NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN OR
INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SINGAPORE, SOUTH
AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD BREACH ANY
APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE
UK PROSPECTUS REGULATION RULES OF THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY
(THE "FCA") AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A PROSPECTUS OR A PROSPECTUS
EQUIVALENT DOCUMENT. NEITHER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOR ANY PART OF IT
SHOULD FORM THE BASIS OF OR BE RELIED ON IN CONNECTION WITH OR ACT
AS AN INDUCEMENT TO ENTER INTO ANY CONTRACT OR COMMITMENT
WHATSOEVER. NOTHING IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE INTERPRETED AS A
TERM OR CONDITION OF THE RIGHTS ISSUE. ANY DECISION TO PURCHASE,
SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE, SELL OR OTHERWISE DISPOSE OF ANY
NIL PAID RIGHTS, FULLY PAID RIGHTS OR NEW SHARES MUST BE MADE ONLY
ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUS. COPIES
OF THE PROSPECTUS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE REGISTERED OFFICE OF THE
COMPANY AND ON ITS WEBSITE AT WWW.NATIONALGRID.COM.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
12
June 2024
National Grid
plc
Results of Rump
Placing
Following the announcement on
12 June 2024 regarding valid acceptances under the fully
underwritten 7 for 24 Rights Issue announced by National Grid plc
("National Grid" or the
"Company") on 23 May 2024,
the Company confirms Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") and J.P. Morgan Securities
plc (which conducts its UK investment banking activities under the
marketing name J.P. Morgan Cazenove) ("J.P. Morgan") (together, the
"Banks" or the
"Underwriters"), have
successfully procured subscribers for all of the 97,727,572 New
Ordinary Shares for which valid acceptances were not received,
representing approximately 9% of the total number of New Ordinary
Shares to be issued pursuant to the fully underwritten Rights
Issue, and for all of the 292,026 Ordinary Shares resulting from
the aggregation of fractional entitlements of Ordinary Shares, at a
price of 835 pence per New Ordinary Share (the "Placing Price").
The net proceeds from the placing of
such New Ordinary Shares (after the deduction of the Rights Issue
Price of 645 pence per New Ordinary Share and the expenses of
procuring subscribers, including any applicable brokerage
commissions and VAT which are not recoverable) will be paid
(without interest) to those Shareholders whose rights have lapsed
in accordance with the terms of the Rights Issue, pro rata to their
lapsed provisional allotments, save that individual amounts of less
than £5.00 will not be paid to such persons but will be aggregated
and will accrue for the benefit of the Company.
Capitalised terms used but not
otherwise defined in this announcement shall have the meanings set
out in the Prospectus, which is available on the Company's website
at: www.nationalgrid.com.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
National Grid:
Investors
Nick Ashworth
|
+44 (0)
7814 355 590
|
Angela Broad
|
+44 (0)
7825 351 918
|
James Flanagan
|
+44 (0)
7970 778 952
|
Media
Molly Neal
|
+44 (0)
7583 102 727
|
Danielle Dominey-Kent
|
+44 (0)
7977 054 575
|
Barclays
|
+44 (0) 20 7623
2323
|
(Joint Sponsor, Joint Corporate
Broker, Joint Global Co-ordinator, Joint Bookrunner and
Underwriter)
|
Alisdair Gayne
|
|
Neal West
Chris Madderson
|
|
J.P.
Morgan Cazenove
|
+44 (0) 20 7742
4000
|
(Joint Sponsor, Joint Corporate
Broker, Joint Global Co-ordinator, Joint Bookrunner and
Underwriter)
|
Bill Hutchings
|
|
Jamie Riddell
|
|
Alex Watkins
|
|
Robey Warshaw
|
+44 (0) 20 7317
3900
|
(Financial Adviser)
|
Simon Robey
|
|
Philip Apostolides
|
|
Brunswick
|
+44 (0) 20 7404
5959
|
Susan Gilchrist
|
Dan Roberts
|
|
Peter Hesse
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICES
This announcement has been issued by
and is the sole responsibility of the Company. The information
contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and
does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may or should
be placed by any person for any purpose whatsoever on the
information contained in this announcement or on its accuracy or
completeness. The information in this announcement is subject to
change without notice.
This announcement is not a
prospectus but an advertisement. Neither this announcement nor
anything contained in it shall form the basis of, or be relied upon
in conjunction with, any offer or commitment whatsoever in any
jurisdiction. Investors should not acquire any Nil Paid Rights,
Fully Paid Rights or New Shares referred to in this announcement
except on the basis of the information contained in the Prospectus
published by the Company in connection with the Rights
Issue.
