THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDICES) AND THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN (TOGETHER, "THIS ANNOUNCEMENT") IS
RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF
SOUTH AFRICA OR IN OR INTO ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO
MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OR BREACH OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR
REGULATION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES
NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY
SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY OR CONTAIN ANY INVITATION, SOLICITATION,
RECOMMENDATION, OFFER OR ADVICE TO ANY PERSON TO SUBSCRIBE FOR,
OTHERWISE ACQUIRE OR DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES OF AFC ENEGY PLC IN
ANY JURISDICTION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN
ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL 2014 ON MARKET ABUSE (MARKET ABUSE
REGULATION) AS RETAINED AS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 AS AMENDED.
UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
10
June 2024
AFC Energy
plc
("AFC Energy", the
"Group" or the
"Company")
Proposed Placing and
Subscription to raise approximately £13.5 million
And
REX Retail Offer of Up to
£2.0 million
AFC Energy plc (AIM: AFC), a leading
provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, announces a
proposed fundraising by way of a placing of new Ordinary Shares
(the "Placing") (incorporating a Firm Placing and a Conditional
Placing) and direct subscription with certain directors (the
"Subscription") to raise approximately £13.5 million in aggregate
at a price per Ordinary Share of 15 pence (the "Issue
Price"). The Company also announces a proposed financing on
the "REX" platform to existing retail investors at the Issue Price
(the "REX Retail Offer") to raise up to £2.0 million (which
together with the Placing and the Subscription is the "Proposed
Fundraising"). No part of the Proposed Fundraising is being
underwritten.
Reasons for the Proposed Fundraising and Use of
Proceeds
AFC Energy is in a growth phase and
looking to continue to scale up its manufacturing capabilities to
meet increased demand for its unique hydrogen fuel cells. The net
proceeds of the Placing and Subscription will be utilised to
capitalise on the Company's existing commercial routes to market
for its H-Power generators (specifically the roll out of initial
orders from Speedy Hydrogen Solutions and, when placed, orders from
TAMGO) and to support commercial development.
Use of proceeds:
·
Investment in H-Power 30kW generators - rollout of
initial Speedy Hydrogen Solutions' orders and, when placed, TAMGO
orders;
·
Investment in production equipment to support
manufacturing scale up;
·
Investment in Speedy Hire Joint Venture (Speedy
Hydrogen Solutions); and
·
Commercial development and corporate
overheads.
Any proceeds from the REX Retail
Offer will be used for general corporate purposes.
Fundraising Highlights:
·
The Proposed Fundraising comprises:
·
A non-pre-emptive firm placing of up to 74,074,964
new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price (the "Firm Placing Shares"),
raising gross proceeds of up to approximately £11.1 million (the
"Firm Placing"). The Firm Placing is not conditional upon
Shareholder approval;
·
A non-pre-emptive conditional placing of
approximately 15,258,369
new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price
(the "Conditional Placing
Shares"), raising gross proceeds of
approximately £2.3 million (the "Conditional Placing"). The Conditional Placing
is conditional on, inter alia, the passing of the Fundraising
Resolutions by Shareholders at the General
Meeting;
·
A direct subscription with certain directors of
the Company who have indicated that they intend to subscribe
for 666,666 new
Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price (the "Subscription Shares"),
raising gross proceeds of approximately £0.1m. The Subscription Shares will be
allotted and admitted to trading on AIM at the same time as the
Firm Placing Shares; and
·
A REX Retail Offer of up to 13,333,333 New Ordinary Shares at the
Issue Price (the "REX Retail Offer Shares"), raising gross proceeds
of up to £2.0 million. The REX Retail Offer is conditional on, inter
alia, the passing of the Fundraising Resolutions by Shareholders at
the General Meeting and any REX Retail Offer Shares are expected to
be allotted and admitted to trading on AIM at the same time as the
Conditional Placing Shares.
·
The Placing Shares are being offered by way of an
accelerated bookbuild, which will be launched immediately following
this Announcement, in accordance with the terms and conditions set
out in Appendix I to this Announcement.
·
The Issue Price represents a discount of
approximately 26.8 per cent. to the closing mid-market price of
20.5 pence per Ordinary Share on 7 June 2024, being the latest
practicable date prior to the publication of this
Announcement.
·
The Directors do not currently have authority to
allot the Conditional Placing Shares or the REX Retail Offer Shares
and, accordingly, the Board is seeking the approval of Shareholders
to allot the Conditional Placing Shares and the REX Retail Offer
Shares at the General Meeting. The General
Meeting is to be held at the offices of Peel Hunt LLP at 100
Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT at 11:00 a.m. on 28 June 2024 at
which the Fundraising Resolutions will be proposed.
·
Peel Hunt and Zeus are acting as Joint Bookrunners
and Joint Brokers in connection with the Proposed Fundraising and
Peel Hunt is also the Company's Nominated Adviser.
Adam Bond, Chief Executive of AFC Energy,
said:
"2024 is all about delivery at AFC
Energy. Having accelerated our next generation H-Power
technology platforms and secured commercial routes to market
through our partners and customers, including Speedy Hire, we are
looking to secure funding to build out our inventory and fast track
delivery of H-Power Generators into the field. This builds on
those H-Power Generators that have already been sold to Speedy
Hydrogen Solutions and provide further buying power to drive down
component and system costs as we scale our production
capacity. The drive to displace diesel generators continues
to accelerate and we aim to be at the forefront of industry as the
transition gains momentum."
This Announcement should be read in its entirety. In
particular, your attention is drawn to the detailed terms and
conditions of the Placing in Appendix I to this
Announcement.
By choosing to participate in the
Placing and by making an oral electronic or written offer to
acquire Placing Shares, investors will be deemed to have read and
understood this Announcement in its entirety (including the
Appendices), and to be making such offer on the terms and subject
to the conditions of the Placing contained herein, and to be
providing the representations, warranties, indemnities,
acknowledgements and undertakings contained in Appendix
I.
Unless otherwise indicated,
capitalised terms in this Announcement have the meaning given to
them in the definitions section included in Appendix II.
A separate announcement will be made
shortly by the Company regarding the REX Retail Offer and its terms
and conditions.
The ticker for the Company's
ordinary shares is AFC. The Company's LEI is
213800SRJST19GNS9U35.
The person responsible for arranging
release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Peter
Dixon-Clarke, CFO.
Enquiries:
AFC
Energy plc
|
+44 (0) 14
8327 6726
|
Adam Bond (CEO)
Peter Dixon-Clarke (CFO)
|
|
|
|
Peel
Hunt LLP - Nominated Adviser, Joint Broker and Joint
Bookrunner
|
+44 (0) 20 7148 8900
|
Richard Crichton / Georgia Langoulant
(Investment Banking)
|
|
Sohail Akbar/Brian Hanratty
(ECM)
|
|
Zeus- Joint Broker and Joint Bookrunner
David Foreman / James Hornigold
(Investment Banking)
Dominic King (Corporate Broking) /
Ben Robertson (ECM)
|
+44 (0)
203 829 5000
|
FTI
Consulting - Financial PR Advisors
|
+44 (0)
203 727 1000
|
Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Tilly
Abraham
|
afcenergy@fticonsulting.com
|
|
|
| |
About AFC Energy
AFC Energy is a leading provider of
hydrogen energy solutions, to provide clean electricity for on and
off grid power applications. The Company's fuel cell technology is
now deployable as electric vehicle chargers, off-grid decentralised
power systems for construction and temporary power with emerging
opportunities across maritime, data centres and rail as part of a
portfolio approach to the decarbonisation of society's growing
electrification needs. The Company's proprietary ammonia cracking
technology further highlights emerging opportunities across the
distributed hydrogen production market with a focus on hydrogen's
role in supporting the decarbonisation of hard to abate
industries.
Additional
Information
Background to, and reasons for, the Proposed
Fundraise
AFC Energy is in a growth phase and
looking to advance delivery across its two core business streams:
Fuel Cells & Fuel Processing.
In the Fuel Cell segment, AFC Energy
is at an inflection point where it is working with customers and
partners to deploy its newly released 30kW H-Power S Series fuel
cell generator into the market with the aim of displacing diesel
generators. AFC Energy has developed a number of key routes to
market with immediate revenue potential from partners including
Speedy Hire (via Speedy Hydrogen Solutions) and Niftylift in the
UK, Acciona in Europe and TAMGO in the Saudi Arabian and MENA
region.
In line with the Company's strategy,
the pace of the Company's commercial development and deployment of
its fuel cell products has accelerated substantially over the last
12 months, with some highlights noted below:
·
In July 2023, the Company announced the proposed
launch of a dedicated hydrogen powered generator plant hire
business alongside Speedy Hire.
·
In September 2023, the Company announced that it
had entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Saudi
Arabia's The Machinery Group LLC, trading as TAMGO, securing
distribution routes in Saudi and MENA regions.
·
In November 2023, the Company announced the
official launch of Speedy Hydrogen Solutions, its 50:50 joint
venture with Speedy Hire, securing first year sales of up to
£4.7m.
·
In March 2024, the Company announced receipt of
its first independent Attestation of Conformity certificate for CE
Mark from German certification agency TÜV SÜD for the 30kW H-Power
S Series Generator, providing assurance that the fuel cell product
is compliant with requisite laws and standards.
·
In March 2024, the Company announced the
successful factory acceptance test of its first 30kW H-Power
Generator pursuant to its agreement with Speedy Hire, confirming
that the 30kW H-Power Generator is now ready for sale to Speedy
Hydrogen Solutions.
·
In March 2024, the Company announced a 16%
reduction in operating costs for its H-Power Generator,
substantially lowering the overall cost for AFC Energy's H-Power
customers.
·
In May 2024, the Company announced the appointment
of North America's Illuming Power as its first scaled manufacturer
of fuel cell plates and stacks for its S Series air cooled
platform.
·
In May 2024, the Company announced its agreement
to supply S Series fuel cell modules to Niftylift (UK) Limited for
integration with its next generation mobile elevating work
platform.
In the Fuel Processing segment, the
Company is seeing interest in fast tracking its proprietary ammonia
cracker technology to support the decarbonisation of hard to abate
industries through the adoption of hydrogen derived from carrier
fuels such as ammonia.
Some key recent highlights in the
fuel processing segment include:
·
In March 2023, the Company launched its advanced
"Ammonia to Hydrogen" cracker technology following extensive cracker reactor validation testing over
the preceding two years.
·
In October 2023, the Company announced independent
testing results highlighting the ability of the Company's new
ammonia cracking technology to deliver fuel cell grade hydrogen on
a modular, scalable basis.
·
In December 2023, the Company announced
commencement of the largest "ammonia to hydrogen" modular cracker
demonstration in operation worldwide.
·
In January 2024, the Company secured funding for a
maritime ammonia cracker trial.
·
In February 2024, the Company announced that it
had achieved operational milestones for its ammonia cracker
technology, including achieving 9.5 kWh of electrical power
consumed per kilogram of hydrogen generated, a 33% reduction in
electrical power over its 2023 design and hitting milestone of
<10 kWh/kg, a year ahead of schedule.
In both the Fuel Cell and Fuel
Processing segments, the Company believes it is well positioned to
build on the prior three years of investment in technology,
commercial readiness and manufacturing scale up, to now accelerate
time to market for both its technology platforms. In
addition, there is a potential first mover advantage to be
exploited in its respective markets and so time to market is
critical, underpinning the Company's decision to review its
financing activities.
