NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO
DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR
REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION.
5 February 2024
BELLUSCURA
PLC
Recommended all-share offer
for TMT Acquisition plc by Belluscura plc
Update regarding Acceptances
received in respect of the Offer
On 19 January 2024, the Board of Belluscura plc
("Belluscura") and the
independent director of TMT Acquisition plc ("TMT Acquisition") announced the revised
terms of the recommended all share offer to be made by Belluscura
for the whole of the issued share capital of TMT Acquisition (the
"Offer"), originally
announced on 31 October 2023, and that the Offer Document was being
published and sent to TMT Acquisition Shareholders on 19 January
2024 (the "Offer
Document").
Terms used but not defined in this announcement
have the same meaning as set out in the Offer Document.
Acceptances received
Belluscura is pleased to announce that as at
3.00 p.m. (London time) on 2 February 2024 valid acceptances of the
Offer had been received in respect of 24,474,109 TMT Acquisition
Shares, representing 88.99 per cent. of the issued share capital of
TMT Acquisition, all of which acceptances
Belluscura may count towards the satisfaction of the Acceptance
Condition.
This total includes acceptances
received in respect of 16,305,418 TMT Acquisition Shares,
representing, in aggregate, 59.29 per cent. of the issued share
capital of TMT Acquisition, which were the subject of irrevocable
undertakings and a letter of intent to accept or procure acceptance
of the Offer.
Irrevocable undertakings and the
letter of intent have been received by Belluscura in respect of an
aggregate 16,805,418 TMT Acquisition Shares (representing 61.11 per
cent of the issued share capital of TMT Acquisition), which
includes an irrevocable undertaking from Mr Jonathan Satchell (a
Director of TMT Acquisition) in respect of his entire holding of
1,290,000 TMT Acquisition Shares. Mr Satchell has irrevocably
instructed his brokers (in the names of the nominees for which
brokers the shares are held) to submit acceptances in respect of
his entire TMT Acquisition shareholding. However, to date
acceptances have been received over only 790,000 of his TMT
Acquisition Shares whilst acceptance of the Offer in respect of the
balance of his holding, being 500,000 TMT Acquisition Shares, has
yet to be received.
The above total of acceptances
received also includes acceptances received in respect of 1,397,837
TMT Acquisition Shares representing, in aggregate, 5.08 per cent.
of the share capital of TMT Acquisition, from persons acting in
concert with Belluscura for the purposes of the Offer as described
in paragraph 3.1 of Appendix 3 of the Offer Document and whose
acceptances have not already been included in the figures given for
acceptances in the preceding paragraph received from those who gave
irrevocable undertakings to Belluscura to accept the
Offer.
The percentage of TMT Acquisition Shares
referred to in this announcement is based upon 27,500,000 TMT
Acquisition Shares being in issue at close of business on 2
February 2024 (being the latest practicable date
prior to the release of this announcement).
Cancellation of Admission of TMT
Acquisition Shares to Listing on Official List and to trading on
Main Market
TMT Acquisition Shares are currently
admitted to listing on the Official List (standard segment) and to
trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market. TMT Acquisition
Shareholders should be aware that, subject to the Offer being
declared or becoming unconditional, application will be made to
cancel the admission of the TMT Acquisition Shares to such listing
and trading.
Cancellation of admission of the TMT
Acquisition Shares to listing on the Official List (standard
segment) and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market
will significantly reduce the liquidity and marketability of all
TMT Acquisition Shares in respect of which acceptances of the Offer
have not been received.
Offer open for
acceptance
The Offer remains open for acceptance. TMT
Acquisition Shareholders who have not yet accepted the Offer are
urged to do so as soon as possible in accordance with the procedure
set out below.
Conditions of the Offer
The Offer remains conditional upon,
amongst other matters:
(i)
the waiver of a potential obligation under Rule 9
of the Takeover Code for the Belluscura Concert Party to make a
mandatory general cash offer for the whole of the issued and to be
issued share capital of Belluscura not already owned by the
Belluscura Concert Party being approved by the Independent
Belluscura Shareholders at the Belluscura General Meeting to be
held at 11.00 a.m. today (the "Rule 9 Waiver"); and
(ii)
admission of the New Belluscura Shares to trading on AIM
Action to be
taken and Procedures for Acceptance of the Offer
- To accept the Offer in
respect of certificated TMT Acquisition Shares, TMT Acquisition
Shareholders must:
Complete, sign and return the Form
of Acceptance, along with their valid share certificate(s) and/or
any other relevant documents of title as soon as possible and, in
any event, so as to be received by Link Group Corporate Actions,
Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL, United
Kingdom by no later than 1.00 p.m. on 19 March 2024 or, if earlier,
the Unconditional Date.
