Competition Commission Final Clearance

RNS Number : 8600I

Barr(A.G.) PLC

09 July 2013

 



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE AN OFFER UNDER RULE 2.7 OF THE CITY CODE ON TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS (THE "CODE") AND THERE CAN BE NO CERTAINTY THAT AN OFFER WILL BE MADE, NOR AS TO THE TERMS ON WHICH ANY OFFER WILL BE MADE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                             9 July 2013

A.G. BARR p.l.c.

Competition Commission Final Clearance

For A.G. BARR / Britvic Merger

A.G. BARR p.l.c. ("A.G. Barr"), the soft drinks group, welcomes today's publication by the Competition Commission of its final decision to clear the merger of A.G. BARR and Britvic plc ("Britvic").  The Competition Commission has fully reviewed the context of the potential transaction and has concluded that it does not expect it to result in a substantial lessening of competition.

The Board of A.G. BARR believes this is a significant positive step and, in light of this, will actively reconsider a potential merger with Britvic. The Board will review all material new developments since the original merger terms were agreed but currently believes that, other than Britvic's recently announced short term cost saving plan, little has changed to alter its previous conviction that a merger represents a unique opportunity for value creation for both sets of shareholders in the short, medium and long term.

The Board of A.G. Barr confirms, in accordance with Rule 2.10 of The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, that it has the following relevant securities in issue: 116,768,778 ordinary shares of 4 1/6 pence each (with International Securities Identification Number GB00B6XZKY75).

A copy of this announcement will be available at www.agbarr.co.uk.

The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

Enquiries

Rothschild (financial adviser to AG Barr) [phone]

Akeel Sachak               

Stuart Vincent

Manfredi Corsini

Rothschild, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting exclusively for AG Barr and no one else in connection with the subject matter of this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than AG Barr for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild or for providing advice in relation to the subject matter of this announcement or any other matters referred to in this announcement.

Disclosure requirements of the Code

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any paper offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10^th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a paper offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a paper offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. If you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure, you should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on [phone].

 

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