SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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UNITED STATES
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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DIVISION OF
CORPORATION FINANCE
March 6,2017
Response of the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions
Division of Corporation Finance
Peter Cohen-Millstein, Esq.
Linklaters LLP
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Re:
Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. —Dual Tender Offers by PCT LLC,
Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. and WST S.A.
Dear Mr. Cohen-Millstein:
We are responding to your letter dated March 6, 2017, addressed to Ted Yu, Daniel F.
Duchovny and Christina M. Thomas, as supplemented by telephone conversations with the staff
and your supporting letter from Argentine counsel of the same date, with regard to your request
for exemptive relief. To avoid having to recite or summarize the facts set forth in your letter, our
response letter is attached to the enclosed copy of your letter. Unless otherwise noted,
capitalized terms in this response letter have the same meaning as in your letter dated March 6,
2017.
On the basis of the representations and the facts presented in your letter, the Division of
Corporation Finance, acting for the Commission pursuant to delegated authority, by separate
order is granting the Offerors an exemption from Exchange Act Section 14(d)(6) and Exchange
Act Rules 14d-8 and 14d-10(a)(2) if the Offerors comply with the distribution and proration rules
of Article 70, as required under Argentine law and described in your letter, with respect to the
Offers.
The foregoing exemptive relief is based solely on the representations and the facts
presented in your letter dated March 6, 2017 and does not represent a legal conclusion with
respect to the applicability of the statutory or regulatory provisions of the federal securities laws.
The relief is strictly limited to the application of the provisions listed above to the Offers. The
Offerors should discontinue the Offers pending further consultations with the staff if any of the
facts or representations set forth in your letter change. In addition, this position is subject to
modification or revocation if at any time the Commission or the Division of Corporation Finance
determines that such action is necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes ofthe
Exchange Act.
Peter Cohen-Millstein, Esq.
Linklaters LLP
March 6,2017
Page 2
We also direct your attention to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions ofthe
federal securities laws, including Sections 9(a), I O(b) and 14(e) ofthe Exchange Act and Rules
l Ob-S and 14e-3 thereunder. Responsibility for compliance with these and any other applicable
provisions ofthe federal securities laws rests with the participants in the Offers. The Division of
Corporation Finance expresses no view with respect to any other questions that the Offers may
raise, including, but not limited to, the adequacy ofthe disclosure concerning, and the
applicability of any other federal or state laws to, the Offers.
Sincerely,
~~ ~ ~~
Ted Yu
Chief, Office of Mergers and Acquisitions
Division of Corporation Finance
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
March 6, 2017
In the Matter of Transportadora de Gas del
Sur S.A.
ORDER GRANTING EXEMPTIONS FROM
EXCHANGE ACT RULES 14D-8 and 14D10(A)(2) AND EXCHANGE ACT SECTION
14(D)(6)
PCT LLC, Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. and WST S.A. submitted a letter dated March
6, 2017 requesting that the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") grant exemptions
from Exchange Act Rules 14d-8 and 14d-10(a)(2) and Exchange Act Section 14(d)(6)for the
transactions described in their letter ("Request").
Based on the representations and the facts presented in the Request, and subject to the terms
and conditions described in the letter from the Division of Corporation Finance dated March 6,
2017, it is ORDERED that the request for exemptions from Exchange Act Rules 14d-8 and 14d10(a)(2) and Exchange Act Section 14(d)(6)is hereby granted.
For the Commission, by the Division of Corporation Finance, pursuant to delegated
authority.
Brent J. Fields
Secretary
Action as set forth or recommended herein APPROVED
pursuant to authority delegated by the Commission under
Public Law 87-592.
For: Division of Corporation Finance
By:
-~ d
Date:
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Li n kl ate rs
Linkiaters LLP
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Telephone +1 212 903 9000
Facsimile +1 212 903 9100
Mr. Ted Yu, Chief
Mr. Daniel F. Duchovny
Ms. Christina M. Thomas
Office of Mergers and Acquisitions
Division of Corporation Finance
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549-3628
March 6, 2017
Dear Mr. Yu, Mr. Duchovny and Ms. Thomas,
Re: Dual tender offers by PCT LLC, Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. and WST
S.A. for up to 194,651,345 outstanding Class B shares of common stock, including
Class B shares represented by American Depositary Shares, of Transportadora de
Gas del Sur S,A.
We are writing on behalf of PCT LLC ("PCT"), Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. ("GIP") and WST S.A.
