Results of Placing

RNS Number : 4331I

Auto Trader Group plc

01 April 2020

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN ARE NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

1 April 2020

AUTO TRADER GROUP PLC

RESULTS OF PLACING

Auto Trader Group plc ("Auto Trader" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), announces the successful completion of the placing of ordinary shares announced earlier today (the "Placing").

The Placing will raise gross proceeds of approximately £186 million for the Company. A total of 46,468,300 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "Placing Shares") have been placed by BofA Securities, the sole bookrunner, at a price of 400.0 pence per Placing Share (the "Placing Price"), a discount of 8.9 per cent to the closing share price of 439.1 pence on 31 March 2020 and a premium of 0.9 per cent to the middle market price at the time at which the Company and BofA Securities (as sole bookrunner) agreed the Placing Price. The Placing Shares being issued represent approximately 5% of the current issued ordinary share capital of Auto Trader.

The Placing Shares, when issued, will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares in the Company, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of issue.

Applications have been made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") and to be admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc (together, "Admission"). Settlement for the Placing Shares and Admission is expected to take place on or before 8.00 a.m. on 3 April 2020. The Placing is conditional, among other things, upon Admission becoming effective and the placing agreement between the Company and BofA Securities (as sole bookrunner) not being terminated in accordance with its terms.

Following Admission, the total number of shares in issue in the Company will be 969,008,774. Auto Trader currently holds 4,090,996 shares in treasury, and, therefore, following Admission, the total number of voting shares in Auto Trader in issue will be 964,917,778.

Funds and accounts under management by direct and indirect investment management subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock") together constitute a related party for the purposes of Chapter 11 of the Listing Rules of the FCA (the "Listing Rules"). BlackRock has committed to subscribe for 4,330,492 Placing Shares for a total consideration of £17.3 million. This transaction constitutes a smaller related party transaction under Listing Rule 11.1.10R. BofA Securities, in accordance with Listing Rule 11.1.10R 2(b), has confirmed to the Company that the terms of the proposed participation by BlackRock in the Placing are fair and reasonable as far as the shareholders of the Company are concerned. BlackRock is expected to hold a total of 144,737,018 ordinary shares at Admission, representing 14.9% of the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital at Admission (assuming a total of 46,468,300 Placing Shares are issued pursuant to the Placing).

BofA Securities is acting as sole bookrunner and corporate broker in connection with the Placing.

The person responsible for arranging release of this Announcement on behalf of Auto Trader is Claire Baty.

For further information on the Announcement, please contact

Auto Trader Group plc:    [phone]

Nathan Coe, Chief Executive 
Jamie Warner, Chief Financial Officer   

BofA Securities:    [phone]

Peter Luck

Richard Abel

Daniel Burton-Morgan

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This Announcement is being 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 Merrill Lynch International ("BofA Securities") or any of its affiliates or agents (or any of its respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) for the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this Announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the Announcement), or any other written, oral, visual or electronic information made available to or publicly available (howsoever transmitted) to any interested party or its advisers, or any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of BofA Securities or any of its affiliates in connection with the Company, the Placing Shares or the Placing and any responsibility therefor is expressly disclaimed. BofA Securities and its respective affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) in respect of the use of this Announcement, or any statements or other information contained (or omitted) in this Announcement or otherwise arising in connection therewith and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by BofA Securities or any of its affiliates as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this Announcement.

No action has been taken by the Company or BofA Securities, 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 result in the 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. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes shall inform themselves about, and observe, such restrictions.

No prospectus will be made available in connection with the matters contained in this Announcement and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation) to be published. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF ANY OFFER OR INVITATION TO UNDERWRITE, BUY, SUBSCRIBE, SELL OR ISSUE OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, SELL, ACQUIRE, DISPOSE OR SUBSCRIBE FOR THE PLACING SHARES OR ANY OTHER SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, COLLECTIVELY THE "UNITED STATES"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH, OR TO ANY PERSONS TO WHOM, SUCH OFFERING, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION TO PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES OR AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA, AND SHOULD NOT BE DISTRIBUTED, FORWARDED TO OR TRANSMITTED IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION, WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF LOCAL SECURITIES LAWS OR REGULATIONS.

The Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. 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 or sold within the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. There will be no public offering of the Placing Shares in the United States.

The relevant clearances have not been, and 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 the Republic of South Africa in relation to the Placing Shares and the Placing Shares have not been; and the Placing Shares have not been, and nor will they be, registered under or offered in compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or territory of Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa. Accordingly, the Placing 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 Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom or to, or for the account or benefit of any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Japan or South Africa or to any investor located or resident in Canada.

BofA Securities is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. BofA Securities is acting as sole bookrunner and corporate broker for the Company in connection with the Placing, will not regard any other person as a client in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients nor for providing advice to any other person in relation to the Placing and/or any other matter referred to in this Announcement.   Neither BofA Securities, nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates, nor any of its directors, officers or employees owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of BofA Securities in connection with the Placing, this Announcement, any statement contained herein, or otherwise.

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 Placing Shares. Any investment decision to buy Placing Shares in the Placing must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information, which has not been independently verified by BofA Securities.

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements".  These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions.  Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results.  Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group's business, results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth or strategies.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Each of the Company and BofA Securities and their respective affiliates expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

In connection with the Placing, BofA Securities and any of its affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the shares in the Placing as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for their own accounts such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares being issued, offered, subscribed, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or subscription, acquisition, placing or dealing by, BofA Securities and any of its affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, BofA Securities and any of its affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps, warrants or contracts for differences) with investors in connection with which BofA Securities and any of its affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares. BofA Securities does not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

The most recent Annual and Interim Reports of the Group and other information about the Group are available on the Company website at https:// plc.autotrader.co.uk/investors . Neither the contents of the Company's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this Announcement.

This Announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning the Placing.

Information to Distributors

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 "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, Distributors should note that: the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and 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, BofA Securities 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 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 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.

 

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