Exercise of over-allotment option

RNS Number : 9375O

Direct Line Insurance Group PLC

17 October 2012

 



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES, CANADA OR JAPAN.

17 October 2012

Direct Line Insurance Group plc

Exercise of over-allotment option

Direct Line Insurance Group plc (the "Company") today confirms that, in connection with its initial public offering of ordinary shares (the "Offer"), Goldman Sachs International, as stabilising manager, has exercised the over-allotment option granted by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (the "RBS Group") as selling shareholder in respect of 67,500,000 ordinary shares in the Company (the "Over-allotment Shares"). The Over-allotment Shares will be sold at the offer price of 175 pence per share.

Including the exercise of the over-allotment option, the total size of the Offer was 517,500,000 ordinary shares, in total representing 34.5% of the 1,500,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company currently in issue. Following the exercise of the over-allotment option, the RBS Group will continue to own 65.3% of the ordinary shares in the Company.

Disclaimer

Neither this announcement, the publication in which it is contained nor any copy of it may be made or transmitted into the United States of America (including its territories or possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia) (the ''United States''). The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of the United States and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered or sold within the United States.

Neither this announcement, the publication in which it is contained nor any copy of it may be taken, transmitted or distributed, directly or indirectly, into Canada or Japan or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions or any other jurisdictions where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Canada or Japan and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered or sold within Canada or Japan or to any national, resident or citizen of Canada or Japan.

This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares or any other securities nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore. The initial public offering of the Company's shares (the "Shares") and the distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with the listing and Offer in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions.

Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. In particular, this announcement does not constitute an offer for sale of, or a solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States. No securities of Direct Line Group have been, or will be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and securities of Direct Line Group may not be offered or sold in the United States absent 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. There will be no public offering of the securities in the United States.

This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning the Offer. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Information in this announcement or any of the documents relating to the Offer cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Potential investors should consult a professional advisor as to the suitability of the Offer for the person concerned.

Any purchase of Shares in the proposed Offer should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the Prospectus and the Pricing Notification published by Direct Line Group in connection with the Offer. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness.

Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Morgan Stanley Securities Limited, UBS Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, HSBC Bank plc, Merrill Lynch International, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank AG, Investec Bank plc, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Limited and RBC Europe Limited and Barclays Bank PLC (together, the "Banks"), each of which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority, are acting exclusively for Direct Line Group and no one else in connection with the Offer and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Direct Line Group for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for giving advice in relation to the Offer or the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

In connection with the Offer, the Banks or any of their respective affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may subscribe for or purchase Shares and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise deal for their own accounts in such Shares and other securities of Direct Line Group or related investments in connection with the Offer or otherwise. Accordingly, references in the Prospectus or the Pricing Notification to the 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, the Banks or any of their respective affiliates acting as investors for their own accounts. The Banks or any of their respective affiliates do 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.

None of the Banks or any of their respective subsidiary undertakings, affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other person accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to Direct Line Group, 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.

In connection with the Offer, Goldman Sachs International, as stabilisation manager, or any of its agents, may (but will be under no obligation to), to the extent permitted by applicable law, over-allot Shares or effect other transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the Shares at a higher level than that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Goldman Sachs International will not be required to enter into such transactions and such transactions may be effected on any stock, market, over-the-counter market, stock exchange or otherwise and may be undertaken at any time during the period commencing on the date of the commencement of conditional dealings of the Shares on the London Stock Exchange and ending no later than 30 calendar days thereafter. However, there will be no obligation on Goldman Sachs International or any of its agents to effect stabilising transactions and there is no assurance that stabilising transactions will be undertaken. Such stabilising measures, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. In no event will measures be taken to stabilise the market price of the Shares above the offer price. Save as required by law or regulation, neither Goldman Sachs International nor any of its agents intends to disclose the extent of any over-allotments made and/or stabilisation transactions conducted in relation to the Offer.

 

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