{"WST") (collectively, the "Offerors"), in connection with the Offerors' offer to acquire, for cash, up to
194,651,345 outstanding Class B shares of common stock (the "Class B Shares"}, including those
represented by American depositary shares (each American Depositary Share representing rights to
five (5) Class B Shares} (the "ADSs" and, together with the Class B Shares, the "Securities"), which
represent twenty-four and one-half percent (24.5%} of the capital stock of Transportadora de Gas del
Sur S.A., a corporation (socredad anbnima) organized under the laws of Argentina ("TGS") through
concurrent tender offers in the United States and Argentina, in order to request exemptive relief from
Section 14(d)(6), Rule 14d-8 and Rule 14d-10(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as
amended, the "Exchange Act").
Parties
The Offerors
PCT is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of
America. PCT is principally engaged in investing in securities.
This communication is confidential and may be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity.
Linklaters LLP is a multinational limited liability paAnership registered in England and Wales wtth registered number pC326345 inGuding solicitors of the Senior Courts
of Englantl antl Wales, members of the New York and District of Columbia Bars antl foreign legal consultants in New York. It is a law frrm authorized and regulated by
the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The term partner in relation to linklaters LLP is used to reter to a member of Linklaters LLP or an employee or consultant of Linklaters
LlP or any of its affiliated firms or entities with equivalent standing and qualifications. Alist of the names of the members of Linklaters LlP together with a list of those
non-members who are designated as partners and their professional qualifications is open to inspection at its registered office, One Silk Street, London EC2Y 8HQ,
England or on www.linklaters.com.
Please refer to wviw.tinklaters.com/regulation for important information on our regulatory position.
Linklaters
GIP is a limited company organized under the laws of Spain. GIP is principally engaged in design,
development, operation and investment in securities (both national and foreign) and real property.
WST is a corporation (sociedad anbnima) organized under the laws of Argentina. WST is principally
engaged in investment and financial activities.
TGS
TGS is a corporation (sociedad anbnima) organized under the laws of Argentina. TGS is the leading
transporter of natural gas in Argentina, operating the largest trunk pipeline system in the country and
Latin America. TGS also provides other non-regulated services in the gas industry, being one of the
leading processors of natural gas and one of the most important marketers of natural gas liquids. TGS
is also an important provider of midstream services, which consist mainly of gas treatment and removal
of impurities from the natural gas stream and gas compression, as well as other services relating to
pipeline construction, operation and maintenance. TGS was organized in Argentina on November 24,
1992.
TGS is a foreign private issuer within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933 (the
"Securities Act") and Rule 3b-4 under the Exchange Act. TGS's Class B Shares are listed on the
Mercado de Valores de Buenos Aires, S.A.(the "MERVA~")and trade under the ticker symbol "TGSU2"
and its ADSs and the Class B Shares underlying them are registered under the Exchange Act and listed
on The New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "TGS".
Background
The Argentine Offer
In Argentina, the Offerors are offering to purchase up to 194,651,345 outstanding Class B Shares (the
"Argentine Offer') held by any holder, wherever resident, in cash at a price of Ps. 18.39 per Class B
Share, which is the same price being offered in the U.S. Offer (before adjustments to reflect the five-toone ratio of Class B Shares to ADSs and foreign currency conversion). The Argentine Offer is being
conducted in accordance with Argentine Law No. 26,831 (the "Argentine Capital Markets Law") and
General Resolution No. 622/2013, issued by the Argentine securities commission, the Argentine
Comisibn Nacional de Valores (the "CNV"), as amended (the "CNV Regulations"). The Argentine Offer
is required in Argentina as a mandatory offer pursuant to Article 87(and related articles} of the Argentine
Capital Markets Law and Article 10 of Section II of Chapter II of Title 111 of the CNV Regulations.
The U.S. Offer
Due to certain irreconcilable differences, as set forth below, between law in Argentina and the U.S., such
as differing withdrawal rights for tendering security holders, it was not possible to structure a single
tender o~Fer for both Class B Shares and ADSs that would have been compliant with both Argentine law
and Regulation 14D under the Exchange Act.
As a result, concurrently with the Argentine Offer, the Offerors are offering to purchase (the "U.S. Offer'
and, together with the Argentine Offer, the "Offers"):
(i}
Class B Shares for Ps. 18.39 per Class B Share from shareholders that are resident in the U.S.
("U.S. Holders")(the same price being offered for Class B Shares in the Argentine Offer); and
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Li n klate rs
(ii)
ADSs for Ps. 91.95 per ADS (five times the per Ciass B Share price in the Argentine Offer)from
all holders, wherever located.
