Acquisition and Placing to Raise c.£3.5m
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE READ IN ITS ENTIRETY. FURTHER DETAILS OF THE ACQUISITION AND FUNDRAISING ARE SET OUT BELOW.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE ANY NEW ORDINARY SHARES OF IQGEO GROUP PLC.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO. 596/2014 (WHICH FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018) ("UK MAR"). IN ADDITION, MARKET SOUNDINGS (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) WERE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN OF THE MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, WITH THE RESULT THAT CERTAIN PERSONS BECAME AWARE OF SUCH INSIDE INFORMATION, AS PERMITTED BY UK MAR. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION. THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR ARRANGING FOR THE RELEASE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY IS HAYWOOD CHAPMAN.
IQGEO GROUP PLC
("IQGeo", the "Company" or the "Group")
Acquisition of COMSOF
Proposed Placing and Subscription to raise approximately £3.5 million
The board of directors of IQGeo Group plc (the "Board"), a provider of geospatial collaboration and productivity software to the telecommunications and utilities industries, is pleased to announce that the Group has acquired COMSOF N.V. ("COMSOF") for a total consideration of up to €13.0 million (the "Acquisition").
The Board is also pleased to announce the intention to raise approximately £3.5 million, before expenses, by way of a placing (the "Placing") of ordinary shares of two pence each in the Company (the "Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing Shares") and a direct subscription (the "Subscription") of Ordinary Shares (the "Subscription Shares") by the directors of the Company and those associated with them (conditional upon on the Placing) each at a price of 125 pence per new ordinary share (the "Issue Price") (the Placing and the Subscription together the "Fundraising"). The net proceeds of the Fundraising will be used in part to fund the Acquisition and related transaction expenses, as well as provide further working capital for the Group going forward.
The Placing is being conducted through an accelerated bookbuild (the "Bookbuild") to be undertaken by finnCap Ltd ("finnCap"). The Bookbuild will commence immediately following the release of this announcement. The Placing is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the appendix to this announcement (the appendix forms part of this announcement, such announcement and its appendix together being this "Announcement"). The Subscription is not being made subject to the terms and conditions set out in the appendix to this Announcement and instead will be made on the terms set out in subscription letters to be entered into with the Company.
Acquisition Highlights
· Acquisition of COMSOF, a Belgian geospatial software company that builds and licenses market-leading fibre optic network planning and design software for a total consideration of up to €13 million.
· Enterprise value of the business is c.€10.0 million as the business had c €3.0 million of cash on the balance sheet as at closing.
· The consideration comprised of initial consideration of €10 million consisting of €8.85 million in cash and €1.15 million in new Ordinary Shares ("Consideration Shares") on completion of the Acquisition, with the remainder as earn-out consideration and to be settled in cash (as further explained below); the Acquisition brings complementary technology in the form of market-leading fibre optic planning and design software that expands IQGeo's addressable market. COMSOF has a substantial customer base in the European telecommunications market and will create a continental European operations hub for the Company from its main office in Ghent, Belgium.
· Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange plc (the "London Stock Exchange") for the Consideration Shares to be issued pursuant to the Acquisition to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that such admission will become effective and that dealings on AIM will commence in the Consideration Shares on or around 8.00 a.m. on 16 August 2022.
· Following such admission of the Consideration Shares, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 58,553,619 Ordinary Shares with one voting right each. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares and voting rights in the Company will be 58,553,619. With effect from admission of the Consideration Shares to trading on AIM, this figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
· The Acquisition is expected to accelerate Company sales in fibre optic design planning and design tools in high value markets where nation-wide fibre optic networks are being rolled out in such as North America, UK and Germany among others. Additionally, the Acquisition adds a global customer base of c.100 active customers providing IQGeo a materially enlarged and loyal user base with potential to increase cross-selling of IQGeo software products.
· The Acquisition expands IQGeo's product capabilities seamlessly. Fibre optic planning and design requires specialised high-volume capabilities which to date IQGeo has provided via a third-party licensing model. With the acquisition of COMSOF, IQGeo will be able to provide a market leading planning and design software natively within its award-winning IQGeo product.
· For the 12 months ending 30 April 2022, COMSOF achieved total revenue of €7.0 million including recurring revenue of approximately 25 per cent. of total revenue for the period and adjusted EBITDA of approximately €1.3 million.