A copy of the Prospectus is
available from the registered office of the Company and on its
website at www.nationalgrid.com
provided that the Prospectus will not, subject to
certain exceptions, be available (whether through the website or
otherwise) to shareholders in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong,
Japan, Singapore, South Africa or any other jurisdiction where the
extension or availability of the Rights Issue (and any other
transaction contemplated thereby) would breach any applicable law
or regulation. Neither the content of the Company's website nor any
website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website is
incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement. The
Prospectus provides further details of the New Shares, the Nil Paid
Rights and the Fully Paid Rights being offered pursuant to the
Rights Issue.
This announcement does not contain
or constitute an offer for sale or the solicitation of an offer to
purchase securities in the United States. The Nil Paid Rights, the
Fully Paid Rights and the New Shares have not been and will not be
registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act") or under
any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the
United States and may not be offered, sold, pledged, taken up,
exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or
indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an
applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the
registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance
with any applicable securities laws of any state or other
jurisdiction of the United States or other jurisdiction. There will
be no public offer of the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights,
the Provisional Allotment Letters or the New Shares in the United
States. Subject to certain limited exceptions, Provisional
Allotment Letters have not been, and will not be, sent to, and Nil
Paid Rights have not been, and will not be, credited to the CREST
account of, any Qualifying Shareholder with a registered address in
or that is known to be located in the United States. None of the
New Shares, the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights or the
Provisional Allotment Letters, this announcement or any other
document connected with the Rights Issue has been or will be
approved or disapproved by the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission or by the securities commissions of any state
or other jurisdiction of the United States or any other regulatory
authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or
endorsed the merits of the offering of the New Shares, the Nil Paid
Rights, the Fully Paid Rights or the accuracy or adequacy of the
Provisional Allotment Letters, this announcement or any other
document connected with the Rights Issue. Any representation to the
contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.
This announcement is for information
purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute or
form part of any offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for,
or any solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, Nil Paid Rights,
Fully Paid Rights or New Shares or to take up any entitlements to
Nil Paid Rights in any jurisdiction. No offer or invitation to
purchase or subscribe for, or any solicitation to purchase or
subscribe for, Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights or New Shares or
to take up any entitlements to Nil Paid Rights will be made in any
jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful.
The information contained in this announcement is not for release,
publication or distribution to persons in the United States,
Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Africa or any other
jurisdiction where the extension or availability of the Rights
Issue (and any other transaction contemplated thereby) would breach
any applicable law or regulation, and should not be distributed,
forwarded to or transmitted in or into any jurisdiction, where to
do so might constitute a violation of local securities laws or
regulations. The distribution of this announcement, the Prospectus,
the Provisional Allotment Letter and the offering or transfer of
Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights or New Shares into jurisdictions
other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law, and
therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes
should inform themselves about and observe any such
restrictions.
Any failure to comply with any such
restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of
such jurisdiction. In particular, subject to certain exceptions,
this announcement, the Prospectus and the Provisional Allotment
Letters (once printed) should not be distributed, forwarded to or
transmitted in or into the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan,
Singapore, South Africa. Recipients of this announcement and/or the
Prospectus should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and
analysis of the business, data and property described in this
announcement and/or the Prospectus.
This announcement does not
constitute a recommendation concerning any investor's options with
respect to the Rights Issue. The price and value of securities can
go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future
performance. The contents of this announcement are not to be
construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each
shareholder or prospective investor should consult his, her or its
own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax
adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice. Acquiring
investments to which this announcement relates may expose an
investor to a significant risk of losing all of the amount
invested.
NOTICE TO ALL INVESTORS
Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") and J.P. Morgan Securities
plc (which conducts its UK investment banking activities under the
marketing name J.P. Morgan Cazenove) ("J.P. Morgan") (together, the
"Banks" or the
"Underwriters") are each
authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and regulated in the United
Kingdom by the FCA and the PRA. The Banks
are acting exclusively for the Company and acting for no one else
in connection with the Rights Issue. They will not regard any other
person as a client in relation to the Rights Issue and will not be
responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the
protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing
advice in connection with the Rights Issue or any other matter,
transaction or arrangement referred to in this announcement.