U.S. Holders tendering their Class B Shares and U.S. Holders or non-U.S. Holders tendering ADSs in
the U.S. Offer and whose Class B Shares orADSs are accepted by the Offerors will receive payment in
U.S. dollars, in each case based on the Ps./U.S. dollar selling exchange rate reported by Banco de la
Naci6n Argentina at the close of business on the Argentine business day prior to the expiration date of
the U.S. Offer,
The U.S. Offer is on the same terms as the Argentine Offer, except:
The U.S. Offer is for ADSs held by any holder wherever resident and Class B Shares
held by U.S. Holders. The Argentine Offer is for Class B Shares held by any holder,
wherever resident.
The U.S. Offer will allow the withdrawal of all tendered Class B Shares and ADSs until
the Expiration Time (as defined below) of the U.S. Offer. Argentine law does not allow
withdrawal of tendered Class B Shares.
Class B shareholders and ADS holders who tender in the U.S. Offer will receive U.S.
dollars. Class B shareholders who tender in the Argentine Offer will receive Argentine
pesos.
The U.S. Offer was commenced on December 30, 2016. The Argentine Offer was commenced on
February 6, 2017. Unless extended, the U.S. Offer will expire at 11:00 a.m., New York City time on March
15, 2017(the "Expiration Time"). The Argentine Offer will expire concurrently with the U.S. Offer at 1:00
p.m. Buenos Aires time on March 15, 2017.
Qualification for Tier II Relief
In conducting the Offers on the terms described in this letter, the Offerors are relying on Rule 14d-1(d)
under the Exchange Act, which provides exemptive relief from otherwise applicable rules to persons
conducting a tender offer under certain conditions. In order for the Offerors to qualify for exemptive relief
under Rule 14d-1(d)("Tier II Relief'), (i) TGS must be a foreign private issuer,' (ii) TGS must not be,
and the Offerors must believe, based on publicly available information, that it is not, an investment
company registered or required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and (iii)
shareholders that are resident in the U.S.("U.S. Holders") must not hold more than forty percent (40°/a)
of the class of securities sought in the Offers (TGS Class B Shares, including those represented by
ADSs).
In accordance with Instruction 2 to Rule 14d-1(d), in connection with the U.S. Offer and Argentine Offer,
the Offerors undertook an assessment of the level of ownership of Class B Shares and ADSs in the
Uni#ed States to determine the applicability of the U.S tender offer rules to the Offers. To this end, the
Offerors obtained a shareholder list from Caja de Valores S.A. as of May 31, 2016. An analysis of this
Based on TGS's most recent Form 20-F, filed with EDGAR on May 2, 2016, TGS holds itself out to be a foreign private issuer.
Furthermore, TGS is a corporation organized under the laws of Argentina and, to the Offerors' knowledge of TGS: (i) the
majority of TGS' executive o~cers and directors are not U.S. citizens or residents; (ii) fifty percent (50%) or more of TGS'
assets ars located outside the U.S.; and (iii) TGS' business is principally administered outside the U.S.
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Linklaters
information reveals that as of May 31, 2016, such date within 60 days prior to the announcement of the
Argentine Offer on July 27, 2016, of the 389,302,689 Class B Shares outstanding, shareholders with
U.S. addresses held approximately 160,Q91,995 Ciass B Shares, including Class B Shares underlying
ADSs.
Based on these share totals, shareholders with U.S. addresses held approximately 41.1 percent(41.1%)
of the total number of Class B Shares outstanding on May 31, 2016. The Offerors also examined the
beneficial ownership of shares held by brokers, dealers, banks and other nominees in the U.S. and
Argentina. After such reasonable inquiry, the Offerors determined that approximately 28.4 percent
(28.4%)of outstanding ordinary shares (including ADSs) were held by U.S. Holders.
Based on the foregoing, the Offerors believe that they qualify for Tier it Relief.
Discussion
Relevant Rules
Article 70 (Distribution and Proration Rules), Section VII, Chapter 11, Title III of the CNV Regulations
Article 70 (Distribution and Proration Rules), Section VII, Chapter II, Title III of the CNV Regulations
{"Article 70") governs the proration method applicable to the Argentine Offer in the event that proration
of tendered securities is required due to the number of securities being tendered in the Offers exceeding
194,651,345 Class B Shares (including Class B Shares represented byADSs}. Article 70 states:
"a) Linear allocation: The allocation will be started by allocating an equal number of
securities to each accepting participant. Such number of allocated securities will be the
number that results from dividing twenty-five percent(25%) of the total of the offer by
the number of acceptances received.
b) All tenders for a number of securities lower than the number resulting from the
arithmetic operation described in paragraph a) above will be fully accepted for
purchase.
c) All acceptances made, directly or indirectly by the same legal or natural person will
be deemed a single acceptance.
d) Excess distribution: Any remaining securities not accepted for purchase as stated
above will be distributed proportionally to the number of securities included in each
acceptance."