· Given that COMSOF has a predominantly license-based revenue model, the Acquisition presents an opportunity to convert COMSOF's business to a higher level of recurring revenues which will be more in-line with IQGeo's current business. Additionally, the Company believes there is strong potential to expand the sales of the COMSOF product globally thanks to market-leading planning and design capabilities and strong brand recognition. This strategy is expected to be underpinned by further investments in sales, marketing and channel capabilities.
· The Board believes the financial benefits of the Acquisition will be realised by the Company immediately and the Acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in its first full year of ownership.
Fundraising Highlights
· Proposed Placing and Subscription to raise gross proceeds of approximately £3.5 million at the Issue Price.
· The Placing is expected to be supported by existing and new institutional shareholders, and Kestrel Partners (an existing substantial shareholder as defined by the AIM Rules) has indicated that it intends to participate in the Placing.
· A number of the directors of the Company (other than the Director representing Kestrel Partners on the Board) intend to participate by way of the Subscription (which is conditional on the Placing) and this would raise an aggregate amount of approximately £0.4 million.
· The Placing Shares and Subscription Shares (collectively, the "New Ordinary Shares") will be issued at the Issue Price .
· The 777, 657 Consideration Shares have been conditionally issued at a price of 125 pence each.
· The net proceeds of the Fundraising will be used in part to fund the Acquisition and related transaction expenses, as well as to provide further working capital for the Group going forward.
Richard Petti, CEO of IQGeo,
"There is very significant demand for fibre planning and design solutions globally and the acquisition of COMSOF allows us to satisfy this demand with a world class product. In addition to accelerating IQGeo telecoms software sales, COMSOF has a significant European customer base and its headquarters in Ghent will act as a European hub for the combined business presenting further expansion opportunities for IQGeo.
The COMSOF team brings increased depth to our product and our organisation that further strengthens our position as a market-leading system of record with the functional depth and cloud-based scalability to significantly increase our market share in both our Enterprise and SMB markets.
With the complementary technology and enlarged customer base, the COMSOF acquisition will strengthen our competitive differentiation and increase our market share and, following a short period of transition, will increase our recurring revenue base. We look forward to welcoming COMSOF to the IQGeo Group."
Background to the Fundraising and Acquisition
Acquisition of COMSOF
On 11 August 2022, IQGeo acquired COMSOF, a Belgian company that builds and licenses fibre optic network planning and design software, for an initial consideration of €10 million, in addition to earn-out consideration of up to €3.0 million.
The initial consideration of €10 million was satisfied through the issue of 777,657 consideration shares (the "Consideration Shares") with the balance of €8.85 million paid in cash by IQGeo. The Consideration Shares are to be issued by no later than 18 August 2022 at a price equal to 125 pence per share. The Consideration Shares will be issued to COMSOF's current CEO who will be retained as General Manager for Europe. The Consideration Shares will be subject to a three (3) year lock-in arrangement.
The earn out consideration of up to €3.0 million will become due in two equal tranches, the first on or before 31st March 2023 and the second on or before 31 December 2023 (the "Earn-Out Consideration"), subject to the achievement of certain agreed financial performance criteria.
The Earn-Out Consideration of up to €3.0 million is split into two equal tranches of €1.5 million each and is subject to COMSOF securing separate software licence agreements with two parties. In the case of the first agreement (the "First Earn-Out Licence Agreement"), by no later than 31 December 2022 (the "First Earn-Out Period") and in the case of the second agreement (the "Second Earn-Out Licence Agreement") by no later than 31 December 2023 (the "Second Earn-Out Period"). Each tranche of €1.5 million will be due when cash relating to each licence agreement is received, for the first tranche by 31st March 2023 and for the 2nd tranche by 31st December 2023.
The amount payable of up to €1.5 million under the First Earn-Out Licence Agreement, will be contingent on COMSOF signing a licence a minimum value of US $0.8 million per annum (the "First Expected Value"). Should the revenue generated per annum under this licence agreement be less than the First Expected Value, the consideration payable under the First Earn-Out Licence Agreement will be reduced accordingly, pursuant to the terms of the share purchase agreement.