The net proceeds of the Placing and
Subscription will be utilised to capitalise on the Company's
existing commercial routes to market for its H-Power generators
(specifically the roll out of initial orders from Speedy Hydrogen
Solutions and TAMGO) and to support commercial
development.
Use of proceeds:
·
Investment in H-Power 30kW generators - rollout of
initial Speedy Hydrogen Solutions' orders and, when placed, TAMGO
orders;
·
Investment in production equipment to support
manufacturing scale up;
·
Investment in Speedy Hire Joint Venture (Speedy
Hydrogen Solutions); and
·
Commercial development and corporate
overheads.
Any proceeds from the REX Retail
Offer will be used for general corporate purposes.
Details of the Proposed Fundraising
The Proposed Fundraising
comprises:
·
A non-pre-emptive firm placing of up to 74,074,964
new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, raising gross proceeds of
up to approximately £11.1 million. The Firm Placing is not
conditional upon Shareholder approval;
·
A non-pre-emptive conditional placing of
approximately 15,258,369 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price,
raising gross proceeds of approximately £2.3 million. The
Conditional Placing is conditional on, inter alia, the passing of
the Fundraising Resolutions by Shareholders at a general
meeting;
·
A direct subscription with certain directors of
the Company who have indicated that they intend to subscribe for
666,666 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, raising gross
proceeds of approximately £0.1m. The Subscription Shares will be
allotted and admitted to trading on AIM at the same time as the
Firm Placing Shares; and
·
A REX Retail Offer of up to 13,333,333 new
Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, raising gross proceeds of up to
£2.0 million. The REX Retail Offer is conditional on, inter
alia, the passing of the Fundraising Resolutions by Shareholders at
the General Meeting and any REX Retail Offer Shares are expected to
be allotted and admitted to trading on AIM at the same time as the
Conditional Placing Shares.
Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt") and Zeus
Capital Limited ("Zeus") are acting as Joint Bookrunners in
connection with the Proposed Fundraising and Peel Hunt is also the
Company's Nominated Adviser. The Placing Shares are being offered
by way of an accelerated bookbuild, which will be launched
immediately following this Announcement (as defined below), in
accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Appendix I to
this Announcement.
The Placing is subject to the Terms
and Conditions set out in Appendix I to this Announcement. The
number of Placing Shares to be placed at the Issue Price in each of
the Firm Placing and the Conditional Placing will be decided
following completion of the Bookbuild. The timing of the closing of
the bookbuild and allocations are at the absolute discretion of the
Company and the Joint Bookrunners. Details of the number of Placing
Shares to be issued pursuant to each of the Firm Placing and the
Conditional Placing will be announced as soon as practicable after
the close of the Bookbuild. The Placing is not
underwritten.
The Firm Placing will complete
whether or not the Conditional Placing completes, whether by reason
of a failure to obtain shareholder approval or non-satisfaction of
any other conditions that have not been waived.
Subject to the discretion of the
Company and the Joint Bookrunners to elect otherwise, the Firm
Placing Shares and the Conditional Placing Shares will be allocated
proportionately with the same investors. An investor allocated Firm
Placing Shares will be conditionally allocated an equivalent
proportion of Conditional Placing Shares.
Details of the Subscription
Certain Directors, being Garry
Bullard, Adam Bond, Peter Dixon-Clarke and Monika Biddulph (the
"Subscribers"), have indicated their intention to subscribe for an
aggregate amount of £0.1 million of Subscription Shares at the
Issue Price pursuant to the Subscription. The Subscription is not
underwritten.
If any of the conditions to the
Subscription are not satisfied, the Subscription Shares will not be
issued and any monies received from the Subscribers will be
returned to them.
The Subscription Shares will not be
subject to clawback and are not part of or subject to any condition
related to the REX Retail Offer or the passing of the Fundraising
Resolutions at the General Meeting.
The Subscription Shares will be
issued free of all liens, charges and encumbrances and will, when
issued and fully paid, rank pari passu in all respects with the
Company's then existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to
receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or
paid after the date of their issue.
The Subscription will be
conditional, inter alia, on the close of the Bookbuild, First
Admission occurring and the Placing Agreement not being terminated
prior to First Admission. Further details of the Subscription are
expected to be announced at the same time as the closing of the
Bookbuild.
Details of the REX Retail Offer
The Company has separately engaged
Peel Hunt to undertake an intermediaries offer of the REX Retail
Offer Shares at the Issue Price to existing retail investors
through its 'REX' platform.
The REX Retail Offer Shares do not
form part of the Placing or the Subscription and the REX Retail
Offer Shares will not, when issued, constitute either Placing
Shares or Subscription Shares. The REX Retail Offer is not being
underwritten or made subject to the terms and conditions set out in
Appendix I to this
Announcement. However, the allotment and issue of the REX Retail
Offer Shares is conditional, amongst other things, on the
Fundraising Resolutions being passed at the General
Meeting.
As the REX Retail Offer will not be
underwritten, if there is no take up by new and existing retail
investors, no additional proceeds will be received by AFC Energy
pursuant to the REX Retail Offer element of the Proposed
Fundraising.
A separate announcement will be made
shortly by the Company regarding the REX Retail Offer and its terms
and conditions.
No prospectus will be published in
connection with the REX Retail Offer.
Admission
Applications will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for (i) admission of the Firm Placing Shares
and the Subscription Shares to trading on AIM and (ii) admission of
the Conditional Placing Shares and the REX Retail Offer Shares to
trading on AIM. It is expected that First Admission will become
effective at or around 8.00 a.m. on 13 June 2024 or such later time
and date and, subject to the passing of the Fundraising
Resolutions, Second Admission will become effective at or around
8.00 a.m. on 1 July 2024, in each case as the Joint Bookrunners and
the Company may agree.
Circular / General Meeting
The Directors do not currently have
authority to allot the Conditional Placing Shares or the REX Retail
Offer Shares for cash free of statutory pre-emption rights and,
accordingly, the Board is seeking the approval of Shareholders to
allot the Conditional Placing Shares and the REX Retail Offer
Shares at the General Meeting on that basis.
The General Meeting is to be held at
the offices of Peel Hunt LLP at 100
Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT at 11:00 a.m.
on 28 June 2024 at which the Fundraising Resolutions will be
proposed.
The Conditional Placing and the REX
Retail Offer are conditional, inter alia, upon Shareholders
approving the Fundraising Resolutions at the General Meeting and
upon the Placing Agreement not having been terminated and becoming
unconditional in so far as it relates to the Conditional Placing.
The Company intends to publish and send the Circular to Qualifying
Shareholders on or about 12 June
2024, which will contain a notice convening
the General Meeting and proposing the necessary resolutions to
authorise the Directors to allot the Conditional Placing Shares and
the REX Retail Offer Shares for cash free of statutory pre-emption
rights. The Circular and notice of General Meeting will be
available on the Company's website after publication:
https://www.afcenergy.com/.
The Placing Shares are not being
made available to the public and are only available to Relevant
Persons.
IMPORTANT NOTICES AND DISCLAIMER
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING THE
APPENDICES AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THEM, IS RESTRICTED AND
IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE, TRANSMISSION, FORWARDING OR
DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR
INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS,
ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
(COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED
STATES"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN
OR REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH
PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. FURTHER,
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT AN
OFFER OF SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION.
This Announcement or any part of it
does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or
the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for,
any securities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or
Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which the
same would be unlawful. No public offering of the New Shares is
being made in any such jurisdiction.
No action has been taken by the
Company, Peel Hunt, Zeus or any of their respective affiliates, or
any person acting on its or their behalf that would permit an offer
of the New Shares or possession or distribution of this
Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating
to such New Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that
purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this
Announcement comes are required by the Company, Peel Hunt and Zeus
to inform themselves about, and to observe, such
restrictions.
No prospectus, offering memorandum,
offering document or admission document has been or will be made
available in connection with the matters contained in this
Announcement and no such prospectus is required to be published (in
accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2017/1129 (as amended) (the
"EU
Prospectus Regulation") or the EU
Prospectus Regulation as it is assimilated into UK domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
("EUWA"), as amended (the
"UK
Prospectus Regulation")). Persons
needing advice should consult a qualified independent legal
adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for
legal, business, financial or tax advice.
The securities referred to herein
have not been and will not be registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act"), or with any securities
regulatory authority of any State or other jurisdiction of the
United States, and may not be offered, sold or transferred,
directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except
pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to,
the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in
compliance with the securities laws of any State or any other
jurisdiction of the United States. Accordingly, the Placing Shares
will be offered and sold outside of the United States only in
"offshore transactions" (as such term is defined in Regulation S
under the Securities Act ("Regulation
S")) pursuant to Regulation S and
otherwise in accordance with applicable laws pursuant to an
exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration
under the Securities Act. No public offering of the New Shares will
be made in the United States or elsewhere, other than the REX
Retail Offer Shares under the REX Retail Offer which is being made
in the United Kingdom only.
The Proposed Fundraising has not
been approved or disapproved by the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United
States or any US regulatory authority, nor have any of the
foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the
Proposed Fundraising, or the accuracy or adequacy of this
Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offence in the United States.
This Announcement has not been
approved by the London Stock Exchange.
Members of the public are not
eligible to take part in the Placing.
The relevant clearances have not
been, nor will they be, obtained from the securities commission of
any province or territory of Canada, no prospectus has been lodged
with, or registered by, the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission or the Japanese Ministry of Finance; the relevant
clearances have not been, and will not be, obtained for the South
Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable body in South Africa in
relation to the New Shares and the New Shares have not been, nor
will they be, registered under or offered in compliance with the
securities laws of any state, province or territory of Australia,
Canada, Japan or Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the New
Shares may not (unless an exemption under the relevant securities
laws is applicable) be offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly
or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or Republic of
South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which such activities
would be unlawful.
By participating in the Bookbuild
and the Placing, each person who is invited to and who chooses to
participate in the Placing (each a "Placee") by making an oral,
electronic or written and legally binding offer to acquire Placing
Shares will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement
in its entirety, to be participating, making an offer and acquiring
Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained in Appendix I
to this Announcement and to be providing the representations,
warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings
contained in Appendix I to this Announcement.
Certain statements contained in this
Announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" with respect
to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses
and plans of the Company and its subsidiaries from time to time
(the "Group"). Words such as
"believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "expects", "intends",
"plans", "aims", "potential", "will", "would", "could",
"considered", "likely", "estimate" and variations of these words
and similar future or conditional expressions, are intended to
identify forward-looking statements and forecasts but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. These statements
and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to
events and depend upon future circumstances that have not occurred.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. As a result, the
Group's actual financial condition, results of operations and
business and plans may differ materially from the plans, goals and
expectations expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements and forecasts. No representation or warranty is made as
to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be
placed on, such forward-looking statements and forecasts. The
forward-looking statements and (if any) forecasts contained in this
Announcement speak only as of the date of this Announcement. The
Company, its directors, Peel Hunt, Zeus or their respective
affiliates and any person acting on its or their behalf each
expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements and forecasts,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
unless required to do so by applicable law or regulation or the
London Stock Exchange.
Peel Hunt and Zeus are each authorised and
regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA. Each of Peel Hunt and
Zeus is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in
connection with the Placing, the contents of this Announcement or
any other matters described in this Announcement. Neither of Peel
Hunt or Zeus will regard any other person as its client in relation
to the Placing, the content of this Announcement or any other
matters described in this Announcement and will not be responsible
to anyone (including any Placees) other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing
advice to any other person in relation to the Placing, the content
of this Announcement or any other matters referred to in this
Announcement. The responsibility of Peel Hunt, as the
Company's nominated adviser, is owed solely to the London Stock
Exchange and is not owed to the Company or the Directors or any
other person.