Robey Warshaw LLP (the "Financial Adviser"), which is
authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK, is acting
exclusively as financial adviser to the Company and no one else in
connection with the matters described in this announcement and will
not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing
the protections afforded to clients of the Financial Adviser nor
for providing advice in connection with the matters referred to
herein.
Neither of the Underwriters nor the
Financial Adviser, nor any of their respective subsidiaries,
branches or affiliates, nor any of their respective directors,
officers or employees accepts any responsibility or liability
whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, (or whether any
information has been omitted from the announcement), or makes any
representation or warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy,
completeness or verification or for any other statement made or
purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with
the Company, the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the
Provisional Allotment Letter, the New Shares or the Rights Issue,
whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and
howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss arising
from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise
arising in connection therewith. Subject to applicable law, each of
the Underwriters and the Financial Adviser accordingly disclaims
all and any liability whether arising in tort, contract or
otherwise (save as referred to above) which it might otherwise have
in respect of this announcement or any such statement. Neither of
the Underwriters nor the Financial Adviser, nor any of their
respective subsidiaries, branches or affiliates, nor any of their
respective directors, officers or employees owes or accepts any
duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or
indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise)
to any person who is not a client of the Underwriters or the
Financial Adviser (as applicable) in connection with the Rights
Issue, this announcement, any statement contained herein, or
otherwise.
In connection with the Rights Issue,
the Underwriters and any of their respective affiliates may, in
accordance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions, take up
a portion of the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights and the New
Shares in the Rights Issue as a principal position and in that
capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise
deal for their own account in securities of the Company and related
or other securities and instruments (including Nil Paid Rights,
Fully Paid Rights and New Shares) and may offer or sell such
securities otherwise than in connection with the Rights Issue
(including through coordinated action to dispose of any New Shares
which they are required to subscribe for as underwriters), provided
that the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may not
engage in short selling for the purpose of hedging their
commitments under the Underwriting Agreement (subject to certain
exceptions contained in the Underwriting Agreement). Accordingly,
references in the Prospectus to Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights
and New Shares being offered or placed should be read as including
any offering or placement of Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights and
New Shares to either of the Underwriters or any of their respective
affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, certain of the
Underwriters or their affiliates may enter into financing
arrangements (including margin loans) with investors in connection
with which such Underwriters (or their affiliates) may from time to
time acquire, hold or dispose of Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights
and New Shares. Except as required by applicable law or regulation,
the Underwriters do not propose to make any public disclosure in
relation to such transactions.
NOTICE TO INVESTORS IN CANADA
The offer and sale of the Nil Paid
Rights, Fully Paid Rights and/or New Shares in Canada is being made
on a private placement basis only and is exempt from the
requirement that National Grid prepares and files a prospectus
under applicable Canadian securities laws. Any resale of Nil Paid
Rights, Fully Paid Rights and/or New Shares acquired by a Canadian
investor in this offering must be made in accordance with
applicable Canadian securities laws, which may impose restrictions,
under certain circumstances, to resales of the Nil Paid Rights,
Fully Paid Rights and/or New Shares outside of Canada.
Each Canadian investor who exercises
its Nil Paid Rights or Fully Paid Rights and/or purchases New
Shares will be deemed to have represented to the Company, the
Underwriters and to each dealer from whom a purchase confirmation
is received, as applicable, that the investor (i) is purchasing as
principal, or is deemed to be purchasing as principal in accordance
with applicable Canadian securities laws, for investment only and
not with a view to resale or redistribution; (ii) is an "accredited
investor" as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National
Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106") or, in Ontario, as such
term is defined in section 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario);
and (iii) is a "permitted client" as such term is defined in
section 1.1 of National Instrument 31-103 Registration
Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. If you
are an "accredited investor" and a "permitted client", in order to
exercise your Nil Paid Rights or Fully Paid Rights and/or acquire
any New Shares upon exercise thereof, you must sign and deliver an
investor letter.
INFORMATION TO DISTRIBUTORS
Solely for the purposes of the
product governance requirements of Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook
Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the
"UK Product Governance
Rules"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether
arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer"
(for the purposes of the UK Product Governance Rules) may otherwise
have with respect thereto, the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid
Rights and the New Shares have been subject to a product approval
process which has determined that each are: (i) compatible with an
end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the
criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each
as defined in Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business
Sourcebook; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all
permitted distribution channels (the "UK Target Market Assessment").
