[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19439-19440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9524]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Rel. No. IC-20995; 811-3239]
SAFECO Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.; Notice of Application
April 12, 1995.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'').
ACTION: Notice of Application for Deregistration under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'').
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APPLICANT: SAFECO Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
RELEVANT ACT SECTION: Section 8(f).
SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicant seeks an order declaring that it has
ceased to be an investment company.
FILING DATE: The application was filed on March 31, 1995.
HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An order granting the application
will be issued unless the SEC orders a hearing. Interested persons may
request a hearing by writing to the SEC's Secretary and serving
applicant with a copy of the request, personally or by mail. Hearing
requests should be received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on May 8, 1995, and
should be accompanied by proof of service on applicant, in the form of
an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of service. Hearing
requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, the reason
for the request, and the issues contested. Persons may request
notification of a hearing by writing to the SEC's Secretary.
ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 5th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20549. Applicant, SAFECO Plaza, Seattle, WA 98185
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine M. Boggs, Staff Attorney, at
(202) 942-0572, or C. David Messman, Branch Chief, at (202) 942-0564
(Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company
Regulation).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the
application. The complete application may be obtained for a fee at the
SEC's Public Reference Branch.
Applicant's Representations
1. Applicant is an open-end diversified management investment
company that was organized as a corporation under the laws of the State
of Washington. On August 10, 1981, applicant registered under the Act
as an investment company, and filed a registration statement to
register its shares under the Securities Act of 1933. The registration
statement was declared effective on November 25, 1981, and the initial
public offering commenced on that date.
2. On May 6, 1993, applicant's board of directors approved an
agreement and plan of reorganization (the ``Plan'') between applicant
and SAFECO Tax-Exempt Bond Trust, a registered open-end management
investment company organized under the laws of Delaware (the
``Acquiring Fund'').\1\
\1\Applicant's board of directors determined that the Plan was
in the best interests of applicant and that the interests of
applicant's existing shareholders would not be diluted as a result
of effecting the transactions.
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3. By moving its assets from a Washington corporation to a Delaware
trust, applicant expects its shareholders to benefit from the adoption
of new methods of operations and employment of new technologies that
are expected to reduce costs. For example, Washington corporations are
required to hold annual meetings, whereas Delaware trusts have no such
requirement. Further, Delaware trusts generally have greater
flexibility than Washington corporations to respond to future
contingencies, allowing such trusts to operate under the most advanced
and cost efficient form of organization. For example, Delaware law
authorizes electronic or telephonic communications between a Delaware
trust and its shareholders. In addition, as one of several series of
the Acquiring Fund, applicant's shareholders should enjoy certain
expense savings through economies of scale that would not be available
to a stand-alone entity.
4. May 7, 1993, applicant filed proxy materials with the SEC and
afterwards distributed such proxy materials to its shareholders. On
August 5, 1993, applicant's shareholders approved the reorganization.
5. Pursuant to the Plan, on September 30, 1993, applicant
transferred all of its assets to the Acquiring Fund in exchange for
shares of the Acquiring Fund. Immediately thereafter, applicant
distributed pro rata to its shareholders the shares it received from
the Acquiring Fund in the reorganization. On September 30, 1993,
applicant had 39,409,779.448 shares outstanding, having an aggregate
net asset value of $578,335,623.90 and a per share net asset value of
$14.67.
6. Expenses incurred in connection with the reorganization,
consisting of [[Page 19440]] legal fees, accounting fees, and printing
and mailing costs for the proxy solicitation, were approximately
$41,699 and were paid by applicant.
7. There are no securityholders to whom distributions in complete
liquidation of their interests have not been made. Applicant has no
debts or other liabilities that remain outstanding. Applicant is not a
party to any litigation or administrative proceeding.
8. Applicant filed articles of dissolution on October 1, 1993 with
the State of Washington.
9. Applicant is not now engaged, nor does it propose to engage, in
any business activities other than those necessary for the winding up
of its affairs.
For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management,
pursuant to delegated authority.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-9524 Filed 4-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M