This Announcement has been issued by
and is the sole responsibility of the Company. No representation or
warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in
relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be
accepted by either Bank or by any of its affiliates or any person
acting on its or their behalf as to, or in relation to, the
accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written
or oral information made available to or publicly available to any
interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is
expressly disclaimed.
This Announcement does not
constitute a recommendation concerning any investor's investment
decision with respect to the Proposed Fundraising. Any indication
in this Announcement of the price at which Shares have been bought
or sold in the past cannot be relied upon as a guide to future
performance. The price of shares and any income expected from them
may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the full
amount invested upon disposal of the shares. Past performance is no
guide to future performance. This Announcement does not identify or
suggest, or purport to identify or suggest, the risks (direct or
indirect) that may be associated with an investment in the New
Ordinary Shares. The contents of this Announcement are not to be
construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each
investor or prospective investor should consult their or its own
legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser
for legal, business, financial or tax advice.
No statement in this Announcement is
intended to be a profit forecast or profit estimate for any period,
and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean
that earnings, earnings per share or income, cash flow from
operations or free cash flow for the Company for the current or
future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the
historical published earnings, earnings per share or income, cash
flow from operations or free cash flow for the Company.
All offers of the New Shares will be
made pursuant to one or more exemptions under the UK Prospectus
Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus. This
Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in
the UK only in circumstances to which section 21(1) of the FSMA
does not require approval of the
communication by an authorised person.
The New Ordinary Shares to be issued
or sold pursuant to the Proposed Fundraising will not be admitted
to trading on any stock exchange other than the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange.
Persons (including, without
limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual or other
legal obligation to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek
appropriate advice before taking any action.
Neither the content of the Company's
website (or any other website) nor the content of any website
accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other
website) is incorporated into or forms part of this
Announcement.
This Announcement has been prepared
for the purposes of complying with applicable law and regulation in
the United Kingdom 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 and regulations of
any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.
UK
Product Governance Requirements
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 Requirements"),
and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort,
contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes
of the UK Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with
respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product
approval process, which has determined that such Placing Shares
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 the FCA Handbook
Conduct of Business Sourcebook; and (ii) eligible for distribution
through all permitted distribution channels (the
"Target
Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding
the Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: (a)
the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could
lose all or part of their investment; (b) the Placing Shares offer
no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and (c) an
investment in the Placing 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 Target Market
Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any
contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation
to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the
Target Market Assessment, Peel Hunt and Zeus will only procure
investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and
eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the
Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of
suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapters 9A or
10A, respectively, of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business
Sourcebook; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of
investors to invest in, or purchase or take any other action
whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares. Each distributor is
responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in
respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate
distribution channels.
APPENDIX I - TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE
PLACING FOR INVITED PLACEES ONLY
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT
ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING
THE APPENDICES) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (THIS
"ANNOUNCEMENT") ARE FOR
INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHOSE
ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND
DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES
OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS
RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (A) IF IN A MEMBER STATE OF THE
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (THE "EEA"), PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS ("QUALIFIED
INVESTORS") WITHIN THE MEANING OF
ARTICLE 2(E) OF REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129, AS AMENDED (THE
"EU
PROSPECTUS REGULATION"); (B) IF IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM, QUALIFIED INVESTORS WITHIN THE MEANING OF
ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE EU PROSPECTUS REGULATION AS IT FORMS PART OF UK
DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018,
AS AMENDED (THE "UK PROSPECTUS
REGULATION") AND WHO ARE: (I)
PERSONS WHO FALL WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF "INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL"
IN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000
(FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE
"ORDER"); OR (II) PERSONS WHO
FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) ("HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES,
UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC") OF THE ORDER
("UK
QUALIFIED INVESTORS"); OR (C)
PERSONS TO WHOM THEY MAY OTHERWISE BE LAWFULLY COMMUNICATED (ALL
SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT
PERSONS").
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST NOT BE ACTED
ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS
DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS
LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND
WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY
SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY.
EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS
OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, BUSINESS, FINANCIAL AND RELATED
ASPECTS OF AN INVESTMENT IN THE PLACING SHARES.
THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN
HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES
ACT"), OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS
OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND MAY
NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, ACQUIRED, RESOLD, TRANSFERRED OR DELIVERED,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INTO OR IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT
PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO,
THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN
COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY RELEVANT STATE OR OTHER
JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES. THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC OFFER OF
THE PLACING SHARES IN THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM, ANY
OTHER RESTRICTED TERRITORY (AS DEFINED BELOW) OR
ELSEWHERE.
This Announcement, and the
information contained herein, is not for release, publication or
distribution, directly or indirectly, to persons in the United
States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any
jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution is
unlawful (each a "Restricted
Jurisdictions"). The distribution of
this Announcement, the Placing and/or the offer or sale of the
Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law.
No action has been taken by the Company or by Peel Hunt LLP
("Peel
Hunt") and/or Zeus Capital Limited
("Zeus") (Peel Hunt and Zeus,
together the "Joint Bookrunners") or any of their respective Affiliates or any of its or their
respective agents, directors, officers or employees (collectively
"Representatives") which would
permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution
of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material
relating to such Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action
for that purpose is required. Persons distributing any part of this
Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.
Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who
have a contractual or other legal obligation to forward a copy of
this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any
such action. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes
are required by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners to inform
themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.
This Announcement does not itself
constitute or form part of an offer to sell or issue or the
solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities
referred to herein in the United States or any other Restricted
Jurisdiction or any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation
is unlawful.
All offers of the Placing Shares
will be made pursuant to an exemption under the EU Prospectus
Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as applicable, from the
requirement to produce a prospectus. This Announcement is being
distributed and communicated to persons in the UK only in
circumstances to which section 21(1) of the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000, as amended (the "FSMA") does not
require approval of the communication by an
authorised person.
The Placing has not been approved
and will not be approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United
States or any other regulatory authority in the United States, nor
have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the
merits of the Placing or the accuracy or adequacy of this
Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offence in the United States.
Subject to certain exceptions, the
securities referred to in this Announcement may not be offered or
sold in any Restricted Jurisdiction or to, or for the account or
benefit of, a citizen or resident, or a corporation, partnership or
other entity created or organised in or under the laws of a
Restricted Jurisdiction.
None of the Company, the Joint
Bookrunners or any of their respective Affiliates or its or their
respective Representatives makes any representation or warranty,
express or implied, to any Placees regarding any investment in the
securities referred to in this Announcement under the laws
applicable to such Placees.
This Announcement has been issued
by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No
representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made
as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or
will be accepted by any Joint Bookrunner or any of its Affiliates
or its or their respective Representatives as to or in relation to,
the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other
written or oral information made available to or publicly available
to any party or its advisers, and any liability therefor is
expressly disclaimed.
Each Joint Bookrunner is acting
exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the
Placing and is not, and will not be, responsible to anyone
(including the Placees) other than the Company for providing the
protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in
relation to the Placing and/or any other matter referred to in this
Announcement.
Persons who are invited to and who
choose to participate in the Placing (and any person acting on such
person's behalf) by making an oral or written offer to subscribe
for Placing Shares, including any individuals, funds or others on
whose behalf a commitment to subscribe for Placing Shares is given
(the "Placees") will be deemed: (i)
to have read and understood this Announcement, including this
Appendix, in its entirety; (ii) to be participating and making such
offer on the terms and conditions contained in this Appendix; and
(iii) to be providing (and shall only be permitted to participate
in the Placing on the basis that they have provided) the
representations, warranties, undertakings, agreements,
acknowledgments and indemnities contained in this
Appendix.
In particular, each such Placee
represents, warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges
that:
1.
it is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it will subscribe for,
hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to
it for the purposes of its business;
2.
if it is in a member state of the EEA, it is a Qualified
Investor;
3.
if it is in the United Kingdom, it is a UK Qualified
Investor;
4.
it is subscribing for Placing Shares for its own account or is
subscribing for Placing Shares for an account with respect to which
it exercises sole investment discretion and has the authority to
make and does make the representations, warranties, undertakings,
agreements, acknowledgments and indemnities contained in this
Appendix;
5.
if it is a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article
5(1) of the EU Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus
Regulation (as applicable): (i) the Placing Shares subscribed for
by it in the Placing will not be subscribed for on a
non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor will they be subscribed
for with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in a member
state of the EEA other than Qualified Investors, or persons in the
United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors or in
circumstances in which the prior consent of the Joint Bookrunners
has been given to each proposed offer or resale; or (ii) where the
Placing Shares have been subscribed for by it on behalf of persons
in a member state of the EEA other than Qualified Investors, or in
the United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors, the offer of
those Placing Shares to it is not treated under the EU Prospectus
Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation (as applicable) as
having been made to such persons;
6.
it understands that the Placing Shares have not been and will not
be registered under the Securities Act or with any securities
regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the
United States and may not be offered, sold or transferred, directly
or indirectly, within the United States except pursuant to an
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;
7.
that it is: (i) unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Joint
Bookrunners, located outside the United States and it is not a US
person as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act
("Regulation S") and it is
subscribing for the Placing Shares only in "offshore transactions"
as defined in and pursuant to Regulation S, and (ii) it is not
subscribing for Placing Shares as a result of any "directed selling
efforts" as defined in Regulation S or by means of any form of
"general solicitation" or "general advertising" as such terms are
defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act; and the Company
and each Joint Bookrunner will rely upon the truth and accuracy of,
and compliance with, the foregoing representations, warranties,
undertakings, agreements and acknowledgements. Each Placee hereby
agrees with each Joint Bookrunner and the Company to be bound by
these terms and conditions as being the terms and conditions upon
which Placing Shares will be issued. A Placee shall, without
limitation, become so bound if any Joint Bookrunner confirms
(orally or in writing) to such Placee its allocation of Placing
Shares.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PLACEES ONLY REGARDING THE
PLACING
The Fundraising will comprise the
Placing, the REX Retail Offer and the Subscription. This Appendix
gives details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of
participation in, the Placing. Members of the public are not
entitled to participate in the Placing.
A summary of the Subscription can be
found in the main body of this Announcement.
Details of the REX Retail Offer can
be found in the separate announcement by
the Company regarding the REX Retail Offer and its terms. The
Placing is not conditional upon the Subscriptions or the REX Retail
Offer.
Bookbuild
Following this Announcement, the
Joint Bookrunners will today commence the Bookbuild to determine
demand for participation in the Placing by Placees. No commissions
will be paid to Placees or by Placees in respect of any Placing
Shares. The book will open with immediate effect.
The Joint Bookrunners and the
Company shall be entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative
method to the Bookbuild as they may, in their sole discretion,
determine.
Details of the Placing
The Placing will comprise the Firm
Placing and the Conditional Placing.
At the Company's annual general
meeting on 25 April 2024, the Company obtained shareholder approval
to issue 74,741,630 new ordinary shares of £0.001 pence each in the
capital of the Company on a non-pre-emptive basis, representing 10%
of the Company's issued ordinary share capital. The allotment and
issue of the Firm Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares will
rely on the existing shareholder authorities. However, the
allotment and issue of any Conditional Placing Shares and the REX
Retail Offer Shares will require the Company to convene the General
Meeting, expected to be held on or around 28 June 2024 to seek
shareholder approval for the Fundraising Resolutions, and will be
conditional upon such shareholder approval being
granted.