The amount payable of up to €1.5 million under the Second Earn-Out Licence Agreement, will be contingent on COMSOF signing a second licence with a minimum value of $0.4 million per annum (the "Second Expected Value"). Should the revenue generated per annum under this licence agreement be less than the Second Expected Value, the consideration payable under the Second Earn-Out Licence Agreement will be reduced accordingly, pursuant to the terms of the share purchase agreement.
The Earn-Out Consideration payable in respect of each of the First Earn-Out Licence Agreement and the Second Earn-Out Licence Agreement shall in each case be satisfied by the payment by IQGeo of up to two separate cash amounts, each of up to €1.5m. COMSOF's current CEO who will be retained as General Manager for Europe, will receive 50 per cent. of the Earn-Out Consideration and will lead the integration efforts between the two companies.
Strategic priorities
As set out in the Company's full year results for 2021, the Company continues to focus on the following strategic priorities:
1. Successful global growth
2. Increased recurring revenue
3. Outstanding product innovation
Despite the Covid-19 related market downturn these objectives have been successfully pursued with both organic and M&A related growth. Growth of recurring revenue has continued in 2022 with interim results for the 6 months ending 30th June 2022 pointing to a 39 per cent. increase in total revenue compared to the first half of FY21 and a 26 per cent. increases in exit ACV over the year ended December 2021 thanks to investments in product innovation and investments in sales, marketing and channel capabilities.
During these two financial reporting periods, the performance of the SMB division, born from the acquisition of OSPI, has been a particular highlight. Sales of ACV have more than doubled from £0.5 million to £1.1 million in its first full year of integration with IQGeo and the two organisations having merged successfully into a single organisation with minimal staff turnover.
Significant demand
The Company continues to see strong demand for design, planning and system of record for fibre networks with recent studies putting the global growth rate of fibre optic cable at CAGR 14.5 per cent.[1] for the period 2021-2026 and the American Fiber Broadband association confirming the US market is entering the 'largest investment cycle ever'[2]. This growth has been reflected in the Company's recent announcements of its two largest software wins in its history with Brightspeed and a second US telecoms operator currently ranked in the top 5 globally.
Competitive Positioning
The Directors believe that none of IQGeo's global competitors offer automated design and planning capabilities natively within their geospatial suites for telecoms or utilities. Typically, these capabilities are offered via partnerships or white labelling. The most successful third-party partnership with these vendors is COMSOF, in particular within the GE and ESRI customer bases.
Rationale for the Acquisition
The Directors believe that the Acquisition will further increase the Company's competitive positioning, accelerate sales and expand its European market share. In particular, the Acquisition is expected to add c.100 logos with minimal overlap with the Company's existing client base. The Acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in FY23 following investments in its global sales and marketing capabilities.
The key points underlying the rationale for the Acquisition are outlined below:
1) Accelerate scale by adding enlarged customer base of c.100 logos with minimal overlap, consisting of:
i) c. 80 customers, predominately in Europe but also in the Middle East and Asia, including several Tier 1 customers such as Deutsche Telecom, Proximus and Telenet, as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers
ii) c.20 North American customers including Tier 1 customer Crown Castle
2) The Tier 1 and Tier 2 logos will offer IQGeo the opportunity to upsell its extensive Enterprise software product line in the areas of commercial sales, system of record, construction management and mobility. The Tier 3 logos will present upsell opportunities for its SMB product line.
3) COMSOF is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium and has over 50 staff making it an ideal base of operations for Continental Europe where COMSOF has a significant customer base in the Benelux region, Germany, UK and Scandinavia. By investing in its European sales and marketing capabilities IQGeo anticipates it will further accelerate sales of an integrated product suite throughout the region.
4) COMSOF already has a successful channel model where approximately 35 per cent. of 2021 revenues were achieved via partners. IQGeo will look to expand channel capabilities in all of its key markets.
5) COMSOF's current revenue model will be transitioned from a primarily license-based model, to more of a subscription model which is expected to improve recurring cashflows and forecast predictability.
