. Proc. No. 20-3190, hearing 1/8/21.
About United Development Funding IV
United Development Funding IV is a Maryland real estate investment trust. UDF IV was formed primarily to generate current interest income by investing in secured loans and producing profits from investments in residential real estate. Additional information about UDF IV can be found on its website at www.udfiv.com. UDF IV may disseminate important information regarding its operations, including financial information, through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to United Development Funding IV and the Tender Offer that are based on management’s current expectations and estimates and are not guarantees of future performance or future events. Such forward-looking statements generally can be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” or other similar words. Readers should be aware that there are various factors, many of which are beyond the Trust’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this correspondence. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this correspondence. Forward-looking statements in this document speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and the Trust undertakes no obligation to update any such statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events.
