Completion of Imagine Publishing acquisition

RNS Number : 7556M

Future PLC

18 October 2016

 

18 October 2016

Future plc

Completion of Imagine Publishing acquisition

Future plc (LSE: FUTR, "the Group" or "Future"), the international media group and leading digital business, announces that the acquisition of Miura (Holdings) Ltd, the holding company and ultimate parent company of Imagine Publishing Limited ("Imagine Publishing") (the "Acquisition") is now unconditional in all material respects and is expected to complete on 21 October 2016.

The total consideration payable, as detailed on 23 June 2016, is 179,567,841 new Future shares (the "Consideration Shares"), which at Future's closing share price of 8.84 pence on 12 October 2016 represents a consideration of £15.9m.

As previously announced, upon completion James Hanbury will join the Board as Deputy Chairman and will serve as the Disruptive Capital appointee.

Zillah Byng-Thorne, Future Chief Executive said:

"The addition of Imagine, with its substantial portfolio of magazines and bookazines which complement and expand our capabilities, is a further significant step towards our strategy of creating content that connects, increasing scale and improving operational efficiency."

Applications have been made to the FCA and to the London Stock Exchange, respectively, for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to the standard segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. Admission is the last condition to be satisfied for completion of the Acquisition. It is expected that admission and completion will occur at 8.00 a.m. on 21 October 2016. As the number of Consideration Shares exceeds 10 per cent. of the Company's current issued share capital, their issue and admission require that a prospectus be published, this is expected to be available later today on the company's website (www.futureplc.com/invest-in-future/).

Following the allotment and admission of the Consideration Shares the Company's share capital will consist of 548,408,719 ordinary shares of 1p each, each share carrying the right to one vote. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in Future plc will be 548,408,719.

The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of their interest in, the Company, under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Enquiries:

Future plc	01225 442 244
Zillah Byng-Thorne, Chief Executive Officer
Penny Ladkin-Brand, Chief Financial Officer
Numis	020 7260 1000
Nick Westlake/Mark Lander
Instinctif Partners	020 7457 2020
Adrian Duffield/Lauren Foster

Notes to editors

Future plc is an international media group and leading digital publisher, listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR). The Group operates two separately managed brand-led divisions: Media and Magazine. The Group has a reach of 70m globally, including 47m online users and 22m social media followers.

The Magazine division is brand-led. It has over 100 market-leading publications, with 10 key titles, and is seen as the number one digital consumer magazine publisher in the UK.

The Media division focuses on being at the forefront of digital innovation, in particular the high growth technology and games markets, with three complementary revenue streams: e-commerce, events and digital advertising. It has a number of leading brands including Techradar, PC Gamer, GamesRadar+, The Photography Show, Generate and Golden Joysticks.

 

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