The Directors have identified a number of areas in which they consider the Acquisition complementary to the Company's product and organisational strategy, including the following synergies:
· integration of the organisations into a single group, led by the UK-based Plc Board
· broadened sales organisation to ensure most efficient distribution, particularly in Europe
· the ability to consolidate sales, support and delivery in Europe
· the ability to consolidate product management and development
· focused channel management and cloud functions
· maximised staff retention by increasing technical scope of the IQGeo product lines and relocation opportunities within the group
· seamless integration with the IQGeo product lines offering increased competitive differentiation that should accelerate sales
· improved access to qualified graduates from the highly respected University of Ghent
Taken together, the Acquisition and the Fundraising are expected to be modestly earnings enhancing in IQGeo's first financial year following Completion (FY23) as the business is transitioned to subscription and investments in sales and marketing capabilities expand the pipeline and crystallise new wins.
About COMSOF
COMSOF is a world leader in creating intelligent network planning and design software. With more than 20 years of experience in GIS-based optimisation, COMSOF's team of world-class engineers has deployed its solutions in over 50 countries. Founded in 1998 as a spin-off company of the renowned Intec information technology department of Ghent University, COMSOF serves over 120 clients from offices in Ghent, Belgium and Toronto, Canada.
Its flagship product is COMSOF Fiber, which has been used to design fibre networks covering more than 100 million homes. The software is used by customers to aid in the design, construction, and maintenance of fibre optic networks. The software allows customers to combine their network data with third-party Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to provide location-based insights to customers. More recently COMSOF has expanded into the utilities market with COMSOF Heat, planning and design software for district heating and cooling networks.
Financial information on COMSOF
COMSOF does not have readily available audited stand-alone accounts, and as a result the latest available financial information that most accurately reflects the contribution of the stand-alone COMSOF business is based on internal management reported figures, as set out below. These are presented on a non-GAAP basis.
|
|
12 months ended 30 April 2022* €' million
|
|
Recurring revenues |
1.8 |
|
Home linked licence fees |
4.2 |
|
Services revenue |
1.0 |
|
Recurring revenue % |
1.8 (25%) |
|
Non-recurring revenues |
5.2 (75%) |
|
Total COMSOF revenues |
7.0 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
1.3 |
*this represents the last trailing 12 month performance
Current Trading and Outlook
The Company reported full year results to 31 December 2021 in March 2022. It reported total revenue growth from IQGeo products of 51 per cent., recurring IQGeo product revenue growth of 80 per cent. and an improvement in gross margins to 64 per cent.
Since reporting its FY21 results, the Company has continued to trade well and reported in July 2022 that it expects to report strong performance for the six months ending 30 June 2022 in line with expectations.
Revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2022 is expected to have grown by over 39 per cent. half-on-half on an all-organic basis and exceed £8.9 million (H1 2021: £6.4 million). Total order intake has grown by over 100 per cent. to approximately £14.6 million (H1 2021: £7.1 million) with a number of new and significant customers signing up for multi-year subscriptions, along with an increase in consultancy services orders obtained both from new and legacy customers.
The Group has achieved continued success in increasing its recurring revenue base with Exit ARR* as at 30 June 2022 increasing by c.50 per cent. to approximately £10.3 million (H1 2021: £6.8 million). ARR intake during the period includes a subscription contract for an initial deployment to a Global top 5 telecom operator who selected IQGeo for fibre network planning and design.
Gross margins are expected to be approximately 60 per cent. (H1 2021: 63 per cent.) with adjusted EBITDA** expected to be approximately £0.2 million (H1 2021: loss of £0.4 million). The Group expects to report net cash as at 30 June 2022 of £10.9 million (H1 2021: £12.1 million).
* Exit ARR is defined as the current go forward run rate of annually renewable subscription and M&S agreements
**Adjusted EBITDA excludes amortisation, depreciation, share option expense, foreign exchange gains/losses on intercompany trading balances and non-recurring items and is reported as it reflects the performance of the Group
Use of Proceeds
The net proceeds of the Fundraising will be used to in part fund the Acquisition and related transaction expenses as well as to provide further working capital for the Group going forward .