As requested by the Commission, an opinion of the Offerors' Argentine counsel, Marval, O'Farrell &
Mairal, to that effect is attached to this letter as Annex A.
Rule 14d-1(d)(2)(ii) under the Exchange Act
Rule 14d-1(d)(2)(ii) under the Exchange Act permits a bidder conducting a Tier 11 tender offer to separate
an offer into multiple offers, one offer made to U.S. Holders and one ar more offers to nan-U.S. Holders,
provided that the U.S. offer must be made on terms at least as favorable as those offered to any other
holder of the same class of securities that is the subject of the tender offers.
Page 4 of6
Linklaters
Exchange Act Section 14(d)(6) and Rule 14d-8 under the Exchange Act
Exchange Act Section 14(d)(6) provides that where any person makes a tender offer, or request or
invitation for tenders, for less than ail the outstanding equity securities of a class, and where a greater
number of securities is deposited pursuant thereto within ten days after copies of the offeror request or
invitation are first published or sent or given to security holders than such person is bound or willing to
take up and pay for, the securities taken up shall be taken up as nearly as may be pro rata, disregarding
fractions, according to the number of securities deposited by each depositor.
Rule 14d-8 under the Exchange Act provides that if a person makes a tender offer for less than all of
the outstanding securities of a class, and a greater number of securities are deposited pursuant thereto
than such person is bound or willing to take up and pay for, the securities taken up and paid for shall be
taken up and paid for as nearly as may be pro rata, disregarding fractions, according to the number of
securities deposited by each depositor during the period the offer remains open.
Analysis
In order for the Argentine Offer to be compliant with Argentine law, proration under the Argentine Offer
must follow the linear allocation formula specified by Article 70. Under this linear allocation formula, a
number of securities equal to twenty-five percent(25%) of the total number of securities included in the
offer divided by the number of acceptances received, is first allocated for purchase from each
participating holder (the "Initial Allocation"). Any tender for a number of securities less than or equal to
such Initial Allocation will be fully accepted for purchase. Following the Initial Allocation, Article 70
provides that the remaining securities are to be distributed proportionally to the number of securities
included in each acceptance (the "Excess Distribution"). Holders who had their tender fully accepted
in the Initial Allocation do not participate in the Excess Distribution. As a result of the Initial Allocation,
holders tendering a relatively smaller number of Class B Shares will have a greater percentage of their
tendered Class B Shares accepted for purchase than Class B shareholders who tender a relatively
larger number of Class B Shares.
Rule 14d-1(d)(2)(ii) under the Exchange Act requires that the U.S. Offer be on terms that are at least as
favorable as those offered under the Argentine Offer. In order to comply with Rule 14d-1(d)(2)(ii), the
Offerors must provide for proration in the U.S. Offer that is at least as favorable to tendering holders as
the proration terms provided for in the Argentine Offer. As such, failure to provide the Initial Allocation
required under Article 70 in the U.S. Offer could be considered a violation of Rule 14d-1(d)(2)(ii), as the
Initial Allocation is a term in the Argentine Offer that may be more favorable to certain tendering holders
of Class B Shares.
Section 14(d)(6) and Rine 14d-8 under the Exchange Act, however, require that in the case of a tender
offer for less than all of the outstanding securities of a class where a greater number of securities are
tendered than the offeror is willing to accept, the securities taken up must be paid for pro rata according
to the number of securities deposited by each depositor during the offer period. Providing the Initial
Allocation required under Article 70 in the U.S. Offer therefore could be considered a violation of Section
14(d)(6) and Rule 14d-8, as by following the proration procedure mandated by Article 70 with respect to
the Initial Allocation, the Offerors may not be considered to be distributing securities to all tendering
holders pro rata according to the number of securities tendered.
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Additionally, because the proration procedures mandated by Article 70 may allow holders tendering a
relatively smaller number of shares to have a greater percentage of their tendered securities accepted
for purchase than the percentage accepted from holders tendering a relatively larger number of shares,
following the Article 70 proration procedures in the U.S. Offer could be considered a violation of the "all
holders" rule in Rule 14d-10(a)(2) under the Exchange Act, which requires that the consideration paid
to any security holder for securities tendered in the tender offer is the highest consideration paid to any
other security holder for securities tendered in the tender offer.