- To accept the Offer in
respect of uncertificated TMT Acquisition
Shares:
Acceptances should be made
electronically through CREST so that the TTE instruction settles as
soon as possible and, in any event, no later than 1.00 p.m. on 19
March 2024 or, if earlier, the Unconditional Date. If any TMT
Acquisition Shareholder is a CREST sponsored member, such TMT
Acquisition Shareholder should refer to his/her CREST sponsor as
only such TMT Acquisition Shareholder's CREST sponsor will be able
to send the necessary TTE instruction to Euroclear.
If any TMT Acquisition Shareholder holds TMT
Acquisition Shares in both certificated and uncertificated form,
such TMT Acquisition Shareholder should complete a Form of
Acceptance for the TMT Acquisition Shares held in certificated form
in accordance with paragraph 13(a) of Part II of the Offer Document
and the TMT Acquisition Shares held in uncertificated form should
be dealt with in accordance with paragraph 13(b) of Part II of the
Offer Document.
Full details on how to accept the Offer are set
out in the Offer Document, a copy of which is available on
Belluscura's website at
https://ir.belluscura.com and on TMT
Acquisition's website at
www.tmtacquisition.com. Further copies of the
Offer Document and the Form of Acceptance are available from Link
Group by written request to Link Group Corporate Actions, Central
Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL, United Kingdom or
request to Link Group by telephone on Tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are
charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider.
Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable
international rate. Lines are open between 0:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.,
Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and
Wales.
Interests in relevant securities
The interests of the Directors of
Belluscura, together with the interests of persons acting in
concert with Belluscura, (including the close relatives and the
related trusts of any of them) in TMT Acquisition Shares
as at close of business on 2 February 2024
(being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this
announcement) are as set out below:
Name
|
Number of
TMT Acquisition Shares
|
% of
TMT Acquisition issued share capital
|
Nigel Wray & Family
Trusts
|
2,700,000
|
9.81%
|
James
Serjeant(1)
|
835,000
|
3.03%
|
Dowgate Group
Limited(2)
|
625,000
|
2.27%
|
Stephen Hemsley
|
585,005
|
2.12%
|
Adam Reynolds
|
225,000
|
0.81%
|
Jonathan Serjeant
|
32,760
|
0.11%
|
Madeline Poutney
|
22,230
|
0.08%
|
Dowgate Capital - Discretionary
Funds
|
234,002
|
0.85%
|
Dowgate Wealth - Discretionary
Funds
|
3,077,622
|
11.19%
|
|
8,336,619
|
30.27%
|
(1) Total holdings of James Serjeant and close
relatives excluding those held by Jonathan Serjeant who is a member
of the Belluscura Concert Party (of which 45,000 TMT Acquisition
Shares are held by close relatives).
(2) Includes TMT Acquisition Shares beneficially
owned by Dowgate Capital.
Save as aforesaid, neither
Belluscura nor any of the Directors of Belluscura nor (so far as
Belluscura is aware) any person acting in concert with Belluscura
(a) is interested in, or has any rights to subscribe for, any
relevant securities of TMT Acquisition, or securities convertible
or exchangeable into TMT Acquisition Shares; (b) has any short
position (whether conditional or absolute and whether in the money
or otherwise) in, including any short position under a derivative
or any agreement to sell or any delivery obligation or right to
require another person to purchase or take delivery of, any
relevant securities of TMT Acquisition; or (c) has any borrowing or
lending of any relevant securities of TMT Acquisition.
Enquiries:
Belluscura
plc
Adam Reynolds
|
via MHP
Group
|
Dowgate
Capital Limited - Financial Advisor and Broker to
Belluscura
Russell Cook / Nicholas Chambers
|
+44 (0)20 3903
7715
|
SPARK Advisory
Partners Limited - Nominated Advisor to
Belluscura
Neil Baldwin / Jade Bayat
|
+44 (0)20 3368
3554
|
MHP Group -
Financial PR & Investor Relations to
Belluscura
Katie Hunt / Matthew Taylor
|
Belluscura@mhpgroup.com
|
|
|
Responsibility
The persons responsible for the contents of
this announcement are the Belluscura Directors.
Disclosure
requirements of the Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover
Code, any person who is directly or indirectly interested in one
per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree
company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror
other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced
that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an
Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the Offer
Period and, if later, following the announcement in which any
securities exchange offeror is first identified.