Enquiries:
|
IQGeo Group plc |
+44(0) 1223 606655 |
|
Richard Petti, CEO |
www.iqgeo.com |
|
Haywood Chapman, CFO |
|
|
|
|
|
finnCap Ltd - NOMAD and Broker |
+44(0)20 7220 0500 |
|
Henrik Persson, Seamus Fricker - Corporate Finance Tim Redfern, Richard Chambers - ECM |
|
|
|
|
|
Oakley Advisory Limited - Financial Advisor Chris Godsmark, Marc Jones, Arno Reynders, Kate Washington |
+44(0)20 7766 6900 |
|
|
|
Notes to editors
About IQGeo
IQGeo™ (AIM: IQG) a leading developer of geospatial software that improves productivity and collaboration across enterprise planning, design, construction, maintenance and sales processes for telecoms and utility network operators. Our mobile-first enterprise solutions create and maintain, an accurate view of complex network assets that is easily accessible by anyone, wherever and whenever needed. Specialized applications combined with our open IQGeo Platform help network operators create a single source of network truth to meet their digital transformation ambitions and operational KPIs. Our award-winning, cloud-enabled solutions save time and money, and improve safety and productivity, while enhancing customer satisfaction. Headquartered in Cambridge, with offices in Denver, Frankfurt and Tokyo, we work with some of the largest network infrastructure operators in the world. For more information visit: https://www.iqgeo.com/ .
Important notices
This Announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "forecasts", "plans", "prepares", "anticipates", "projects", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "seeks", "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. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this Announcement and include statements regarding the Company's and the Directors' intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, the Company's prospects, growth and strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual performance, achievements and financial condition may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this Announcement. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, performance, achievements and financial condition are consistent with the forward-looking statements in this Announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. Any forward-looking statements that the Company makes in this Announcement speak only as of the date of such statement and (other than in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations) neither the Company, nor finnCap nor any of their respective associates, directors, officers or advisers shall be obliged to update such statements. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
finnCap, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting as broker and bookrunner exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the contents of this document and the Fundraising and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this document) as its client in relation to Fundraising or the the contents of this Announcement nor will it be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the contents of this document. Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on finnCap by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) (the "FSMA") or the regulatory regime established thereunder, finnCap accepts no responsibility whatsoever, and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, for the contents of this Announcement including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on behalf of it, the Company or any other person, in connection with the Company and the contents of this document, whether as to the past or the future. finnCap accordingly disclaims all and any liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above), which it might otherwise have in respect of the contents of this document or any such statement.
Oakley Advisory Limited ("Oakley"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting as financial advisor exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the contents of this document and the Fundraising and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this document) as its client in relation to Fundraising or the contents of this Announcement nor will it be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the contents of this document. Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Oakley by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) (the "FSMA") or the regulatory regime established thereunder, Oakley accepts no responsibility whatsoever, and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, for the contents of this Announcement including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on behalf of it, the Company or any other person, in connection with the Company and the contents of this document, whether as to the past or the future. Oakley accordingly disclaims all and any liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above), which it might otherwise have in respect of the contents of this document or any such statement.
The New Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, pledged, taken up, exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States absent registration under the Securities Act, except pursuant to 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. The New Ordinary Shares have not been approved, disapproved or recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the New Ordinary Shares. Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of South Africa or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of South Africa.
No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.
The relevant clearances have not been, 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 New Ordinary Shares; and the New Ordinary 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 the Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the New Ordinary 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 the Republic of 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 the Republic of South Africa or to any investor located or resident in Canada.
No public offering of the New Ordinary Shares is being made in the United States, United Kingdom or elsewhere. All offers of the New Ordinary Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption under the UK version of Regulation (EU) no 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended from time to time, and includes any relevant implementing measure in any member state (the "UK Prospectus Regulation") from the requirement to produce a prospectus. This Announcement is being distributed to persons in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA, as amended does not apply.
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 UK Prospectus Regulation) to be published. This Announcement and the terms and conditions set out herein are for information purposes only and are directed only at persons who are: (a) persons in member states ("Member States") of the European Economic Area ("EEA") who are qualified investors as defined in article 2(e) of Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129; and (b) in the United Kingdom, qualified investors as defined in article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation who are persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investment professionals" in article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("Financial Promotion") Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"); (ii) are persons falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc") of the Order; or (iii) are persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated; (all such persons together being referred to as " Relevant Persons ").
This Announcement and the terms and conditions set out herein must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Any investment or investment activity to which this Announcement and the terms and conditions set out herein relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons.
The information in this Announcement, which includes certain information drawn from public sources, does not purport to be comprehensive and has not been independently verified. This announcement contains statements that are, or may be deemed forward-looking statements, which relate, inter alia, to the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the control of the Company (including but not limited to future market conditions, legislative and regulatory changes, the actions of governmental regulators and changes in the political, social or economic framework in which the Company operates) that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.
The content of this Announcement has not been approved by an authorised person within the meaning of the FSMA. Reliance on this announcement for the purpose of engaging in any investment activity may expose an individual to a significant risk of losing all of the property or other assets invested. Recipients of this Announcement should exercise caution in relation to the Placing if they are in any doubt as to the contents of this Announcement and seek independent professional advice. The price of shares and any income expected from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the full amount invested upon disposal of the shares. Past performance is no guide to future performance, and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
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, finnCap or Oakley or by any of their respective directors, employees, affiliates or agents as to, or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.
The contents of this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each shareholder or prospective investor should consult with his or her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.
No statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of the Company.
The New Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Fundraising will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than the AIM market operated by London Stock Exchange plc ("AIM")
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.
APPENDIX - TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INVITED PLACEES ONLY REGARDING THE PLACING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THIS APPENDIX) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS "ANNOUNCEMENT") ARE DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM IN ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (1) IF IN ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA ("EEA"), QUALIFIED INVESTORS (FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, REFERRED TO AS "EEA QUALIFIED INVESTORS") WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 14 JUNE 2017 (THE "PROSPECTUS REGULATION"); (2) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, QUALIFIED INVESTORS (FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, REFERRED TO AS "UK QUALIFIED INVESTORS") WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE UK VERISON OF REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 14 JUNE 2017 WHICH IS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME ("UK PROSPECTUS REGULATION") WHO (A) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER") (INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS) OR ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER, AND (B) ARE A "PROFESSIONAL CLIENT" OR AN "ELIGIBLE COUNTERPARTY" WITHIN THE MEANING OF CHAPTER 3 OF THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS SOURCEBOOK PUBLISHED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY (the "FCA") FROM TIME TO TIME (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN IQGEO GROUP PLC (THE "COMPANY"). PERSONS INTO WHOSE POSSESSION THIS ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ARE REQUIRED BY THE COMPANY AND FINNCAP TO INFORMS THEMSELVES ABOUT AND OBSERVE ANY SUCH RESTRICTIONS.
THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT") OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE "UNITED STATES" OR "US"),, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT PURSUANT TO 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. THE PLACING SHARES ARE BEING OFFERED AND SOLD ONLY OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES IN "OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH, REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ELSEWHERE.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THIS APPENDIX) AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION INTO THE UNITED STATES. THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN APPLICABLE EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION. NO PUBLIC OFFERING IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES.
The distribution of this Announcement and/or the Placing and/or issue of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, finnCap or any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees that would permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company and finnCap to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
This Announcement or any part of it does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. No public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in any such jurisdiction.
All offers of the Placing Shares in the United Kingdom or the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as appropriate, from the requirement to produce a prospectus. In the United Kingdom, this Announcement is being directed solely at persons in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not require the approval of the relevant communication by an authorised person.
The Placing Shares have not been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission or other regulatory authority in the United States, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placing or the accuracy or adequacy of this Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. No action has been taken to obtain clearances in respect of or otherwise facilitate the participation in the Placing by persons in any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of 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 Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.
Persons distributing any part of this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.
This Announcement should be read in its entirety including the information provided in the "Important Notice" section of this Announcement.
By participating in the Bookbuild and the Placing, each person participating in the Placing (each a "Placee") will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement (and this Appendix) in its entirety, to be participating, making an offer and acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained herein and to be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings contained in this Announcement (and this Appendix).
EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, REGULATORY, TAX, BUSINESS AND RELATED ASPECTS OF A SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE PLACING SHARES.
