What do I need to do by when?

Bid Details:

Buy-Back Terms:

This off-market buy-back (Buy-Back) was announced on Wednesday, 11 August 2021. This Notice provides specific information to participants in relation to the Buy-Back and details the process for submitting an Application through CHESS. Refer to the Buy-Back booklet dated 11 August 2021 for further information about the Buy-Back. Unless otherwise specified, capitalised terms in this Notice have the same meaning as the Buy-Back booklet.

CHESS will process acceptance messages received no later than 7.00pm (Sydney time) on Friday, 1 October 2021

An Eligible Shareholder may only offer the number of Shares they hold as at the Buy-Back Record Date (Wednesday, 18 August 2021) that confer an entitlement to participate in the Buy-Back.

Controlling participants should be aware that Eligible Shareholders are able to submit an Application online. Application

Forms submitted online for a CHESS holding will be actioned by the CBA Share Registry via Registry Initiated Offeror Takeover Acceptance messages, and such messages require the participant’s response to either accept or reject the message. The CBA Share Registry will relay the shareholder’s Application to the controlling participant by the end of the business day that the Application Form is submitted. The controlling participant is required to acknowledge the Application by the end of the following business day.

CBA recommends that shareholders with CHESS Holdings who submit online Application Forms or complete and return the personalised paper Application Forms directly to the CBA Share Registry do so by no later than 5.00pm (Sydney time) on Thursday, 30 September 2021. The CBA Share Registry will need to confirm with the controlling CHESS participant any online or paper submission of shareholders Application Forms before it can be taken as validly submitted and there may not be sufficient time to do so for any Application Forms submitted by CHESS Holders after 5.00pm (Sydney time) on Thursday, 30 September 2021. It is expected that this mechanism may result in larger volumes of registry initiated messages than for paper-based submission

only, and controlling participants are requested to monitor the requests for response throughout the Buy-Back period, but especially in the last week of the Buy-Back Period.

Any Buy-Back CHESS messages initiated by the CBA Share Registry which have not been acknowledged by a shareholder’s controlling participant by 7.00pm (Sydney time) on Friday, 1 October 2021 (Closing Date) will be rejected, and those Applications will not be included in the Buy-Back. Neither CBA nor the CBA Share Registry will be responsible should the controlling participant not acknowledge and confirm an Application in sufficient time.

If you have a CHESS Holding, the CBA Share Registry will endeavour to contact your controlling CHESS participant on your behalf and relay your instructions. It is your controlling CHESS participant’s responsibility to acknowledge and accept these instructions so please ensure you allow sufficient time to do so. Neither CBA nor the CBA Share Registry will be responsible should your controlling CHESS participant not acknowledge and accept your instructions.

Bank account details:

The payment method will be direct credit only to the bank account registered for the shareholding.

Controlling participants who submit an Application directly on CHESS to the CBA Share Registry on behalf of a shareholder must ensure that the bank account details are also recorded or updated against the shareholding.

If CBA does not hold bank account details for the shareholder, controlling participants need to update the shareholding and these details will be used for the payment of the Buy-Back proceeds and future dividend payments.

Bank account details can be updated online at linkmarketservices.com.au or by returning a direct credit of payments form.

Withdrawal process:

Controlling participants may withdraw an Application by transmission of an EIS type ‘085’ message (Takeover

Acceptance Removal Request Message) such that it is received no later than 7.00pm (Sydney time) on Friday, 1 October 2021.

(Please refer to Section 4.2 in the Buy-Back Booklet for further information).

Amendment of Application(s):

Each parcel of Shares offered at one of the Buy-Back Discounts or as a Final Price Application, including an Application made

conditional on a Minimum Price, is a separate Application.

A participant who receives instructions from a CHESS Holder to amend the Buy-Back Discount and/or Minimum Price for a submitted Application must process the amendment by withdrawing the relevant Application entirely and replacing it with a new Application.

A participant may withdraw an offer by transmission of an EIS type ‘085’ message (Takeover Acceptance Removal Request Message) and replace it by transmission of an EIS type ‘031’ message (Takeover Acceptance Message).

Both messages must be received no later than 7.00pm (Sydney time) on Friday, 1 October 2021 in order for the previous offer to be replaced with the new offer. [If a CHESS Holder wishes to reduce or increase the number of Shares offered at a particular Buy-Back Discount, the CHESS Holder should complete the details of all their offers that they wish to submit on the Withdrawal/Amendment Form, but the participant will not need to transmit a full withdrawal of the relevant offer, but only those offers at the particular Buy-Back Discounts that are being amended.]

Please refer to general information for further details concerning the processing of Takeover Acceptance Removal Request Messages.

For further information regarding the Buy-Back visit commbank.com.au/buyback or contact the CBA Share Registry information line on 1800 022 440 within Australia or on +61 800 022 440 between 8:00am and 7:30pm (Sydney time) on business days.

Link

Applications can be submitted online at www.commbank.com.au/buyback

Need more information?

Issued by

Eldon Hernando, Equity Operations

Contact information

Eldon Hernando
1800 814 051
chesshelp@asx.com.au

General Information

Participants should refer to Section 13 of the CHESS Procedure Guidelines for Participants and Section 14 of the ASX Settlement Operating Rules for further information concerning the processing of Takeover Acceptance Messages & Takeover Acceptance Removal Request Messages for a CHESS holding of securities. Some of these issues are summarised below.

A Participant must submit acceptance of an offer by transmission of an EIS type ‘031’ message (Takeover Acceptance Message) where the securities in Question are held in a CHESS Holding. The Participant will receive a ‘032’ message (Effected Takeover Acceptance Message) from CHESS in response.

In addition to the electronic notification to the Participant, paper notification will be sent directly to the Holder as securities are reserved in an offer-accepted subposition. Any change to the balance of securities in the subposition will generate further electronic notification to the Participant and paper notification to the Holder.  

Where a Participant receives instructions from a Sponsored Holder, the Participant is required under the ASX Settlement Operating Rules to submit an acceptance as follows:

If the Holder specifies the time when or by which the Application must be submitted, in accordance with those instructions; otherwise by End of Day on the date of receipt of instructions from the Holder, where the Buy-Back closes on the date of receipt of instructions then prior to the close of the Buy-Back.

Participants should therefore retain, as a minimum, a record of the date on which instructions to accept an offer is received from a Sponsored Holder.

If Securities in a CHESS holding have been reserved by ASX in an offer accepted subposition, a release of the Securities from that subposition may be initiated by a Valid Originating Message if the Holder of the Securities to which the tender relates is legally entitled.

A Participant must initiate removal of a Takeover Acceptance Message by transmission of an EIS type ‘085’ message (Takeover Removal Request Message) where the securities in Question are held in a CHESS Holding. The Participant will receive a ‘086’ message (Acceptance Removal Request Message) from CHESS in response.       

In addition to the electronic notification to the Participant, paper notification will be sent directly to the Holder as securities have been removed from an offer-accepted subposition. Any change to the balance of securities in the subposition will generate further electronic advice to the Participant and paper advice to the Holder.

Participants should therefore retain, as a minimum, a record of the date on which instructions to withdraw Securities are received from a Sponsored Holder.

Disclaimer