The Firm Placing may complete if the
Conditional Placing does not, whether by reason of a failure to
obtain shareholder approval or non-satisfaction of the other
conditions. The Placing is not conditional
upon the Subscriptions or the REX Retail Offer.
Subject to the discretion of the
Company and the Joint Bookrunners to elect otherwise, the Firm
Placing Shares and the Conditional Placing Shares will be allocated
proportionately with the same investors. An investor allocated Firm
Placing Shares will be conditionally allocated an equivalent
proportion of Conditional Placing Shares.
The Placing Shares will, when
issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all
dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect
of the Ordinary Shares after their respective date of issue. The
Placing Shares will be issued free of any encumbrances, liens or
other security interests.
Details of the Placing Agreement and of the Placing
Shares
Peel Hunt and Zeus are acting as
Joint Bookrunners in connection with the Placing. Neither Joint
Bookrunner is acting for the Company with respect to the
Subscription. Zeus is not acting for the Company with respect to
the REX Retail Offer.
The Joint Bookrunners today entered
into an agreement with the Company (the "Placing Agreement") under which, subject to the
conditions set out therein, each Joint Bookrunner has agreed, as
agent for and on behalf of the Company, to use its reasonable
endeavours to procure Placees for the Placing Shares at a price of
15 pence per Placing Share (the "Issue Price") and in such number to be determined following completion of
the Bookbuild. The final number of Placing Shares will be
determined by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners at the close of
the Bookbuild and will be set out in the placing terms (if
executed) (the "Placing
Terms"). The
timing of the closing of the book and allocations are at the
discretion of the Company and the Joint Bookrunners. Details of the
number of Placing Shares will be announced as soon as practicable
after the close of the Bookbuild.
The total number of Shares to be
issued pursuant to the Fundraising in the Firm Placing and the
Subscriptions shall not exceed 74,741,630 Shares, representing
approximately 10 per cent. of the Company's existing issued share
capital.
The Placing Shares are not subject
to clawback in respect of valid applications for New Ordinary
Shares pursuant to the REX Retail Offer. The Placing is not
underwritten.
Applications for admission to trading
Applications will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for (i) admission of the Firm Placing Shares
and Subscription Shares to trading on AIM ("First Admission") and (ii) admission of the Conditional Placing Shares and REX
Retail Offer Shares to trading on AIM ("Second Admission" and together with
First Admission, "Admission"). It is expected that the
First Admission will become effective at or around 8.00 a.m.
on 13 June 2024 or
such later time and date (being not later than 8.00 a.m. on 26 June
2024) and, subject to the passing of the Fundraising Resolutions
the Second Admission will become effective at or around 8.00 a.m.
on1 July 2024
or such later time and date (being not later than 8.00 a.m.
on 17 July 2024) in each case as the Joint Bookrunners and the
Company may agree.
The placing of the Firm Placing
Shares, and the issue of the Subscription Shares and First
Admission are not conditional on the issue of the REX Retail Offer
Shares, or the issue of the Conditional Placing Shares or Second
Admission. The Placing is not conditional upon the Subscriptions or
the REX Retail Offer.
Participation in, and principal terms of, the
Placing
1.
Each Joint Bookrunner is arranging the Placing severally, and not
jointly nor jointly and severally, as agent of the
Company.
2.
Participation in the Placing will only be available to persons who
may lawfully be, and are, invited to participate by a Joint
Bookrunner. Each Joint Bookrunner and its Affiliates are entitled
to enter bids in the Bookbuild as principal.
3.
The results of the Placing and the number of Placing Shares will be
announced on a Regulatory Information Service following the
completion of the Bookbuild (the "Placing Results Announcement").
4.
To bid in the Bookbuild, prospective Placees may communicate their
bid by telephone or in writing to their usual sales contact at a
Joint Bookrunner. Each bid should state the number of Placing
Shares which the prospective Placee wishes to subscribe for at the
Issue Price. The Joint Bookrunners will, in effecting the Placing,
agree with the Company the identity of the Placees and the basis of
allocation of the Placing Shares (including, but not limited to,
whether such Placing Shares are Firm Placing Shares or Conditional
Placing Shares) and may scale down any participation for this
purpose on such basis as they may determine and allocate Placing
Shares as Firm Placing Shares or Conditional Placing Shares at
their discretion. The acceptance of offers shall be at the absolute
discretion of the Joint Bookrunners. A bid in the Bookbuild will be
made on the terms and subject to the conditions in this Appendix
and will be legally binding on the Placee on behalf of which it is
made and, except with the consent of the relevant Joint Bookrunner,
will not be capable of variation or revocation after the time at
which it is submitted. Each Placee's obligations will be owed to
the Company and each Joint Bookrunner. Each Placee will also have
an immediate, separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to
the Joint Bookrunners, to pay to the relevant Joint Bookrunner (or
as the relevant Joint Bookrunner may direct) as agent for the
Company in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the
Issue Price and the number of Placing Shares that such Placee has
agreed to subscribe for and the Company has agreed to allot and
issue to that Placee.
5.
The Bookbuild is expected to close no later than
7.00 a.m (London time)
on 11 June 2024,
but may be closed earlier or later at the discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners. The Joint Bookrunners may, in agreement with the
Company, accept bids that are received after the Bookbuild has
closed.
6.
Each Placee's allocation will be determined by the Company in
consultation with the Joint Bookrunners and will be confirmed to
Placees orally or in writing by the relevant Joint Bookrunner
following the close of the Bookbuild and a trade confirmation or
contract note will be dispatched as soon as possible thereafter.
That oral or written confirmation (at the relevant Joint
Bookrunner's discretion) to such Placee will constitute an
irrevocable legally binding commitment upon such person (who will
at that point become a Placee) in favour of each Joint Bookrunner
and the Company, under which such Placee agrees to subscribe for
the number of Firm Placing Shares and Conditional Placing Shares
allocated to it and to pay the Issue Price for each such Placing
Share on the terms and conditions set out in this Appendix and in
accordance with the Company's constitutional documents.
7.
The Joint Bookrunners may, notwithstanding paragraphs 4 and 5
above, and subject to the prior consent of the Company: (i)
allocate Placing Shares after the time of any initial allocation to
any person submitting a bid after that time; and (ii) allocate
Placing Shares after the Bookbuild has closed to any person
submitting a bid after that time. The acceptance of bids shall be
at the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners. The Company
reserves the right (upon agreement with the Joint Bookrunners) to
reduce or seek to increase the amount to be raised pursuant to the
Placing.
8.
Except as required by law or regulation, no press release or other
announcement will be made by the Joint Bookrunners or the Company
using the name of any Placee (or its agent), in its capacity as
Placee (or agent), other than with such Placee's prior written
consent.
9.
Irrespective of the time at which a Placee's allocation(s) pursuant
to the Placing is/are confirmed, settlement of the Placing Shares
will be on different dates depending on whether the Placing Shares
are Firm Placing Shares or Conditional Placing Shares, on the basis
explained below under "Registration and settlement".
10. All
obligations under the Bookbuild and Placing will be subject to
fulfilment or (where applicable) waiver of the conditions referred
to below under "Conditions of the Placing" and to the Placing not
being terminated on the basis referred to below under "Termination
of the Placing Agreement".
11. By
participating in the Bookbuild, each Placee agrees that its rights
and obligations in respect of the Placing will terminate only in
the circumstances described below and will not be capable of
rescission or termination by the Placee after confirmation (oral or
otherwise) by a Joint Bookrunner.
12. To
the fullest extent permissible by law, no Joint Bookrunner nor any
of its Affiliates nor any of its or their respective
Representatives shall have any responsibility or liability to any
Placee (or to any other person (other than the Company) whether
acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise). In particular, no Joint
Bookrunner nor any of its Affiliates nor any of its or their
respective Representatives shall have any responsibility or
liability (including to the fullest extent permissible by law, any
fiduciary duties) in respect of each Joint Bookrunner's conduct of
the Bookbuild or of such alternative method of effecting the
Placing as the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may
agree.
Conditions of the Placing
The Placing is conditional upon the
Placing Agreement becoming unconditional and not having been
terminated in accordance with its terms. The obligations of the
Joint Bookrunners under the Placing Agreement are conditional on
certain conditions, including, among other things:
(a)
the release of this Announcement;
(b)
the posting of the Circular by the Company, and no
circular that is supplemental to the Circular being posted before
First Admission;
(c)
the publication by the Company of the Placing
Results Announcement through a Regulatory Information
Service;
(d)
the Company having allotted, subject only to First
Admission, the Firm Placing Shares in accordance with the Placing
Agreement;
(e)
the Company having performed all of its
obligations under the Placing Agreement which fall to be performed
prior to First Admission and not being in breach of the
Agreement;
(f)
each of the warranties given by the Company
contained in the Placing Agreement being true, accurate and not
misleading at certain specified dates including : (i) as at the
date of the Placing Agreement; and (ii) immediately prior to First
Admission, in each case, as though they had been given and made at
such times and on such dates by reference to the facts and
circumstances from time to time subsisting;
(g)
First Admission occurring at or around 8.00 a.m.
on 13 June 2024 (or
such later time and/or date as the Joint Bookrunners and the
Company may agree in writing, being not later than 8.00 a.m.
on 26 June 2024),
(all conditions to the obligations
of the Joint Bookrunners included in the Placing Agreement being
together, the "Conditions").The Joint Bookrunners' obligations under the Placing
Agreement in respect of the Conditional Placing Shares are
conditional on certain conditions, including (without
limitation):
(a)
satisfaction of the conditions relating to First
Admission;
(b)
the representations and warranties of the Company
contained in the Placing Agreement being true and accurate and not
misleading at certain specified dates including : (i) as of the
date of the Placing Agreement (ii) immediately prior to
Second Admission, as though they had been given and made on such
dates by reference to the facts and circumstances then
subsisting;
(c) the Company having allotted, subject only to First Admission,
the Firm Placing Shares in accordance with the Placing
Agreement;
(d)
the Company having performed all of its
obligations under the Placing Agreement to be performed prior to
Second Admission and not being in breach of the Placing
Agreement;
(e)
the passing of the Fundraising Resolutions at the
General Meeting;
(f)
there not having occurred, in the opinion of the
Joint Bookrunners (acting together and in good faith), a Material
Adverse Change prior to Second Admission (whether or not foreseeable);
and
(g)
Second Admission taking place by not later than
occurring at or around 8.00 a.m. on 1 July 2024 (or such later time
and/or date as the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may agree in
writing, being not later than 8.00 a.m. on 17 July
2024)).
If: (i) any of the conditions
contained in the Placing Agreement, including (without limitation)
those described above, are not fulfilled or (where applicable)
waived by the Joint Bookrunners by the relevant time or date
specified (or such later time or date as the Company and the Joint
Bookrunners may agree); or (ii) the Placing Agreement is terminated
in the circumstances specified below, the Placing in respect of the
Placing Shares will lapse if such conditions are not satisfied by,
or termination occurs prior to, First Admission, or the Placing of
the Conditional Placing Shares will lapse if such conditions are
not satisfied by or termination occurs after First Admission but
prior to Second Admission and the Placees' rights and obligations
hereunder in relation to the Firm Placing Shares and/or the
Conditional Placing Shares (as the case may be) shall cease and
terminate at such time and each Placee agrees that no claim can be
made by it in respect thereof.
The Joint Bookrunners may, at their
discretion and upon such terms and conditions as they think fit,
waive satisfaction of certain of the Conditions (save that
Conditions (a), (b), (c), (h) and (k) cannot be waived) or extend
the time provided for their satisfaction. Any such waiver or
extension will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in this
Announcement.
None of the Joint Bookrunners nor
any of their respective Affiliates or their respective
Representatives shall have any liability or responsibility to any
Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee
or otherwise) in respect of any decision the Joint Bookrunners or
another person may make as to whether or not to waive or to extend
the time and/or date for the satisfaction of any Condition nor for
any decision the Joint Bookrunners may make as to the satisfaction
of any Condition or in respect of the Placing generally and by
participating in the Placing each Placee agrees that any such
decision is within the absolute discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners. Placees will have no rights against any Joint
Bookrunner, the Company or any of their respective Affiliates or
agents under the Placing Agreement pursuant to the Contracts
(Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (as amended) or
otherwise.
By participating in the Bookbuild,
each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations hereunder
terminate only in the circumstances described above and under
"Termination of the Placing Agreement" below, and will not be
capable of rescission or termination by the Placee.
Termination of the Placing Agreement
Either of the Joint Bookrunners, in
its absolute discretion acting in good faith, may prior to First
Admission terminate the Placing Agreement or at any time after
First Admission but before Second Admission terminate the Placing
Agreement in so far as it relates to the Conditional Placing, in
each case in accordance with its terms in the event that certain
circumstances, including, among other things:
(a)
any statement contained in any of the Placing
Documents or REX Retail Offer Documents has, in the opinion
of a Bookrunner (acting in good faith) become untrue, inaccurate or
misleading in any respect, or any matter has arisen which would, if
such document had been issued at that time, constitute an
omission from such document;
(b)
any of the First Admission Conditions or Second
Admission Conditions (as relevant) has become incapable of
satisfaction or has not been satisfied or waived before the latest
time provided the Placing Agreement;
(c)
there has been a breach by the Company of any of
its obligations under the Placing Agreement which, in the opinion
of a Bookrunner (acting in good faith), is material ;
(d)
in the opinion of a Bookrunner (acting in good
faith) there has been a breach or an alleged breach by the Company
of any of the warranties in the Placing Agreement;
(e)
upon the occurrence of certain force majeure
events; or
(f)
if either of the Company's applications for
Admission is withdrawn or refused by the London Stock Exchange or,
in the opinion of the Joint Bookrunners (acting in good faith),
will not be granted.
In certain circumstances, where one
Bookrunner terminates the Placing Agreement, the other Joint
Bookrunner may elect to allow the Placing to proceed and shall
assume all obligations of the terminating Joint Bookrunner which
remain to be performed. In such circumstances, the Placing
Agreement will only terminate insofar as it relates to that Joint
Bookrunner and the Placees' obligations in respect of the Placing
will not terminate.
If the Placing Agreement is
terminated by both Joint Bookrunners in accordance with its terms,
if such termination is prior to First Admission or in respect of
the Conditional Placing if such termination is after First
Admission but prior to Second Admission, the rights and obligations
of each Placee in respect of the Placing shall cease and terminate
at such time and no claim may be made by any Placee in respect
thereof.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees with the Company and each Joint Bookrunner that
the exercise or non-exercise by the Joint Bookrunners of any right
of termination or other right or other discretion under the Placing
Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the relevant
Joint Bookrunner or for agreement between the Company and the
relevant Joint Bookrunner (as the case may be) and that neither the
Company nor any Joint Bookrunner need make any reference to, or
consult with, Placees and that none of the Company, any Joint
Bookrunner nor any of their respective Affiliates or its or their
respective Representatives shall have any liability to Placees
whatsoever in connection with any such exercise or failure to so
exercise or otherwise.
The placing of the Firm Placing
Shares and First Admission is not conditional on the issue of the
Conditional Placing Shares or Second Admission. Consequently if,
following the issue of and admission to trading on AIM of the Firm
Placing Shares, the conditions relating to the issue of the
Conditional Placing Shares are not satisfied, or the Placing
Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms in so far as
it relates to the Conditional Placing, the Conditional Placing
Shares will not be issued and the Company will not receive the
related placing monies in respect of such Conditional Placing
Shares.
No
prospectus
No prospectus, offering memorandum,
offering document or admission document has been or will be
prepared or submitted to be approved by the FCA (or any other
authority) in relation to the Placing or Admission and no such
prospectus is required (in accordance with the UK Prospectus
Regulation or otherwise) to be published in the United
Kingdom.
Placees' commitments will be made
solely on the basis of the information contained in this
Announcement and any Exchange Information (as defined below) and
subject to the further terms set forth in the electronic contract
note and/or electronic trade confirmation to be provided to
individual Placees.
Each Placee, by accepting a
participation in the Placing, agrees that the content of this
Announcement and the Exchange Information previously and
simultaneously released by or on behalf of the Company is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and has not been
independently verified by any Joint Bookrunner. Each Placee, by
accepting a participation in the Placing, further confirms to the
Company and each Joint Bookrunner that it has neither received nor
relied on any other information, representation, warranty or
statement made by or on behalf of the Company (other than publicly
available information) or any Joint Bookrunner or their respective
Affiliates or any other person and none of the Company, the Joint
Bookrunners nor any of their respective Affiliates or its or their
respective Representatives nor any other person will be liable for
any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any
other information, representation, warranty or statement which the
Placees may have obtained or received (regardless of whether or not
such information, representation, warranty or statement was given
or made by or on behalf of any such persons). By participating in
the Placing, each Placee acknowledges and agrees that it has relied
on its own investigation of the business, financial or other
position of the Company in accepting a participation in the
Placing. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude or limit the
liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation by that
person.
Lock-up
The Company has undertaken to the
Bookrunners that, between the date of the Placing Agreement and the
date which is 180 calendar days after the date of First Admission,
it will not, without the prior written consent of the Joint
Bookrunners (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) enter into
certain transactions involving or relating to the Shares, subject
to certain customary carve-outs agreed between the Joint
Bookrunners and the Company.
By participating in the Placing,
Placees agree that the exercise by the Joint Bookrunners of any
power to grant consent to waive the aforementioned undertaking by
the Company shall be within the absolute discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners and that it need not make any reference to, or consult
with, Placees and that it shall have no liability to Placees
whatsoever in connection with any such exercise of the power to
grant (or not to grant) consent.
Registration and settlement
Settlement of transactions in the
Placing Shares (ISIN: GB00B18S7B29)
following each of First and Second Admission will take place within
the CREST system, subject to certain exceptions. The Company and
the Joint Bookrunners reserve the right to require settlement for,
and delivery of, the Placing Shares (or any part thereof) to
Placees by such other means that they deem necessary, including in
certificated form, if delivery or settlement is not possible or
practicable within the CREST system within the timetable set out in
this Announcement or would not be consistent with the regulatory
requirements in the Placee's jurisdiction.
Each Placee agrees that it will do
all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment is
completed in accordance with the standing CREST or certificated
settlement instructions that it has in place with the relevant
Joint Bookrunner or as otherwise as such Joint Bookrunner may
direct.
The Company will deliver the Placing
Shares to a CREST account operated by each Joint Bookrunner as
agent for and on behalf of the Company and each Joint Bookrunner
will enter its delivery (DEL) instruction into the CREST system.
Each Joint Bookrunner or its agent will hold any Placing Shares
delivered to this account as nominee for the Placees procured by
it. The input to CREST by a Placee of a matching or acceptance
instruction will then allow delivery of the relevant Placing Shares
to that Placee against payment.
It is expected that settlement of
the Firm Placing Shares will be on or around
13 June 2024 and on
a delivery versus payment basis in accordance with the instructions
given to each Joint Bookrunner.
It is expected that settlement of
the Conditional Placing Shares will be on or
around1 July 2024 and on a delivery versus payment basis in accordance with the
instructions given to each Joint Bookrunner.
Interest is chargeable daily on
payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance
with the arrangements set out above, in respect of either CREST or
certificated deliveries, at the rate of two percentage points above
SONIA as determined by the Joint Bookrunners.
Each Placee agrees that, if it does
not comply with these obligations, the relevant Placee shall be
deemed hereby to have irrevocably and unconditionally appointed the
Joint Bookrunners, or any nominee of the Joint Bookrunners as its
agents to (if the Joint Bookrunners so decide, acting at their sole
discretion) use their reasonable endeavours to sell any or all of
the Placing Shares allocated to that Placee on such Placee's behalf
and retain from the proceeds an amount equal to the aggregate
amount owed by the Placee plus any interest due thereon. The
relevant Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall
below the aggregate amount owed by it and shall be required to bear
any stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax or other stamp, securities,
transfer, registration, execution, documentary or other similar
impost, duty or tax (together with any interest, fines or
penalties) which may arise upon the sale of such Placing Shares on
such Placee's behalf. By communicating a bid for Placing Shares,
each Placee confers on the Joint Bookrunners all such authorities
and powers necessary to carry out any such transaction and agrees
to ratify and confirm all actions which the Joint Bookrunners
lawfully take on such Placee's behalf. Each Placee agrees that each
Joint Bookrunner's rights and benefits under this paragraph may be
assigned in that Joint Bookrunner's discretion.
If Placing Shares are to be
delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees should ensure
that, upon receipt, the electronic contract note and/or electronic
trade confirmation is copied and delivered immediately to the
relevant person within that organisation. Insofar as Placing Shares
are registered in a Placee's name or that of its nominee or in the
name of any person for whom a Placee is contracting as agent or
that of a nominee for such person, such Placing Shares should,
subject as provided below, be so registered free from any liability
to UK stamp duty or UK stamp duty reserve tax. If there are any
circumstances in which any other stamp duty or stamp duty reserve
tax (and/or any interest, fines or penalties relating thereto) is
payable in respect of the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery
of the Placing Shares (or, for the avoidance of doubt, if any stamp
duty or stamp duty reserve tax is payable in connection with any
subsequent transfer of or agreement to transfer Placing Shares), no
Joint Bookrunner nor the Company shall be responsible for the
payment thereof.
Representations, warranties, etc.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf)
irrevocably acknowledges, confirms, undertakes, represents,
warrants and agrees (for itself and for any person on behalf of
which it is acting) with each Joint Bookrunner (in its capacity as
bookrunner (in the case of the Joint Bookrunners only) and as
placing agent of the Company in respect of the Placing) and the
Company, in each case as a fundamental term of its application for
Placing Shares, that:
1.
it has read and understood this Announcement, including this
Appendix, in its entirety and that its participation in the
Bookbuild and the Placing and its subscription for Placing Shares
is subject to and based upon all the terms, conditions,
representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements,
agreements and undertakings and other information contained herein
and undertakes not to redistribute or duplicate this Announcement
and that it has not relied on, and will not rely on, any
information given or any representations, warranties or statements
made at any time by any person in connection with Admission, the
Bookbuild, the Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares or
otherwise;
2.
no offering document, prospectus, offering memorandum or admission
document has been or will be prepared in connection with the
Placing or is required under the EU Prospectus Regulation or the UK
Prospectus Regulation and it has not received and will not receive
a prospectus, offering memorandum, admission document or other
offering document in connection with the Bookbuild, the Placing,
Admission or the Placing Shares;
3.
(i) it has made its own assessment of the Company, the Placing
Shares and the terms of the Placing based on this Announcement
(including this Appendix) and any information publicly announced to
a Regulatory Information Service by or on behalf of the Company on
or prior to the date of this Announcement; (ii) the Shares are
admitted to trading on AIM and that the Company is therefore
required to publish certain business and financial information in
accordance with the UK Market Abuse Regulation and rules and
regulations of the London Stock Exchange (including the AIM Rules)
(collectively and together with the information referred to in (i)
above, the "Exchange
Information") which includes a description of the Company's business and
the Company's most recent balance sheet and profit and loss
account, and similar statements for preceding financial years, and
that it has reviewed such Exchange Information and that it is able
to obtain or access such information, or comparable information
concerning any other publicly traded company, in each case without
undue difficulty; and (iii) it has had access to such financial and
other information concerning the Company, the Placing and the
Placing Shares as it has deemed necessary in connection with its
own investment decision to subscribe for any of the Placing Shares
and has satisfied itself that the information is still current and
has relied on that investigation for the purposes of its decision
to participate in the Placing;
4.
it is bound by the terms of the Articles of Association of the
Company;
5.
none of the Joint Bookrunners nor the Company nor any of their
respective Affiliates or its or their respective Representatives
nor any person acting on behalf of any of them has provided, and
none of them will provide, it with any material or information
regarding the Placing Shares, the Bookbuild, the Placing or the
Company or any other person other than this Announcement, nor has
it requested any of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company, any of
their respective Affiliates or its or their respective
Representatives or any person acting on behalf of any of them to
provide it with any such material or information;
6.
unless otherwise specifically agreed with the Joint Bookrunners, it
and any person on behalf of which it is participating is not, and
at the time the Placing Shares are subscribed for, neither it nor
the beneficial owner of the Placing Shares will be, a resident of a
Restricted Jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction in which it is
unlawful to make or accept an offer to acquire the Placing
Shares;
7.
the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered or
otherwise qualified for offer and sale, nor will an offering
document, prospectus, offering memorandum or admission document be
cleared or approved in respect of any of the Placing Shares under
the securities legislation of the United States or any other
Restricted Jurisdiction and, subject to certain exceptions, may not
be offered, sold, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly
or indirectly, in or into those jurisdictions or in any country or
jurisdiction where any such action for that purpose is
required;
8.
the content of this Announcement has been prepared by and is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and that no Joint
Bookrunner nor any of its Affiliates or its or their respective
Representatives nor any person acting on behalf of any of them has
made any representations to it, express or implied, with respect to
the Company, the Bookbuild, the Placing and the Placing Shares or
the truth, accuracy, completeness or adequacy of this Announcement
or the Exchange Information, nor has or shall have any
responsibility or liability for any information, representation or
statement contained in this Announcement or any information
previously or simultaneously published by or on behalf of the
Company, including, without limitation, any Exchange Information,
and will not be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in
the Placing based on any information, representation or statement
contained in this Announcement or any information previously or
simultaneously published by or on behalf of the Company or
otherwise. Nothing in this paragraph or otherwise in this
Announcement excludes the liability of any person for fraudulent
misrepresentation made by that person;
9.
the only information on which it is entitled to rely and on which
such Placee has relied in committing itself to subscribe for the
Placing Shares is contained in this Announcement and any Exchange
Information, that it has received and reviewed all information that
it believes is necessary or appropriate to make an investment
decision in respect of the Placing Shares, and that it has neither
received nor relied on any other information given or
investigations, representations, warranties or statements made by
any Joint Bookrunner or the Company or any of their respective
Affiliates or its or their respective Representatives or any person
acting on behalf of any of them and no Joint Bookrunner nor the
Company nor any of their respective Affiliates or its or their
respective Representatives will be liable for any Placee's decision
to accept an invitation to participate in the Placing based on any
other information, representation, warranty or
statement;
10. it
has relied on its own investigation, examination and due diligence
of the business, financial or other position of the Company in
deciding to participate in the Placing;
11. it
has not relied on any information relating to the Company contained
in any research reports prepared by any Joint Bookrunner, any of
its Affiliates or any person acting on its or their behalf and
understands that: (i) no Joint Bookrunner nor any of its Affiliates
nor any person acting on its or their behalf has or shall have any
responsibility or liability for: (x) public information or any
representation; or (y) any additional information that has
otherwise been made available to such Placee, whether at the date
of publication, the date of this Announcement or otherwise; and
(ii) no Joint Bookrunner nor any of its Affiliates nor any person
acting on its or their behalf makes any representation or warranty,
express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of
such information, whether at the date of publication, the date of
this Announcement or otherwise;
12. (i)
the allocation, allotment, issue and delivery to it, or the person
specified by it for registration as holder of Placing Shares will
not give rise to a liability under any of sections 67, 70, 93 or 96
of the Finance Act 1986 (depositary receipts and clearance
services); (ii) it is not participating in the Placing as nominee
or agent for any person to whom the allocation, allotment, issue or
delivery of the Placing Shares would give rise to such a liability;
and (iii) the Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection
with arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to issue or
transfer Placing Shares into a clearance service;
13. that
no action has been or will be taken by the Company, any Joint
Bookrunner or any person acting on behalf of the Company or any
Joint Bookrunner that would, or is intended to, permit a public
offer of the Placing Shares in the United States or in any country
or jurisdiction where any action for that purpose is
required;
14. (i)
it (and any person acting on its behalf) is entitled to subscribe
for the Placing Shares under the laws of all relevant jurisdictions
which apply to it; (ii) it has paid or will pay any issue, transfer
or other taxes due in connection with its participation in any
territory; (iii) it has fully observed such laws and obtained all
such governmental and other guarantees, permits, authorisations,
approvals and consents which may be required thereunder and
complied with all necessary formalities; (iv) it has not taken any
action or omitted to take any action which will or may result in
any Joint Bookrunner, the Company or any of their respective
Affiliates or its or their respective Representatives acting in
breach of the legal or regulatory requirements of any jurisdiction
in connection with the Placing; and (v) the subscription for the
Placing Shares by it or any person acting on its behalf will be in
compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdiction
of its residence, the residence of the Company, or
otherwise;
15. it
(and any person acting on its behalf) has all necessary capacity
and has obtained all necessary consents and authorities to enable
it to commit to its participation in the Placing and to perform its
obligations in relation thereto (including, without limitation, in
the case of any person on whose behalf it is acting, all necessary
consents and authorities to agree to the terms set out or referred
to in this Announcement) and will honour such
obligations;
16. it
has complied with its obligations under the Criminal Justice Act
1993, the UK Market Abuse Regulation, any delegating acts,
implementing acts, technical standards and guidelines, and in
connection with money laundering and terrorist financing under the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000, the
Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, the Terrorism Act 2006,
the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds
(Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and the Money
Laundering Sourcebook of the FCA and any related or similar rules,
regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any
government agency having jurisdiction in respect thereof (together
the "Regulations") and, if
making payment on behalf of a third party, that satisfactory
evidence has been obtained and recorded by it to verify the
identity of the third party as required by the Regulations. If
within a reasonable time after a request for verification of
identity the relevant Joint Bookrunner has not received such
satisfactory evidence, such Joint Bookrunner may, in its absolute
discretion, terminate the Placee's Placing participation in which
event all funds delivered by the Placee to such Joint Bookrunner
will be returned (at the Placee's risk) without interest to the
account of the drawee bank or CREST account from which they were
originally debited;
17. it
is acting as principal only in respect of the Placing or, if it is
acting for any other person: (i) it is duly authorised to do so and
has full power to make, and does make, the acknowledgments,
undertakings, representations and agreements and give the
indemnities herein on behalf of each such person; and (ii) it is
and will remain liable to each Joint Bookrunner and the Company for
the performance of all its obligations as a Placee in respect of
the Placing (regardless of the fact that it is acting for another
person). Each Placee agrees that the provisions of this paragraph
shall survive the resale of the Placing Shares by or on behalf of
any person for whom it is acting;
18. it
is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it will (as principal or
agent) subscribe for, hold, manage and (if applicable) dispose of
any Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its
business only;
19. it
understands that any investment or investment activity to which
this Announcement relates is available only to Relevant Persons and
will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons, and further
understands that this Announcement must not be acted on or relied
on by persons who are not Relevant Persons;
20. if
it is in a member state of the EEA, it is a Qualified
Investor;
21. if
it is in the United Kingdom, it is a UK Qualified
Investor;
22. in
the case of any Placing Shares subscribed for by it as a financial
intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the EU
Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation (as
applicable): (i) the Placing Shares subscribed for by it in the
Placing will not be subscribed for on a non-discretionary basis on
behalf of, nor will they be subscribed for with a view to their
offer or resale to persons in a member state of the EEA other than
Qualified Investors, or persons in the United Kingdom other than UK
Qualified Investors or in circumstances in which the prior consent
of the Joint Bookrunners has been given to each such proposed offer
or resale; or (ii) where the Placing Shares have been subscribed
for by it on behalf of persons in any member state of the EEA other
than Qualified Investors, or in the United Kingdom other than UK
Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing Shares to it is not
treated under the EU Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus
Regulation (as applicable) as having been made to such
persons;
23. it
understands, and each account it represents has been advised that:
(i) the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered
under the Securities Act or under the applicable securities laws of
any state or other jurisdiction of the United States; and (ii) no
representation has been made as to the availability of any
exemption under the Securities Act or any relevant state or other
jurisdiction's securities laws for the reoffer, resale, pledge or
transfer of the Placing Shares;
24. the
Placing Shares are being offered and sold on behalf of the Company
outside the United States in offshore transactions (as defined in
Regulation S) pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities
Act;
25. it
and the prospective beneficial owner of the Placing Shares is, and
at the time the Placing Shares are subscribed for will be outside
the United States and subscribing for the Placing Shares in
an "offshore
transaction" as
defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S under the
Securities Act;
26. it
is acquiring the Placing Shares for investment purposes and is not
acquiring the Placing Shares with a view to, or for offer and sale
in connection with, any distribution thereof (within the meaning of
the Securities Act) that would be in violation of the securities
laws of the United States or any state thereof;
27. it
will not distribute, forward, transfer or otherwise transmit this
Announcement or any part of it, or any other presentation or other
materials concerning the Placing (including electronic copies
thereof), in or into any Restricted Jurisdiction to any person and
it has not distributed, forwarded, transferred or otherwise
transmitted any such materials to any person;
28.
where it is subscribing for the Placing Shares for one or more
managed accounts, it is authorised in writing by each managed
account to subscribe for the Placing Shares for each managed
account and it has full power to make, and does make, the
acknowledgements, confirmations, undertakings, representations,
warranties and agreements and to give, and does give, the
indemnities herein on behalf of each such account;
29. if
it is a pension fund or investment company, its subscription for
Placing Shares is in full compliance with applicable laws and
regulations;
30. it
has not offered or sold and, prior to the expiry of a period of six
months from the later of First Admission and Second Admission, will
not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in the United
Kingdom, except to persons whose ordinary activities involve them
acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of investments (as
principal or agent) for the purposes of its business or otherwise
in circumstances which have not resulted and which will not result
in an offer to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning
of section 85(1) of the FSMA;
31. any
offer of Placing Shares may only be directed at persons in member
states of the EEA who are Qualified Investors and that it has not
offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing Shares to
persons in the EEA prior to Admission except to Qualified Investors
or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted in and which
will not result in an offer to the public in any member state of
the EEA within the meaning of the EU Prospectus
Regulation;
32. it
has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only
communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or
inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of
section 21 of the FSMA) relating to the Placing Shares in
circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not require
approval of the communication by an authorised person;
33. it
has complied and will comply with all applicable laws (including,
in the United Kingdom, all relevant provisions of the FSMA and the
Financial Services Act 2012) with respect to anything done by it in
relation to the Placing Shares;
34. if
it has received any "inside information"
as defined in the UK Market Abuse Regulation about
the Company in advance of the Placing, it has not: (i) dealt in the
securities of the Company; (ii) encouraged or required another
person to deal in the securities of the Company; or (iii) disclosed
such information to any person except as permitted by the UK Market
Abuse Regulation, prior to the information being made publicly
available;
35. (i)
it (and any person acting on its behalf) has the funds available to
pay for the Placing Shares it has agreed to subscribe for and it
(and any person acting on its behalf) will make payment for the
Placing Shares allocated to it in accordance with this Announcement
on the due time and date set out herein against delivery of such
Placing Shares to it, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may
be placed with other persons or sold as the Joint Bookrunners (or
their assignee) may in its discretion determine and without
liability to such Placee. It will, however, remain liable for any
shortfall below the net proceeds of such sale and the placing
proceeds of such Placing Shares and may be required to bear any
stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest,
fines or penalties) due pursuant to the terms set out or referred
to in this Announcement which may arise upon the sale of such
Placee's Placing Shares on its behalf;
36. its
allocation (if any) of Placing Shares will represent a maximum
number of Placing Shares to which it will be entitled, and
required, to acquire, and that the Joint Bookrunners or the Company
may call upon it to acquire a lower number of Placing Shares (if
any), but in no event in aggregate more than the aforementioned
maximum;
37. none
of the Joint Bookrunners nor any of their respective Affiliates or
their respective Representatives nor any person acting on behalf of
any of them, is making any recommendations to it or advising it
regarding the suitability or merits of any transactions it may
enter into in connection with the Placing and participation in the
Placing is on the basis that it is not and will not be a client of
any Joint Bookrunner and no Joint Bookrunner has any duties or
responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to
its clients or customers or for providing advice in relation to the
Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties,
undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor
for the exercise or performance of any of any Joint Bookrunner's
rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or
vary any conditions or exercise any termination right;
38. the
exercise by the Joint Bookrunners of any right or discretion under
the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of
the Joint Bookrunners and the Joint Bookrunners need not have any
reference to any Placee and shall have no liability to any Placee
whatsoever in connection with any decision to exercise or not to
exercise any such right and each Placee agrees that it has no
rights against any Joint Bookrunner, the Company or any of their
respective Affiliates under the Placing Agreement pursuant to the
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (as amended) or
otherwise;
39. the
person whom it specifies for registration as holder of the Placing
Shares will be: (i) itself; or (ii) its nominee, as the case may
be. None of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company nor any of their
respective Affiliates will be responsible for any liability to
stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax or other similar duties or
taxes (together with any interest, fines or penalties) resulting
from a failure to observe this requirement. Each Placee and any
person acting on behalf of such Placee agrees to indemnify the
Company, each Joint Bookrunner and their respective Affiliates and
its and their respective Representatives in respect of the same on
an after-tax basis on the basis that the Placing Shares will be
allotted to the CREST stock account of the relevant Joint
Bookrunner who will hold them as nominee on behalf of such Placee
until settlement in accordance with its standing settlement
instructions;
40.
these terms and conditions and any agreements entered into by it
pursuant to these terms and conditions (including any
non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with
such agreements) shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of England and Wales and it submits (on behalf of
itself and on behalf of any person on whose behalf it is acting) to
the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts as regards any
claim, dispute or matter arising out of any such contract, except
that enforcement proceedings in respect of the obligation to make
payment for the Placing Shares (together with any interest
chargeable thereon) may be taken by any Joint Bookrunner or the
Company in any jurisdiction in which the relevant Placee is
incorporated or in which any of its securities have a quotation on
a recognised stock exchange;
41. each
of the Company, each Joint Bookrunner and their respective
Affiliates, its and their respective Representatives and others
will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the representations,
warranties, agreements, undertakings and acknowledgements set forth
herein and which are given to each Joint Bookrunner on its own
behalf and on behalf of the Company and are irrevocable and it
irrevocably authorises each Joint Bookrunner and the Company to
produce this Announcement, pursuant to, in connection with, or as
may be required by any applicable law or regulation, administrative
or legal proceeding or official inquiry with respect to the matters
set forth herein;
42. it
will indemnify on an after-tax-basis and hold the Company, each
Joint Bookrunner and their respective Affiliates and its and their
respective Representatives and any person acting on behalf of any
of them harmless from any and all costs, claims, liabilities and
expenses (including legal fees and expenses) arising out of,
directly or indirectly, or in connection with any breach by it of
the representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements and
undertakings in this Appendix and further agrees that the
provisions of this Appendix shall survive after completion of the
Placing;
43. it
irrevocably appoints any director or authorised signatory of any
Joint Bookrunner as its agent for the purposes of executing and
delivering to the Company and/or its registrars any documents on
its behalf necessary to enable it to be registered as the holder of
any of the Placing Shares agreed to be taken up by it under the
Placing;
44. its
commitment to acquire Placing Shares on the terms set out herein
and in any contract note will continue notwithstanding any
amendment that may in future be made to the terms and conditions of
the Placing and that Placees will have no right to be consulted or
require that their consent be obtained with respect to the
Company's or the Joint Bookrunners' conduct of the
Placing;
45. in
making any decision to subscribe for the Placing Shares: (i) it has
sufficient knowledge, sophistication and experience in financial,
business and international investment matters as is required to
evaluate the merits and risks of subscribing for the Placing
Shares; (ii) it is experienced in investing in securities of a
similar nature to the Shares and in the sector in which the Company
operates and is aware that it may be required to bear, and is able
to bear, the economic risk of participating in, and is able to
sustain a complete loss in connection with, the Placing and has no
need for liquidity with respect to its investment in the Placing
Shares; (iii) it has relied solely on its own investigation,
examination, due diligence and analysis of the Company and its
Affiliates taken as a whole, including the markets in which the
Group operates, and the terms of the Placing, including the merits
and risks involved, and not upon any view expressed or information
provided by or on behalf of any Joint Bookrunner; (iv) it has had
sufficient time and access to information to consider and conduct
its own investigation with respect to the offer and purchase of the
Placing Shares, including the legal, regulatory, tax, business,
currency and other economic and financial considerations relevant
to such investment and has so conducted its own investigation to
the extent it deems necessary to enable it to make an informed and
intelligent decision with respect to making an investment in the
Placing Shares; (v) it is aware and understands that an investment
in the Placing Share involves a considerable degree of risk; and
(vi) it will not look to any Joint Bookrunner, any of its
Affiliates or its or their respective Representatives or any person
acting behalf of any of them for all or part of any such loss or
losses it or they may suffer;
46.
neither the Company nor any Joint Bookrunner owes any fiduciary or
other duties to it or any Placee in respect of any representations,
warranties, undertakings or indemnities in the Placing Agreement or
these terms and conditions;
47. in
connection with the Placing, each Joint Bookrunner and any of its
Affiliates acting as an investor for its own account may take up
shares in the Company and in that capacity may retain, purchase or
sell for its own account such shares in the Company and any
securities of the Company or related investments and may offer or
sell such securities or other investments otherwise than in
connection with the Placing. Accordingly, references in this
Announcement to Placing Shares being issued, offered or placed
should be read as including any issue, offering or placement of
such shares in the Company to any Joint Bookrunner or any of its
Affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, any Joint
Bookrunner or any of its Affiliates may enter into financing
arrangements and swaps with investors in connection with which such
Joint Bookrunner or any of its Affiliates may from time to time
acquire, hold or dispose of such securities of the Company,
including the Placing Shares. None of the Joint Bookrunners nor any
of their respective Affiliates intends to disclose the extent of
any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance
with any legal or regulatory obligation to do so; and
48. a
communication that the Placing or the book is "covered" (i.e.
indicated demand from investors in the book equals or exceeds the
amount of the securities being offered) is not any indication or
assurance that the book will remain covered or that the Placing and
securities will be fully distributed by the Joint Bookrunners. Each
Joint Bookrunner reserves the right to take up a portion of the
securities in the Placing as a principal position at any stage at
its sole discretion, among other things, to take account of the
Company's objectives, UK MiFID II requirements and/or its
allocation policies.
The foregoing acknowledgements,
confirmations, undertakings, representations, warranties and
agreements are given for the benefit of each of the Company and
each Joint Bookrunner (for their own benefit and, where relevant,
the benefit of their respective Affiliates and/or Representatives
(as applicable) and any person acting on their behalf) and are
irrevocable.
Miscellaneous
The agreement to allot and issue
Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are
contracting as nominee or agent) free of UK stamp duty and UK stamp
duty reserve tax relates only to their allotment and issue to
Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents, direct
from the Company for the Placing Shares in question. Neither the
Company nor any Joint Bookrunner will be responsible for any UK
stamp duty or UK stamp duty reserve tax (including any interest,
fines and penalties relating thereto) arising in relation to the
Placing Shares in any other circumstances.
Such agreement is subject to the
representations, warranties and further terms above and also
assumes, and is based on a warranty from each Placee, that the
Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with
arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to issue or transfer
the Placing Shares into a clearance service. Neither the Company
nor any Joint Bookrunner is liable to bear any stamp duty or stamp
duty reserve tax or any other similar duties or taxes (including,
without limitation, other stamp, issue, securities, transfer,
registration, capital, or documentary duties or taxes) ("transfer
taxes") that arise: (i) if there are any such arrangements (or if
any such arrangements arise subsequent to the acquisition by
Placees of Placing Shares); or (ii) on a sale of Placing Shares; or
(iii) otherwise than under the laws of the United Kingdom. Each
Placee to whom (or on behalf of whom, or in respect of the person
for whom it is participating in the Placing as an agent or nominee)
the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares has
given rise to such transfer taxes undertakes to pay such transfer
taxes forthwith, and agrees to indemnify on an after-tax basis and
hold each Joint Bookrunner and/or the Company and their
respective Affiliates (as the case may be) harmless from any such
transfer taxes, and all interest, fines or penalties in relation to
such transfer taxes. Each Placee should, therefore, take its own
advice as to whether any such transfer tax liability
arises.
In this Announcement,
"after-tax
basis" means
in relation to any payment made to the Company, each Joint
Bookrunner or their respective Affiliates or its or their
respective Representatives pursuant to this Announcement where the
payment (or any part thereof) is chargeable to any tax, a basis
such that the amount so payable shall be increased so as to ensure
that after taking into account any tax chargeable (or which would
be chargeable but for the availability of any relief unrelated to
the loss, damage, cost, charge, expense or liability against which
the indemnity is given on such amount (including on the increased
amount)) there shall remain a sum equal to the amount that would
otherwise have been so payable.
Each Placee, and any person acting
on behalf of each Placee, acknowledges and agrees that each Joint
Bookrunner and/or any of its Affiliates may, at their absolute
discretion, agree to become a Placee in respect of some or all of
the Placing Shares. Each Placee acknowledges and is aware that each
Joint Bookrunner is receiving a fee and a commission in connection
with its role in respect of the Placing as detailed in the Placing
Agreement.
When a Placee or person acting on
behalf of the Placee is dealing with any of the Joint Bookrunners
any money held in an account with such Joint Bookrunner on behalf
of the Placee and/or any person acting on behalf of the Placee will
not be treated as client money within the meaning of the rules and
regulations of the FCA made under the FSMA. The Placee acknowledges
that the money will not be subject to the protections conferred by
the client money rules; as a consequence, this money will not be
segregated from the relevant Joint Bookrunner's money in accordance
with the client money rules and will be used by the relevant Joint
Bookrunner in the course of its own business; and the Placee will
rank only as a general creditor of that Joint
Bookrunner.
Time is of the essence as regards
each Placee's obligations under this Appendix.
Any document that is to be sent to
it in connection with the Placing will be sent at its risk and may
be sent to it at any address provided by it to any Joint
Bookrunner.
The rights and remedies of each
Joint Bookrunner, its agent and the Company under the terms and
conditions set out in this Appendix are in addition to any rights
and remedies which would otherwise be available to each of them and
the exercise or partial exercise of one will not prevent the
exercise of others.
Each Placee may be asked to
disclose, in writing or orally to each Joint Bookrunner: (i) if
they are an individual, their nationality; or (ii) if they are a
discretionary fund manager, the jurisdiction in which the funds are
managed or owned.
The price of shares and any income
expected from them may go down as well as up and investors may not
get back the full amount invested upon disposal of the shares. Past
performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing
advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
All times and dates in this
Announcement may be subject to amendment. The Joint Bookrunners
shall notify the Placees and any person acting on behalf of the
Placees of any changes.
APPENDIX II - DEFINITIONS
The following definitions apply
throughout this Announcement unless the context otherwise
requires:
"Act"
|
means the Companies Act 2006 (as
amended)
|
"Admission"
|
means First Admission and Second
Admission
|
"Affiliate"
|
has the meaning given in Rule 501(b)
of Regulation D under the Securities Act or Rule 405 under the
Securities Act, as applicable and, in the case of the Company,
includes its subsidiary undertakings
|
"AIM"
|
means the
market of that name operated by the London Stock
Exchange
|
"AIM Rules"
|
means the AIM Rules for Companies published by the London Stock Exchange
from time to time
|
"AIM Rules for Companies"
|
means the
rules of AIM as set out in the publication entitled "AIM Rules for
Companies" published by the London Stock Exchange from time to
time
|
"AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers"
|
means the rules of AIM as set out in
the publication entitled "AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers"
published by the London Stock Exchange from time to time
|
"Announcement"
|
means this
announcement including its Appendices
|
"Bookbuild"
|
means the
bookbuilding process to be commenced by the Joint Bookrunners
immediately following release of this Announcement to use its
reasonable endeavours to procure Placees for the Placing Shares, as
described in this Announcement and subject to the terms and
conditions set out in this Announcement and the Placing
Agreement
|
"certificated" or "in certificated form"
|
means an Ordinary Share or other
security recorded on a company's share register as being held in
certificated form (that is not in CREST)
|
"Circular"
|
means the circular to be posted to
Shareholders shortly in relation to the Proposed Fundraising and
incorporating the Notice of General Meeting
|
"Closing Date"
|
means the
day on which the transactions effected in connection with the
Placing will be settled
|
"Company" or "AFC Energy"
|
means AFC
Energy plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales under the
Companies Act 1985 with registered number 05668788
|
"Conditional Placees"
|
means the investors procured by the
Joint Bookrunners to subscribe for Conditional Placing
Shares
|
"Conditional Placing"
|
means the placing of the Conditional
Placing Shares at the Issue Price with the Conditional Placees
pursuant to the terms set out in the Placing Agreement and in
accordance with the placing terms set out in Appendix I
|
"Conditional Placing
Shares"
|
means the New Ordinary Shares
expected to be issued and allotted to Conditional
Placees, subject to the passing of the
Fundraising Resolutions at the General Meeting, pursuant to the Conditional Placing;
|
"Conditions"
|
has the meaning given to it in
Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"CREST"
|
means the relevant system (as
defined in the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI 2001
No. 3755) (as amended)) for the paperless settlement of share
transfers and the holding of uncertificated shares operated by
Euroclear
|
"CREST Regulations"
|
means the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3755) as amended
|
"Directors"
|
means the current directors of the
Company
|
"EEA"
|
means the European Economic
Area
|
"EU"
|
means the European Union
|
"EU
Prospectus Regulation"
|
means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as
amended)
|
"Euroclear"
|
means Euroclear UK &
International Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of
England and Wales
|
"EUWA"
|
means the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended)
|
"Exchange Information"
|
has the meaning given to it in
Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"Existing Ordinary Shares"
|
means the Ordinary Shares in issue
immediately prior to the Proposed Fundraising, all of which are
admitted to trading on AIM
|
"FCA"
|
means the Financial Conduct
Authority of the UK
|
"Firm Placees"
|
means the investors procured by the
Joint Bookrunners to subscribe for Firm Placing Shares
|
"Firm Placing"
|
means the placing of the Firm
Placing Shares at the Issue Price with the Firm Placees pursuant to
the terms set out in the Placing Agreement and in accordance with
the placing terms set out in Appendix I
|
"Firm
Placing
Shares"
|
means the New Ordinary Shares to be
issued and allotted to Firm Placees pursuant to the Firm
Placing
|
"First Admission"
|
means admission of the Firm Placing
Shares and Subscription Shares to trading on AIM becoming effective
in accordance with Rule 6 of the AIM Rules
|
"Form of Proxy"
|
means the form of proxy for use by
Shareholders in relation to the General Meeting, either online or a
hard copy requested from Neville Registrars
|
"FSMA"
|
means the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 (as amended)
|
"Fundraising" or "Proposed Fundraising"
|
means, together, the Placing, the
Subscription and the REX Retail Offer
|
"Fundraising Resolutions"
|
means the resolutions to be put to
shareholders at the General Meeting and set out in the notice to
the General Meeting, required to authorise the allotment and issue
of the Conditional Placing Shares and the REX Retail Offer Shares
and to disapply pre-emption rights in respect of those
shares
|
"General Meeting"
|
means the general meeting of the
Company convened for 11.00 a.m. on 28 June 2024 (or any adjournment
thereof) at which the Resolutions will be proposed,
|
"Group"
|
means the Company and each of its
subsidiary undertakings
|
"Intermediaries"
|
means any intermediary financial
institution that is appointed by the Company in connection with the
REX Retail Offer pursuant to an Intermediary Agreements and
"Intermediary" shall mean
any one of them
|
"Intermediary Agreements"
|
means (a) the Master Intermediary
Agreements and (b) the agreement(s) (if any) between an
Intermediary, the Company and Peel Hunt relating to the REX Retail
Offer, setting out the terms and conditions of the REX Retail
Offer, and (c) the form of subscription by the relevant
Intermediary under the REX Retail Offer
|
"ISIN"
|
means the
International Securities Identification Number
|
"Issue Price"
|
means 15 pence per New Ordinary
Share
|
"Joint Bookrunners"
|
means, together Peel Hunt and
Zeus
|
"London Stock Exchange"
|
means London Stock Exchange
plc
|
"Master Intermediary
Agreements"
|
means the master intermediary
agreements between Peel Hunt and certain Intermediaries
|
"Material Adverse Change"
|
has the meaning given to such term
in the Placing Agreement
|
"New Ordinary Shares"
|
means the Placing Shares, the
Subscription Shares and the REX Retail Offer Shares
|
"Notice of General Meeting"
|
means the notice of the General
Meeting which will be set out in the Circular
|
"Order"
|
means the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as
amended)
|
"Ordinary Shares"
|
means ordinary shares of 0.1 pence
each in the capital of the Company
|
"Overseas
Shareholders"
|
means Shareholders with registered
addresses outside the UK or who are citizens of, incorporated in,
registered in or otherwise resident in, countries outside the
UK
|
"Peel Hunt"
|
means Peel Hunt LLP, nominated
adviser to the Company and joint bookrunner to the Company in
respect of the Placing
|
"Placee"
|
means any person (including
individuals, funds or otherwise) by whom or on whose behalf a
commitment to acquire Placing Shares is given
|
"Placing"
|
means together, the Firm Placing and
the Conditional Placing by the Joint Bookrunners on behalf of the
Company at the Issue Price pursuant to the terms of the Placing
Agreement
|
"Placing Agreement"
|
means the agreement dated
10 June 2024 between the
Company and the Joint Bookrunners relating to the
Placing
|
"Placing Results
Announcement"
|
has the meaning given to it in
Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"Placing Shares"
|
means, together the Firm Placing
Shares and the Conditional Placing Shares
|
"Placing Terms"
|
has the meaning given to it in
Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"Qualified Investors"
|
mean persons who are qualified
investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the EU Prospectus
Regulation
|
"Qualifying Shareholders"
|
means the shareholders at the Record
Date other than Overseas Shareholders
|
"Record Date"
|
6:00 p.m. on 10
June 2024
|
"Regulation S"
|
means Regulation S promulgated under
the Securities Act
|
"Regulatory Information Service" or
"RIS"
|
means any of the services set out in
the AIM Rules
|
"Relevant Persons"
|
means: (i) Qualified Investors; (ii)
UK Qualified Investors; or (iii) persons to whom this Announcement
may otherwise be lawfully communicated
|
"Representative"
|
has the meaning given to it in
Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"Restricted Jurisdictions"
|
means each and any of the United
States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia and the Republic of South
Africa
|
"REX Retail Offer"
|
means the
conditional offer of the REX Retail Offer Shares to be made to
existing retail investors by the Company through intermediaries
using the REX platform and on the basis of the terms and conditions
to be set out in the REX Retail Offer Announcement and Intermediary
Agreements
|
"REX Retail Offer
Announcement"
|
means the announcement expected to
be released immediately after this Announcement giving details,
among other things, of the REX Retail Offer
|
"REX Retail Offer Documents"
|
means the engagement letter entered
into by the Company and Peel Hunt relating to the REX Retail Offer
and the Intermediary Agreements
|
"REX Retail Offer Shares"
|
means the
New Ordinary Shares to be made available under the REX Retail
Offer
|
"Second Admission"
|
means admission of the Conditional
Placing Shares and the REX Retail Offer Shares to trading on AIM
becoming effective in accordance with Rule 6 of the AIM
Rules
|
"Securities Act"
|
means the U.S. Securities Act of
1933 (as amended)
|
"Shareholder"
|
means the
holders of Ordinary Shares at the relevant time (as the context
requires)
|
"Subscription"
|
means the subscription by certain
Directors of the Company for the Subscription Shares
|
"Subscription Letters"
|
means the subscription letters
entered by those persons subscribing for New Ordinary Shares in the
Subscription
|
"Subscription Shares"
|
means 666,666 New Ordinary Shares
proposed to be issued pursuant to the Subscription
|
"subsidiaries" or "subsidiary undertakings"
|
each have the meaning given to that
term in the Act
|
"UK
Market Abuse Regulation" or "UK MAR"
|
means Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA
|
"UK
MiFID II"
|
means EU Directive 2014/65/EU as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA
|
"UK
Prospectus Regulation"
|
means the EU Prospectus Regulation
as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the
EUWA
|
"UK
Qualified Investors"
|
mean persons who are qualified
investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus
Regulation and who are: (i) persons who fall within the definition
of "investment professional" in Article 19(5) of the Order; or (ii)
persons who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("High net worth
companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the
Order
|
"uncertificated" or "in uncertificated form"
|
means in respect of a share or other
security, where that share or other security is recorded on the
relevant register of the share or security concerned as being held
in uncertificated form in CREST and title to which may be
transferred by means of CREST
|
"United Kingdom" or "UK"
|
means the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland
|
"United States" or "US"
|
means the United States of America,
its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of
America, the District of Columbia and all other areas subject to
its jurisdiction and any political sub-division thereof
|
"US
Investor Letter"
|
means the letter in the form
provided by the Joint Bookrunners
|
"Zeus"
|
means Zeus Capital Limited, joint
bookrunner to the Company in respect of the Placing
|
Unless otherwise indicated in this
Announcement, all references to "£", "GBP", "pounds", "pound sterling", "sterling", "p", "penny" or "pence" are to the lawful currency of
the United Kingdom.