Result of Open Offer

RNS Number : 8188I

Esken Limited

17 August 2021

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD BREACH ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

NEITHER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOR ANYTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL FORM THE BASIS OF, OR BE RELIED UPON IN CONNECTION WITH, ANY OFFER OR COMMITMENT WHATSOEVER IN ANY JURISDICTION. ANY DECISION TO PURCHASE, SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE, SELL OR OTHERWISE DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE MADE SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS CONTAINED IN AND INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE PROSPECTUS REFERRED TO BELOW. A COPY OF THE PROSPECTUS IS AVAILABLE ON ESKEN LIMITED'S WEBSITE AT WWW.ESKEN.COM/INVESTORS.

17 August 2021

Esken Limited

("Esken", the "Company" or the "Group")

Results of Open Offer

On 27 and 28 July 2021, the Company announced details of a proposed fully underwritten Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer (together the "Capital Raise") to raise gross proceeds of £55 million. 

The Company is pleased to announce the results of the Open Offer, which closed for acceptances at 11.00 a.m. on 16 August 2021.

The Company has received valid acceptances from Qualifying Shareholders under their basic Open Offer Entitlements in respect of 58,613,958 Open Offer Shares. In addition, the Company has received applications from Qualifying Shareholders under the Excess Application Facility in respect of 16,383,762 Open Offer Shares.

Accordingly, a total of 74,997,720 Open Offer Shares have been accepted or applied for under the Open Offer, including the Excess Application Facility, representing 95.1% per cent. of the Open Offer Shares. 

Qualifying Shareholders who have validly applied for Open Offer Shares will receive their full Open Offer Entitlement. The remaining 3,868,045 Open Offer Shares, representing 4.9% per cent. of the Open Offer Shares, will be allocated to the Placees with whom the Open Offer Shares had been conditionally placed under the Placing. These Placees are the same institutions who subscribed for New Shares pursuant to the Firm Placing.

The Capital Raise remains conditional on, amongst other things, the approval by the Company's shareholders of the resolutions set out in the Notice of General Meeting contained in the combined prospectus and circular published by the Company on 28 July 2021 (the "Prospectus") at the General Meeting to be held at 11.00 a.m. today. The Company will announce the results of the General Meeting as soon as practicable after the meeting concludes.

Capitalised terms not otherwise defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Prospectus, which is available on the Company's website (www.esken.com/investors).

David Shearer, Executive Chairman of Esken, said today:

"It is pleasing to see the level of support which we have received from our existing shareholders in the Open Offer. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our gratitude to all those who have provided their support. The successful fundraise will give us a sound platform as we emerge from the pandemic."

For further enquiries please contact:

Esken Limited
Charlie Geller, Communications Director	C/O Tulchan Communications
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Sponsor, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Global Co-ordinator)	[phone]
Adam James / Andrew Potts / Patrick Dolaghan Sam Lucas
UBS AG London Branch (Joint Sponsor, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Global Co-ordinator)	[phone]
David James / Peter Mackie Alex Bloch / Tom Snowball
Tulchan Communications Olivia Peters / David Allchurch	[phone] [e-mail]

Important notices

This announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. The information contained in this announcement is for information purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete.  No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this announcement or on its accuracy or completeness.  The information in this announcement is subject to change.

Neither this announcement nor anything contained in it shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in conjunction with, any offer or commitment whatsoever in any jurisdiction. Investors should not acquire any Shares referred to in this announcement except on the basis of the information contained in the Prospectus published by the Company in connection with the Transaction.

A copy of the Prospectus is available on the Company's website at www.esken.com/investors. Neither the content 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. The Prospectus provides further details of the New Shares being offered pursuant to the Capital Raise.

This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer for sale or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States. The New Shares, Open Offer Entitlements and Excess Open Offer Entitlements have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or under any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, taken up, exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States. There will be no offer of the New Shares in the United States. None of the New Shares, Open Offer Entitlements, Excess Open Offer Entitlements, this announcement or any other document connected with the Capital Raise has been or will be approved or disapproved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by the securities commissions of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States or any US regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the New Shares, Open Offer Entitlements, or Excess Open Offer Entitlements or the accuracy or adequacy of this announcement or any other document connected with the Capital Raise. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

This announcement is for information purposes only and, subject to certain limited exceptions, is not intended to and does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, allot or issue, or any offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for, New Shares, or to take up any entitlements to New Shares, in any jurisdiction or any solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, the People's Republic of China or the Republic of South Africa (the "Excluded Territories") or in any jurisdiction where such offer or invitation is unlawful, nor does the fact of its distribution form the basis of, nor can it be relied upon in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract or commitment whatsoever with respect to such securities, the Company or otherwise.

