IndexIQ Announces May 2014 M&A Deal Holdings in IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (Ticker: MNA)

IndexIQ, a leading developer of index-based alternative investment solutions, today announced the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals to which investors can gain exposure in the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (Ticker: MNA). MNA was the industry’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to give investors exposure to global corporate M&A activity, which is rapidly increasing.

MNA has more than four years of live performance, having launched on November 17, 2009, while its underlying index, the IQ Merger Arbitrage Index, has more than six years of live performance, having launched on October 31, 2007.

MNA was designed to provide capital appreciation by investing in global companies for which there has been a public announcement of a takeover by an acquirer, a strategy generally known as “merger arbitrage.” This strategy generally seeks to take advantage of the price differential, where it exists, between the current trading price of a stock and the price of that stock at the time the deal is completed.

As of May 5, 2014, the deals that were added to and removed from the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF are as follows:

MNA Deals Added to MNA ETF
TargetAcquirerTargetTargetAnnounceAdded
NameNameSectorCountryDateDate
Allergan, Inc. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Health Care United States 04/22/2014 05/05/2014
AstraZeneca PLC Pfizer Inc. Health Care United Kingdom 04/28/2014 05/05/2014
Caracal Energy, Inc. Glencore Xstrata Plc Energy Canada 04/14/2014 05/05/2014
Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Forest Laboratories, Inc. Health Care United States 04/28/2014 05/05/2014
Lafarge SA Holcim Ltd. Basic Materials France 04/07/2014 05/05/2014
Metso Oyj The Weir Group Plc Capital Goods Finland 04/01/2014 05/05/2014
Pepco Holdings, Inc. Exelon Corp. Utilities United States 04/30/2014 05/05/2014
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mallinckrodt Plc Health Care United States 04/07/2014 05/05/2014
Safeway Inc. Cerberus Capital Management LP Consumer Staples United States 03/06/2014 05/05/2014
Susser Holdings Corporation Energy Transfer Partners LP Consumer Staples United States 04/28/2014 05/05/2014
Wing Hang Bank, Limited Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. Financials Hong Kong 04/01/2014 05/05/2014
MNA Deals Removed from MNA ETF
TargetAcquirerAnnounceAddedDeal
NameNameSectorCountryDateDateResult
Jones Group Inc. Sycamore Partners Management LLC Consumer Cyclicals United States 12/19/2013 01/06/2014 Completed
Commonwealth Property Office Fund The GPT Group Financials Australia 11/19/2013 12/04/2013 Completed
Accelrys, Inc. Dassault Systemes SA Health Care United States 01/30/2014 04/03/2014 Completed
ATMI, Inc. Entegris, Inc. Technology United States 02/04/2014 04/03/2014 Completed
KKR Financial Holdings LLC KKR & Co. LP Financials United States 12/16/2013 01/06/2014 Completed
Aaron's, Inc. Vintage Capital Management LLC Financials United States 02/07/2014 03/05/2014 Cancelled
Portugal Telecom, SGPS S.A. Oi SA Communication Services Portugal 10/02/2013 04/03/2014 Max Age
Schawk, Inc. Class A Matthews International Corp. Consumer Staples United States 03/17/2014 04/03/2014 Min Wt
Singapore Land Ltd. United Industrial Corp. Ltd. (Singapore) Financials Singapore 02/24/2014 04/03/2014 Completed

“Historically, investors have not had broad access to capitalize on mergers and acquisitions activity in an ETF,” said Adam Patti, chief executive officer at IndexIQ. “The Merger Arbitrage ETF is a hedged strategy designed to take advantage of price disparities that exist in merger activity and strengthen investor portfolios by buying below the target price and realizing the capital appreciation if the deal closes at or above the target price. As such a strategy had not historically been accessible in an ETF before the launch of MNA more than four years ago, we are very excited about providing investors with this liquid, transparent, low cost, and easily tradable product.”

Merger Arbitrage funds typically have the potential to benefit from buying target companies below the target price. The “spread” in price, the difference between the target price and market price, can be quite lucrative for investors, especially if there are competitive bids for a company. Given today’s relatively low corporate valuations and the significant amount of cash on corporate balance sheets, industry experts forecast a rapid increase in M&A activity.

The IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the IQ Merger Arbitrage Index. The Index seeks to achieve capital appreciation by investing in global companies for which there has been a public announcement of a takeover by an acquirer. This approach is based on a passive strategy of owning certain announced takeover targets with the goal of generating returns that are representative of global merger arbitrage activity. The Index also includes short exposure to global equities as a partial equity market hedge.

IndexIQ indexes underlie a variety of investment products, including ETFs, mutual funds, and institutional accounts. IndexIQ products are designed to be liquid, transparent, low cost,* and accessible to a broad range of investors, many of which are the first of their kind to be introduced to the market, including:

  • IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy Fund (IQHIX – Institutional Share Class; IQHOX – Investor Share Class), the first open-end, no-load hedge fund replication mutual fund;
  • IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: QAI), the first US-listed hedge fund replication Exchange-Traded Fund;
  • IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: QMN) providing exposure to the market neutral hedge fund universe (launch 10/4/12);
  • IQ Hedge Macro Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: MCRO), the first Global Macro/Emerging Markets hedge fund replication ETF;
  • IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE Arca: MNA), the first merger arbitrage ETF;
  • IQ Real Return ETF (NYSE Arca: CPI), the first US-listed “real return” ETF, which seeks to generate a real return above the rate of inflation as measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index;
  • IQ US Real Estate Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: ROOF), the first US Real Estate Small Cap ETF;
  • IQ Global Resources ETF (NYSE Arca: GRES), the first hedged global natural resources ETF;
  • IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: CROP), the first agribusiness small cap ETF;
  • IQ Global Oil Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: IOIL), the first global oil small cap ETF;
  • IQ Canada Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: CNDA), the first Canada small cap ETF;
  • IQ Australia Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: KROO), the first Australia small cap ETF.

About IndexIQ

IndexIQ is a leading issuer of index-based liquid alternative solutions focused on absolute return, real asset and international strategies. IndexIQ solutions are offered as ETFs, Mutual Funds, Separate Accounts and Model Portfolios. IndexIQ’s philosophy is to democratize investment management by making innovative alternative investment strategies available to investors in low cost, liquid and transparent products.* IndexIQ strategies are marketed through the company’s proprietary investment products and select partnerships with leading global financial institutions. Additional information about the company and its products can be found at www.IndexIQ.com.

*IndexIQ’s ETF holdings are available daily on IndexIQ’s website. Brokerage commissions apply to ETFs. ETFs are liquid in that they are exchange-traded.

Index performance does not reflect charges and expenses associated with the Funds or brokerage commissions associated with buying and selling ETF shares. One cannot invest directly in an index.

Certain of the proposed takeover transactions in which MNA invests may be renegotiated, terminated or involve a longer time frame than originally contemplated, which may negatively impact MNA’s returns. MNA’s investment strategy may result in high portfolio turnover, which, in turn, may result in increased transaction costs to MNA and lower total returns. MNA is susceptible to foreign securities risk –since the Fund invests in foreign markets, it will be subject to risk of loss not typically associated with domestic markets, including currency transaction risk. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment losses. Stock prices of mid and small capitalization companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies.

Investors are reminded that all investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. A prospectus with this and other information about the Funds may be obtained by visiting www.indexiq.com or by calling (888) 934-0777. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

IndexIQ ETFs and mutual funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc., which is not affiliated with IndexIQ.

IDX001488.050115

Contacts:

MacMillan Communications
Mike MacMillan/Chris Sullivan, 212-473-4442
chris@macmillancom.com

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