Notwithstanding the UK Target Market Assessment,
"distributors" (for the purposes of the UK Product
Governance Requirements) should note that: the price of the Nil
Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights and/or the New Shares may
decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment;
the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights and/or the New Shares
offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an
investment in the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights and/or the
New Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a
guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in
conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are
capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment
and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses
that may result therefrom. The UK Target Market Assessment is
without prejudice to any contractual, legal or regulatory selling
restrictions in relation to the Rights Issue. Furthermore, it is
noted that, notwithstanding the UK Target Market Assessment, the
Underwriters will only procure investors who meet the criteria of
professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the UK
Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (i) an assessment of
suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapters 9A or
10A, respectively, of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business
Sourcebook; or (ii) a recommendation to any investor or group of
investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action
whatsoever with respect to, the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid
Rights and/or the New Shares.
Each distributor is responsible for
undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Nil
Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights and/or the New Shares and
determining appropriate distribution channels.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement contains certain
statements that are neither reported financial results nor other
historical information. These statements are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. These statements include information with
respect to National Grid's (the Company) financial condition, its
results of operations and businesses, strategy, plans and
objectives. Words such as 'aims', 'anticipates', 'expects',
'should', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'outlook', 'seeks',
'estimates', 'targets', 'may', 'will', 'continue', 'project' and
similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense,
identify forward-looking statements. This document also references
climate-related targets and climate-related risks which differ from
conventional financial risks in that they are complex, novel and
tend to involve projection over long term scenarios which are
subject to significant uncertainty and change. These
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of National Grid's
future performance and are subject to assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by such
forward-looking statements or targets. Many of these assumptions,
risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond National
Grid's ability to control, predict or estimate precisely, such as
changes in laws or regulations and decisions by governmental bodies
or regulators, including those relating to current and upcoming
price controls in the UK and rate cases in the US, as well as the
future of system operation in the UK; the timing of construction
and delivery by third parties of new generation projects requiring
connection; breaches of, or changes in, environmental, climate
change and health and safety laws or regulations, including
breaches or other incidents arising from the potentially harmful
nature of its activities; network failure or interruption, the
inability to carry out critical non-network operations and damage
to infrastructure, due to adverse weather conditions including the
impact of major storms as well as the results of climate change,
due to counterparties being unable to deliver physical commodities;
reliability of and access to IT systems, including or due to the
failure of or unauthorised access to or deliberate breaches of
National Grid's systems and supporting technology; failure to
adequately forecast and respond to disruptions in energy supply;
performance against regulatory targets and standards and against
National Grid's peers with the aim of delivering stakeholder
expectations regarding costs and efficiency savings, as well as
against targets and standards designed to support its role in the
energy transition; and customers and counterparties (including
financial institutions) failing to perform their obligations to the
Company. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those described in this announcement include
fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates and commodity price
indices; restrictions and conditions (including filing
requirements) in National Grid's borrowing and debt arrangements,
funding costs and access to financing; regulatory requirements for
the Company to maintain financial resources in certain parts of its
business and restrictions on some subsidiaries' transactions such
as paying dividends, lending or levying charges; the delayed timing
of recoveries and payments in National Grid's regulated businesses,
and whether aspects of its activities are contestable; the funding
requirements and performance of National Grid's pension schemes and
other post-retirement benefit schemes; the failure to attract,
develop and retain employees with the necessary competencies,
including leadership and business capabilities, and any significant
disputes arising with National Grid's employees or breaches of laws
or regulations by its employees; the failure to respond to market
developments, including competition for onshore transmission; the
threats and opportunities presented by emerging technology; the
failure by the Company to respond to, or meet its own commitments
as a leader in relation to, climate change development activities
relating to energy transition, including the integration of
distributed energy resources; and the need to grow the Company's
business to deliver its strategy, as well as incorrect or
unforeseen assumptions or conclusions (including unanticipated
costs and liabilities) relating to business development activity,
including the sale of a stake in its UK Gas Transmission and
Metering business, its strategic infrastructure projects and joint
ventures and the separation and transfer of the ESO to the public
sector. For further details regarding these and other assumptions,
risks and uncertainties that may impact National Grid, please the
'Risk Factors' section of the Prospectus. In addition, new factors
emerge from time to time and National Grid cannot assess the
potential impact of any such factor on its activities or the extent
to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual
future results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement. Neither National Grid nor either of the
Underwriters or the Financial Adviser are under any obligation to
update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement contained
within this announcement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, other than in accordance with their
legal or regulatory obligations (including, for the avoidance of
doubt, the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Listing Rules and
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules).