Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC announced today that certain closed end funds have declared distributions pursuant to their managed distribution policy.

The following dates apply to the distribution schedule below:

                                 
    Month       Record Date       Ex-Dividend Date       Payable Date    
    November       11/18/2016       11/16/2016       11/25/2016    
                       
                     
  Ticker     Fund Name     Month     Amount          

Change from
Previous
Distribution

 

ESD

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. 1   November $0.10500

-

                                     
SBW Western Asset Worldwide Income Fund Inc. 1 November $0.07250

-

                                     
1 – Please see table below for each Fund’s estimated source of distributions.
† On February 16, 2016, EMD, SBW and ESD announced approval by each Fund’s Board of Directors of a proposal to merge (i) EMD with and into ESD and (ii) SBW with and into ESD, subject to approval by the stockholders of each Fund. ESD and SBW intend to announce distribution rates for each respective fund on a monthly basis until voting results of each merger proposal are determined.
 

Under the terms of each Fund’s managed distribution policy, the Fund seeks to maintain a consistent distribution level derived from the income and capital gains generated from the Fund’s investment portfolio. Shareholders should note that if the Fund’s aggregate net investment income and net realized capital gains are less than the amount of the distributions paid, the difference will be distributed from the Fund's assets and may constitute a return of the shareholder’s capital. The Board of Directors may modify, terminate or suspend the managed distribution policy at any time. Any such modification, termination or suspension could have an adverse effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

The Fund’s distributions have been set based on the current level of income generated from the Fund’s investment portfolio and accumulated capital gains, if any. Based on the Fund's tax accounting records, which also factors in currency fluctuations, each Fund’s estimated source of cumulative fiscal year-to-date distributions is presented in the table below:

                         
  Fund    

Fiscal
Year
End

    Income    

Short-Term
Capital
Gains

   

Long-Term
Capital
Gains

   

Return
of
Capital

       
  ESD     Dec 31     73.46%     -     -     26.54%     a  
  SBW     Dec 31     78.86%     -     -     21.14%     a  
a Sources of cumulative fiscal year-to-date distributions are estimated through November 30, 2016.
 

The updated estimated components of the distributions announced today will be provided to shareholders of record in a separate notice when the distributions are paid.

This press release is not for tax reporting purposes but is being provided to announce the amount of each Fund’s distributions that have been declared by the Board of Directors. In early 2017, after definitive information is available, each Fund will send shareholders a Form 1099-DIV, if applicable, specifying how the distributions paid by each Fund during the prior calendar year should be characterized for purposes of reporting the distributions on a shareholder’s tax return (e.g., ordinary income, long-term capital gain or return of capital).

For more information about the Funds, please call 1-888-777-0102 or consult the Fund’s web site at www.lmcef.com. Hard copies of the Funds’ complete audited financial statements are available free of charge upon request.

Data and commentary provided in this press release are for informational purposes only. Legg Mason and its affiliates do not engage in selling shares of the Funds.