28
June 2024
NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY,
IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA,
JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN
WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE
SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION,
INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, JAPAN
OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (THE "ANNOUNCEMENT") CONTAINS INSIDE
INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE
REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UNITED KINGDOM
DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018.
UPON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS
NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Zeus Capital
Limited
("Zeus")
Result of oversubscribed
placing of ordinary shares in Gulf Marine Services plc ("GMS" or
the "Company") by a selling shareholder
On 27 June 2024, Zeus announced that
it had been given an order by Seafox International Limited
("Seafox" or "Selling Shareholder"), a 28.5 per cent.
shareholder in GMS to sell approximately $10 million of ordinary
shares of 2 pence each in GMS ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing Shares") at a minimum of 17
pence per Ordinary Share (the "Placing").
Zeus announces that the Selling
Shareholder has sold in total 51,136,347 Ordinary Shares (the
"Placing Shares"),
representing 4.8 per cent. of the issued share capital of GMS, and
equating to c.$11 million. The Placing Shares were placed at a
price of 17 pence per Placing Share and were sold to investors in a
Placing managed by Zeus Capital Limited ("Zeus") who acted as sole bookrunner
(the "Bookrunner") in
connection with the Placing.
The trade date of the Placing is 28
June 2024 (the "Trade Date") and settlement of the Placing is
expected to take place on 2 July 2024.
Following the Placing, Seafox will
hold 253,686,385 Ordinary Shares equivalent to 23.7 per cent. of
GMS's issued share capital. Seafox has undertaken to Zeus that it
will not, for a period of 75 days from 30 June 2024, dispose of any
further Ordinary Shares, save in the scenarios where (i) GMS
undertakes a share buyback or (ii) an independent third party
announces a possible offer for GMS. In addition, Seafox has
undertaken that for the period after 75 days and before 30
September 2024 it will only sell in response to institutional
demand communicated to it through Zeus, subject to the same carve
outs included above.
ENDS
For further information, please
contact:
Zeus (Bookrunner to Seafox)
|
020 3829
5633
|
Ben Robertson (Corporate
Broking)
Rupert Woolfenden and Nick Searle
(Sales)
Louisa Waddell (Investment Banking)
|
|
Important Information
MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE
TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (THE "ANNOUNCEMENT")
AND ANY OFFER OF SECURITIES TO WHICH IT RELATES ARE ONLY ADDRESSED
TO AND DIRECTED AT (1) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ANY MEMBER STATE OF
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA, PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS
WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(e) OF EU REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129
AND ANY RELEVANT IMPLEMENTING MEASURES (THE "PROSPECTUS
REGULATION"); AND (2) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, PERSONS WHO (I) HAVE
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS WHO FALL
WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000
(FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005 (AS AMENDED) (THE "ORDER"); OR
(II) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) OF THE ORDER OR (III) ARE
PERSONS TO WHOM AN OFFER OF THE PLACING SHARES MAY OTHERWISE
LAWFULLY BE MADE (ALL SUCH PERSONS REFERRED TO IN (1) AND (2)
TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS"). THE INFORMATION
REGARDING THE PLACING SET OUT IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST NOT BE
ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. 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 and the
information contained herein is for information purposes only and
does not constitute or form part of any offer or an invitation to
acquire or dispose of securities in the United States, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Japan or in any
jurisdiction in which such an offer or invitation is
unlawful.
The Placing Shares 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, absent
registration, may not be offered or sold in the United States (as
defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) except pursuant
to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the
registration requirements of the Securities Act and the securities
laws of any relevant State or other jurisdiction of the United
States. There will be no public offering of the Placing Shares in
the United States or elsewhere.
The Placing Shares have not been
approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, any state securities commission or 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.
No prospectus, admission document or
offering document has been or will be prepared in connection with
the Placing. Any investment decision to buy securities in the
Placing must be made solely on the basis of publicly available
information. Such information is not the responsibility of and has
not been independently verified by the Selling Shareholder, Zeus or
any of their respective affiliates.
Neither this Announcement nor any
copy of it may be taken, transmitted or distributed, directly or
indirectly, in or into or from the United States (including its
territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the
District of Columbia), Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic
of South Africa or Japan. Any failure to comply with this
restriction may constitute a violation of US, Australian, New
Zealand, Canadian, South African or Japanese securities
laws.
The distribution of this
Announcement and the offering or sale of the Placing Shares in
certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been
taken by the Selling Shareholder, Zeus or any of their respective
affiliates that would, or which is intended to, permit a public
offer of the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction, or possession or
distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or
publicity material relating to the Placing Shares, in any
jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons
into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the
Selling Shareholder or Zeus to inform themselves about, and to
observe, any applicable restrictions.
No reliance may be placed, for any
purposes whatsoever, on the information contained in this
Announcement or on its completeness and this Announcement should
not be considered a recommendation by the Selling Shareholders,
Zeus or any of their respective affiliates in relation to any
purchase of, or subscription for, securities of the Company. No
representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on
behalf of the Selling Shareholder, Zeus or any of their respective
directors, partners, officers, employees, advisers or any other
persons as to the accuracy, fairness or sufficiency of the
information or opinions contained in this Announcement and none of
the information contained in this Announcement has been
independently verified. Save in the case of fraud, no
liability is accepted for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in
such information or opinions.
Zeus Capital Limited is authorised
and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct
Authority and is acting exclusively for the Selling Shareholder and
no one else, in connection with the Placing and will not regard any
other person as a client in relation to the Placing and will not be
responsible to any other person for providing the protections
afforded to its clients nor for giving advice in relation to the
Placing.
The Bookrunner, nor any of their
respective directors, unlimited partners, officers, employees,
advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability
whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or
implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the
information in this Announcement (or whether any information has
been omitted from the Announcement) or any other information,
including past announcements, relating to the Company or its
subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a
visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made
available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this
Announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection
therewith.
No representation is made in
connection with the Placing by the Selling Shareholder or Zeus,
except as required by law or regulation.
Certain statements in this
Announcement are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking
statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks,
uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome
and financial consequences of the plans and events described
herein. No one undertakes any obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place
any undue reliance on forward-looking statements which speak only
as of the date of this Announcement. Statements contained in this
Announcement regarding past trends or events should not be taken as
representation that such trends or events will continue in the
future.
References to time in this
Announcement are to London time, unless otherwise stated. All times
and dates in this Announcement may be subject to
amendment.
INFORMATION TO DISTRIBUTORS
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 respectively defined in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of 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: the price of the
Ordinary Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of
their investment; the Ordinary Shares offer no guaranteed income
and no capital protection; and an investment in the Ordinary 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, the Bookrunner
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 (including each
Intermediary) is responsible for undertaking its own target market
assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining
appropriate distribution channels.
EU Product Governance
Requirements
Solely for the purposes of the
product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive
2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID
II"); (b) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU)
2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing
measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance
Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether
arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer"
(for the purposes of the MiFID II 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 MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all
distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "EU Target
Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the EU Target Market
Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the
Ordinary Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of
their investment; the Ordinary Shares offer no guaranteed income
and no capital protection; and an investment in the Ordinary 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 EU 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 EU Target Market Assessment, the Joint
Bookrunners will only procure investors who meet the criteria of
professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the EU
Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of
suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; 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 any Placing Shares. Each distributor (including each
Intermediary) is responsible for undertaking its own target market
assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining
appropriate distribution channels.