An Opening Position Disclosure must
contain details of the person's interests and short positions in,
and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i)
the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An
Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies
must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th
Business Day following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if
appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th
Business Day following the announcement in which any securities
exchange offeror is first identified.
Relevant persons who deal in the
relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities
exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening
Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure. Under
Rule 8.3(b) of the Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes,
interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant
securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange
offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any
relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities
exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the
dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions
in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of
(i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange
offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously
been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to
whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m.
(London time) on the Business Day following the date of the
relevant dealing. If two or more persons act together pursuant to
an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to
acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree
company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be
a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.
Opening Position Disclosures must
also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing
Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any
offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see
Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4). Details of the offeree and offeror
companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position
Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in
the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at
www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk
, including details of the number of relevant
securities in issue, when the Offer Period commenced and when any
offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market
Surveillance Unit on +44 20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to
whether you are required to make an or a Dealing
Disclosure.
Important notice related to financial
advisors
SPARK Advisory Partners, which is
authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK, is acting as
nominated adviser exclusively for Belluscura and no one else in
connection with the Offer and this announcement and will not be
responsible to anyone other than Belluscura for providing the
protections afforded to clients of SPARK Advisory Partners or for
providing advice in relation to the Offer the content of this
announcement or any matter referred to herein.
Dowgate Capital, which is authorised
and regulated by the FCA in the UK, is acting as financial adviser
and broker exclusively for Belluscura and no one else in connection
with the Offer and this announcement and will not be responsible to
anyone other than Belluscura for providing the protections afforded
to clients of Dowgate Capital or for providing advice in relation
to the Offer the content of this announcement or any matter
referred to herein.
Overseas
Shareholders
The Offer relates to securities in a company
which is registered in England and Wales, which is admitted to
trading on AIM and is subject to the disclosure requirements, rules
and practices applicable to such companies, which differ from those
of Restricted Jurisdictions in certain material respects. This
announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with
English law, the AIM Rules for Companies, the Market Abuse
Regulation, the rules of London Stock Exchange and the Code, and
the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would
have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in
accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the United
Kingdom. The release, publication or distribution of this
announcement in or into certain jurisdictions other than the United
Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore any persons who are
subject to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United
Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable
requirements. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law,
the companies and persons involved in the Offer disclaim any
responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions
by any person.
Copies of this announcement and formal
documentation relating to the Offer shall not be, and must not be,
mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from
the United States or any other Restricted Jurisdiction or any
jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that
jurisdiction and persons receiving such documents (including
custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise
forward, distribute or send them in, into or from the United States
or any other Restricted Jurisdiction. Doing so may render invalid
any related purported acceptance of the Offer. Unless otherwise
determined by the Code and permitted by applicable law and
regulation, the Offer may not be made, directly or indirectly, in
or into, or by the use of mails or any means or instrumentality
(including, but not limited to, e-mail or other electronic
transmission, telex or telephone) of interstate or foreign commerce
of, or of any facility of a national, state or other securities
exchange of the United States or any other Restricted Jurisdiction
and the Offer may not be capable of acceptance by any such use,
means, instrumentality or facilities or otherwise from within the
United States or any other Restricted Jurisdiction. Accordingly,
copies of this announcement, the Offer Document, the Form of
Acceptance and all other accompanying documents relating to the
Offer are not being, and must not be directly or indirectly, mailed
or otherwise distributed or sent in, into or from the United States
or any other Restricted Jurisdiction.
Persons receiving this announcement, Offer
Document, the Form of Acceptance and all other accompanying
documents relating to the Offer (including, without limitation,
custodians, nominees and trustees) should observe these
restrictions and must not mail, otherwise forward, send, or
distribute them in, into or from the United States or any other
Restricted Jurisdiction or use such mails or any such means,
instrumentality or facility for any purpose directly or indirectly
in connection with the Offer, and doing so may render invalid any
related purported acceptance of the Offer.
Further details in relation to Overseas
Shareholders are contained in the Offer Document.
Publication on
Website
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a
copy of this announcement will be available on the investor section
of Belluscura's website at
https://ir.belluscura.com by no later than 12.00
noon (London time) on the Business Day immediately following the
date of this announcement. The content of the websites referred to
in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form
part of this announcement.
Availability
of Hard Copies
Pursuant to Rule 30.3 of the Code, a person so
entitled may request a copy of this announcement and any
information incorporated into it by reference to another source in
hard copy form by writing to Link Group Corporate Actions, Central
Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL, United Kingdom. A
person may also request that all future documents, announcements
and information to be sent to that person in relation to the Offer
should be in hard copy form.