In discussions between the CNV and the Offerors, the CNV has made it clear to the Offerors that in its
view if the Offers (or either of them) did not follow the proration mechanics described in Article 70, the
Offers would be non-compliant with Argentine rules. On February 6, 2017, the Offerors met with the
CNV who confirmed that a request for exemptive relief from application of the pro-ration mechanics
described in Article 70 would be denied by the CNV. As a consequence, the Offerors are seeking the
exemptive relief set forth herein. Therefore, we respectfully request exemptive relief under Section
14(d)(6), Rule 14d-8 and Rule 14d-10(a)(2) to permit the Offerors, in the event proration is required in
the U.S. Offer, to calculate such proration in accordance with the formula required by Article 70.
Requested Exemptive Relief
For the reasons described above, we respectfully request exemptive relief from provisions of Section
14(d)(6), Rule 14d-8 and Rule 14d-10(a)(2) under the Exchange Act as discussed in this letter. We note
that the relief sought is consistent with the position previously taken by the Staff with respect to
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.'s tender offer for shares of Siliconware Precision Industries
Co., Ltd. to permit proration rules required by the subject company's home jurisdiction (see Siliconware
Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (September 17, 2015) and Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
(December 28, 2015)).
If you have any questions or comments or need additional information, please contact the undersigned
at (212) 903-9424. If, for any reason, it does not appear that the Staff will be able to concur with the
Offerors' position as stated in this letter, we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter with
the Staff prior to the issuance of its formal response.
Yours sincerely,
~1
C
Peter Cohen-Milistein
Partner
Page 6 of 6
Linklaters
Annex A
Marval, O'Farrell 8~ Mairal Legal Opinion
MARVAL
O'FARRELL
MAIRAL
Marval, 4'FarraU & Mairai
Av. Leandro N. Alem 882
C1001AAq. Buenos Alres. Argentina
?.(54-17j 4310-0100
F.(64-11)4310-0200
mnv.marval.com
To: Ted Yu, Daniel F. ~uchovny, Christina Thomas
S}~ecial Counsel O(fice of Mergers and Acquisitions
Division of Corporafion Finance
Securities and Exchange Commission
'l00 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549-3628
March 6, 2017
Offerors(as defined below}
Ladies and Gentlemen
We, Marval, O'Farrell & Mairal, are Argentine counsel fo Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. ("GIP"),
a limited company organized under the laws of Spain, WST S.A. ("WST'), a corporation organized
under the laws of Argentina and PCT LLC ("PCT"), a limited liability company organized under the
taws of the State of Delaware, United States ofAmerica (collectively, the "Offerors"), in connection
with the letter (the "No-Action Request') dated March 6, 2017 from Linklaters LLP, on behalf of
the Offerors requesting exemptive relief from certain requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). As such counsel, we have been requested to give our opinion as to
certain Argen#ine legal matters described in the No-Action Request.
Far the purposes of this opinion, we have only examined an electronic copy of the No-Action
Request and no documents have been reviewed by us in connection with this opinion other than
the No-Action Request. Accordingly, we shall limit our opinion to the No-Action Request and
certain Argentine legal matters described therein.
Based on the foregoing and subject to the qualifications sei out below, we are of the opinion that
the statements made in the No-Action Request insofar as such statements purport to summarize
provisions of the laws of Argentina constitute a fair, accurate and complete summary of such laws
of Argentina.
This opinion is confined to and given on the basis of the laws of Argentina in force at the date
hereof. This opinion !s also confined to the matters stated herein and the No-Action Request, and
is not to be read as extending, by implication or otherwise, to any other matter.
We have issued this opinion as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to advise you of
any changes in fact or in law that are made or brought to our attention hereafter.
Av. Leandro N. Ahem $82
C1001AAQ Buenos Aires Argentina
T.(54-11)4310-0700
F.(54-11) do10-C200
wrnti~,marval.com
The lawyers of our firm are members of the City of Buenos Aires bar and do not hold themselves
ouf to be experts in any laws other than the laws of Argentina. Accordingly, we are opining herein
as to Argentine law only and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability or the effect of
the laws of any other jurisdiction to or on the matters covered herein.
This opinion may be relied upon by the addressees In connection tivith the transactions
contemplated by the No-Actlon Request No other person may rely on this opinion for any
purpose.
This opinion Is governed by and shall be construed in accordance wRh the laws of Argentina.
Sincerely yours,
ica do W. elier
Nl`arva ~O:Farrell & Mairai
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.