PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Lincoln National Income Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") today announced its decision to approve a proposal providing for the reorganization of the Fund into the Delaware Corporate Bond Fund (the "Corporate Bond Fund"), an open-end series of Delaware Group Income Funds. Under the terms of the proposed reorganization, the Corporate Bond Fund would acquire substantially all of the assets of the Fund in exchange for Class A shares of the Corporate Bond Fund; those Class A shares of the Corporate Bond Fund would then be distributed pro rata to the shareholders of the Fund's common stock; and the Fund would subsequently be liquidated and dissolved. This transaction (the "Reorganization"), which is expected to be tax-free, is subject to the approval of the Fund's shareholders. The Board of Trustees of Delaware Group Income Funds also approved the proposed Reorganization today. If approved by shareholders of the Fund, shares will be exchanged based on the respective net asset values of the Fund's common stock and the Class A shares of the Corporate Bond Fund.
It is currently anticipated that, during the three months following the closing of the Reorganization, redemptions of the Corporate Bond Fund shares issued to shareholders of the Fund in the Reorganization will be subject to a redemption fee of two percent (2%). This redemption fee will be paid to the Corporate Bond Fund to help defray the transaction costs associated with such redemptions.
The Fund's Board of Directors plans to submit the proposed Reorganization to the Fund's shareholders at a special meeting, currently expected to take place in June 2006. Any solicitation of proxies by the Fund in connection with this shareholder meeting will be made only pursuant to separate proxy materials filed under the federal securities laws. It is anticipated that these proxy materials will be distributed to the Fund's shareholders at the end of March 2006. There can be no assurance that the shareholders of the Fund will vote in favor of the proposed Reorganization.
The Fund is a closed-end, non-diversified investment management company managed by Delaware Management Company. Delaware Management Company is a series of Delaware Management Business Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation. The Fund's primary objective is to seek to produce increasing dollar amounts of income for distribution to its shareholders over the long term. As of February 14, 2006, the Fund had total assets of approximately $93.5 million.
The Corporate Bond Fund is an open-end, diversified mutual fund managed by Delaware Management Company. The Fund's investment objective is to seek to provide investors with total return. As of February 14, 2006, the Corporate Bond Fund had total assets of approximately $443.3 million.
In connection with the proposed Reorganization, the Fund and Delaware Group Income Funds, on behalf of the Corporate Bond Fund, intend to file relevant materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including a Form N-14 combined proxy statement for the Fund and a registration statement for the Corporate Bond Fund that will contain a prospectus. Because those documents will contain important information, the Fund's shareholders are urged to read them carefully when they become available. When filed with the SEC, those documents will be available free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov/. The Fund's shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of these documents and other transaction-related documents, when available, by calling Delaware Investments toll-free at 800-523-1918. The foregoing is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of any fund, nor is it a solicitation of any proxy.
About Delaware Investments:
Delaware Investments, an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group, is a Philadelphia-based diversified asset management firm with more than $110 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2005. Through a broad range of managed accounts and portfolios, mutual funds, retirement plan services, subadvised funds, college savings plans and other investment products, Delaware Investments provides investment services to individual investors and to institutional investors such as private and public pension funds, foundations, and endowment funds. Delaware Investments is the marketing name for Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information on Delaware Investments, visit the company at http://www.delawareinvestments.com/. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its affiliates. For more information on Lincoln Financial Group, visit http://www.lfg.com/.
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