BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--East Resources Acquisition Company, a Delaware corporation (“ERES”), announced that the virtual meeting of stockholders (the “special meeting”) to approve the previously announced business combination (the “proposed business combination”) with Longevity Market Assets, LLC, a Florida limited liability company and Abacus Settlements, LLC, a Florida limited liability company (together, the “Companies” or “Abacus”), has been set for June 29, 2023 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Holders of record of ERES common stock at the close of business on June 13, 2023 (the “record date”) will be entitled to vote at the special meeting to approve the proposed business combination and certain related transactions (together with the proposed business combination, the “Transactions”) and may cast their vote electronically by visiting https://www.cstproxy.com/eastresources/2023. If you hold your shares through a bank or broker, then you should reach out to your bank or broker for assistance in voting your shares.
In connection with the special meeting, ERES has filed a definitive proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the purpose of soliciting stockholder approval of the Transactions. The Proxy Statement will be mailed together with a proxy card to ERES’s stockholders of record as of the record date.
Subject to stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions identified in the previously disclosed merger agreement governing the proposed business combination (as amended, the “Merger Agreement”), the proposed business combination is expected to close as soon as practicable following the special meeting. Upon the closing of the proposed business combination, the combined company will be named “Abacus Life, Inc.” and its common stock will be listed on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol “ABL.”
ABOUT EAST RESOURCES ACQUISITION COMPANY
East Resources Acquisition Company, led by Terrence M. Pegula, is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in North America.
ABOUT ABACUS
Abacus is a leading vertically integrated alternative asset manager specializing in life insurance products. Since 2004, Abacus has purchased life insurance policies from consumers seeking liquidity and has actively managed those policies over time (via trading, holding, and / or servicing). With over $2.9 billion in face value of policies purchased from 2019 through 2021, Abacus has helped thousands of clients maximize the value of life insurance. Over the past 18 years, Abacus has built an institutionalized origination and portfolio management process that is supported by an 83-person team, long-term relationships with 78 institutional partners and 30,000 financial advisors, and the ability to operate in 49 states. The Company has serviced approximately $950 million in policies and has managed assets for large asset managers and third-party investment funds.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the Transactions, including statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the Transactions, the anticipated timing of the Transactions, the future financial condition and performance of the Companies and expected financial impacts of the Transactions (including future revenue and pro forma enterprise value) and the platform and markets and expected future growth and market opportunities of the Companies. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “predict,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “scales,” “representative of,” “valuation,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions or the negatives of these terms or variations of them. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are beyond ERES’s or the Companies’ control, are difficult or impossible to predict and may differ from assumptions. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risk that the Transactions may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of ERES’s securities, (ii) the risk that the Transactions may not be completed by ERES’s business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline if sought by ERES, (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the Transactions, including the requisite approvals of ERES’s stockholders and the Companies’ owners, the satisfaction of the minimum aggregate transaction proceeds amount following any redemptions by ERES’s public stockholders and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals, (iv) the lack of a third party valuation in determining whether or not to pursue the Transactions, (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement relating to the Transactions, (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the Transactions on the Companies’ business or employee relationships, operating results and business generally, (vii) the risk that the Transactions disrupt current plans and operations of the Companies, (viii) the risk of difficulties in retaining employees of the Companies as a result of the Transactions, (ix) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Companies or against ERES related to the Merger Agreement or the Transactions, (x) the ability to maintain the listing of ERES’s securities on a national securities exchange, (xi) changes in the competitive industries in which the Companies operate, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting the Companies’ business and changes in the combined capital structure, (xii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the Transactions, and the ability to identify and realize additional opportunities, (xiii) risks related to the uncertainty of the Companies’ projected financial information, (xiv) current and future conditions in the global economy, including as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, (xv) the risk that demand for the Companies’ life settlement and related offerings does not grow as expected, (xvi) the ability of the Companies to retain existing customers and attract new customers, (xvii) the potential inability of the Companies to manage growth effectively, (xviii) the potential inability of the Companies to grow their market share of the life settlement industry or to achieve efficiencies regarding their operating models or other costs, (xix) negative trends in the life settlement industry impacting the value of life settlements, including increases to the premium costs of life insurance policies, increased longevity of insureds, and errors in the methodology and assumptions of life expectancy reports, (xx) legal challenges by insurers relating to the validity of the origination or assignment of certain life settlements, (xxi) the enforceability of the Companies’ intellectual property rights, including their trademarks and trade secrets, and the potential infringement on the intellectual property rights of others, (xxii) the Companies’ dependence on senior management and other key employees, (xxiii) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the industry in which the Companies operate, and (xxiv) costs related to the Transactions and the failure to realize anticipated benefits of the Transactions or to realize estimated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated stockholder redemptions. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Proxy Statement that ERES has filed with the SEC in connection with the Transactions and in other documents filed by ERES from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Companies and ERES assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither the Companies nor ERES gives any assurance that any of the Companies or ERES, or the combined company, will achieve expectations.
Additional Information About the Proposed Transactions and Where to Find It
This press release relates to the proposed Transactions. ERES has filed the Proxy Statement relating to the Transactions with the SEC, and the Proxy Statement will be sent to all ERES stockholders of record as of June 13, 2023, the record date established for voting on the Transactions and the other matters to be approved at the special meeting. ERES will also file other documents regarding the Transactions with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors, security holders and other interested persons of ERES and the Companies are urged to read the Proxy Statement and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transactions as they become available because they will contain important information about the Transactions. Investors, security holders and other interested persons will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by ERES through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. The documents filed by ERES with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge upon written request to ERES at 7777 NW Beacon Square Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida.
Participants in the Solicitation
ERES, the Companies and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from ERES stockholders in connection with the Transactions. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the Transactions is included in the Proxy Statement. You can find more information about ERES’s directors and executive officers in ERES’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which ERES filed with the SEC on April 17, 2023. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale or exchange of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