The distribution of this announcement into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law, and, therefore, persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdiction. In particular, subject to certain limited exceptions, this announcement, the Prospectus and the Application Forms should not be distributed, forwarded to or transmitted in or into any Excluded Territory.

The New Shares may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (i) to "professional investors" as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) of Hong Kong (the "SFO") and any rules made under the SFO; or (ii) in other circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong) of Hong Kong (the "C(WUMP)O") or an invitation to induce an offer by the public to subscribe for or purchase any shares and which do not result in this document being a "prospectus" as defined in the C(WUMP)O. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the New Shares or this document may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the C(WUMP)O and the SFO) other than with respect to the New Shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to "professional investors" as defined in the SFO and any rules made under the SFO or in other circumstances which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public within the meaning of the C(WUMP)O. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document you should obtain independent professional advice.

Recipients of this announcement and/or the Prospectus should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business, data and property described in this announcement and/or the Prospectus.  This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning any investor's options with respect to the Capital Raise. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The contents of this announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each Shareholder or prospective investor should consult his, her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.

Notice to all investors

Canaccord Genuity Limited ("Canaccord") is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in the United Kingdom. UBS AG London Branch ("UBS" and together with Canaccord, the "Joint Bookrunners") is authorised and regulated by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in Switzerland, and it is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and subject to regulation by the FCA and limited regulation by the PRA in the United Kingdom.

Canaccord and UBS are each acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Capital Raise or any other matter referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in connection with the Capital Raise and/or any other matter referred to in this announcement.

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 the Joint Bookrunners or by any of their respective affiliates or agents (or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) for the contents of the information contained in this announcement, or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, or any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of either Joint Bookrunner or any of their respective affiliates in connection with the Company, the New Shares or the Capital Raise and any responsibility therefor is expressly disclaimed. The Joint Bookrunners and each of their respective affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or in respect of any statements or other information contained in this announcement and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by either Joint Bookrunner or any of their respective affiliates as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this announcement.

No person has been authorised to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this announcement, the Prospectus and the Application Forms, and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied on as having been authorised by the Company or Canaccord and UBS.

In connection with the Capital Raise, the Joint Bookrunners may release communications to the market as to the extent to which the book is "covered". A communication that a transaction is, or that the books are, "covered" refers to the position of the order book at that time. It is not an assurance that the books will remain covered, that the transaction will take place on any terms indicated or at all, or that if the transaction does take place, the securities will be fully distributed by the Joint Bookrunners.

In connection with the Capital Raise, each of their Joint Bookrunners and any of their respective affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may take up a portion of the shares in the Capital Raise 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 Capital Raise or otherwise. Accordingly, references in the Prospectus 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 Joint Bookrunners and any of their respective affiliates acting as investors for their own accounts. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Joint Bookrunners do not propose to make any public disclosure in relation to such transactions.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to financial information, that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "will", "may", "should", "would", "could", "is confident", or other words of similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speak only as at the date of this announcement and, by their very nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results, and the Company's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. No representation or warranty is made that any forward-looking statement will come to pass.

You are advised to read the Prospectus and the information incorporated by reference therein in their entirety, and, in particular, the section of the Prospectus headed "Risk Factors", for a further discussion of the factors that could affect Esken's future performance and the industry in which it operates. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements, including statements regarding prospective financial information, in this announcement may not occur. These statements are not fact and should not be relied upon as being necessarily indicative of future results, and readers of this announcement are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, including those regarding prospective financial information.

No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast, and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that underlying operating profit for the current or future financial years would necessarily be above a minimum level, or match or exceed the historical published operating profit or set a minimum level of operating profit.

Neither the Company nor Canaccord nor UBS are under any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement contained within this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules). Subject to the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the issue of this announcement shall not, in any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company since the date of this announcement or that the information in it is correct as at any subsequent date.

 

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