In particular, each such Placee represents, warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges (amongst other things) to the Company and finnCap that:
1. it is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it will acquire, hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its business; and
2. in the case of a Relevant Person in the United Kingdom who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
a. it is a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
b. in the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation:
i. the Placing Shares acquired by and/or subscribed for by it in the Placing have not been acquired and/or subscribed for on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired or subscribed for with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors or in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of securities to the public other than an offer or resale, in the United Kingdom, to UK Qualified Investors, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of finnCap has been given to each such proposed offer or resale; or
ii. where Placing Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in in the United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing Shares to it is not treated under the UK Prospectus Regulation as having been made to such persons;
3. in the case of a Relevant Person in any member state of the EEA (each, a "Relevant State") who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
a. it is a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation;
b. in the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the Prospectus Regulation:
i. the Placing Shares acquired by and/or subscribed for by it in the Placing have not been acquired and/or subscribed for on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired or subscribed for with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the United Kingdom other than EEA Qualified Investors or in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of securities to the public other than an offer or resale, in a Relevant State, to EEA Qualified Investors, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of finnCap has been given to each such proposed offer or resale; or
ii. where Placing Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in in the United Kingdom or any member state of the EEA other than Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospects Regulation, as the case may be, as having been made to such persons;
4. it is acquiring the Placing Shares for its own account or is acquiring the Placing Shares for an account with respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion and has the authority to make and does make the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements, undertakings and agreements contained in this Announcement (and this Appendix);
5. it understands (or if acting for the account of another person, such person has confirmed that such person understands) the resale and transfer restrictions set out in this Appendix;
6. except as otherwise permitted by the Company and subject to any available exemptions from applicable securities laws, it (and any account referred to in paragraph 3 above) is outside the United States and is acquiring the Placing Shares in offshore transactions as defined in and in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act; and
7. the Company and finnCap will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties, acknowledgements and agreements.
No prospectus
The Placing Shares are being offered to a limited number of specifically invited persons only and will not be offered in such a way as to require any prospectus or other offering document to be published. No prospectus or other offering document has been or will be submitted to be approved by the FCA in relation to the Placing or the Placing Shares and Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of Publicly Available Information and subject to any further terms set out in the contract note to be sent to individual Placees. For the purpose of this Announcement, "Publicly Available Information" means the information contained in this Announcement together with any other information publicly announced through a Regulatory Information Service (as defined in the AIM Rules for Companies (the "AIM Rules")) by or on behalf of the Company on or prior to the date of this Announcement.
Each Placee, by participating in the Placing, agrees that the content of this Announcement is exclusively the responsibility of the Company and confirms that it has neither received nor relied on any information (other than the Publicly Available Information), representation, warranty or statement made by or on behalf of finnCap or the Company or any other person and none of finnCap, the Company nor any other person acting on such person's behalf nor any of their respective affiliates has or shall have any liability for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any other information, representation, warranty or statement. Each Placee acknowledges and agrees that it has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing. No Placee should consider any information in the Publicly Available Information to be legal, tax or business advice. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation.
Details of the Placing Agreement and the Placing Shares
On 12 August 2022, finnCap and the Company entered into a placing agreement (the "Placing Agreement") under which, on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Placing Agreement, finnCap, as agent for and on behalf of the Company, has agreed to use its reasonable endeavours to procure Placees for the Placing Shares. The Placing is not being underwritten by finnCap.
The Placing Shares will, when issued, be subject to the articles of association of the Company and credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the issued ordinary shares of 2 pence each in the capital of the Company (the "Ordinary Shares"), including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect of such Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.
Application for admission to trading
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission").
It is expected that Admission will take place on or before 8:00 a.m. on or around 18 August 2022 and that dealings in the Placing Shares on AIM will commence at the same time.
Principal terms of the Placing:
1. finnCap is acting as agent to the Company in connection with the Placing.
2. participation in the Placing will only be available to persons who may lawfully be, and are, invited by finnCap to participate. finnCap and any of its affiliates are entitled to participate in the Placing as principal.
3. the price per Placing Share (the "Placing Price") is fixed at 125 pence and is payable to finnCap (as agent for the Company) by all Placees.
4. each Placee's allocation of Placing Shares will be determined by finnCap in its discretion following consultation with the Company and will be confirmed orally over a recorded telephone line or in writing by finnCap as agent of the Company ("Confirmation"). The Confirmation will constitute an irrevocable legally binding commitment upon that person (who will at that point become a Placee) to subscribe for the number of Placing Shares allocated to it at the Placing Price on the terms and conditions set out in this Appendix (a copy of the terms and conditions having been provided to the Placee prior to or at the same time as such Confirmation) and in accordance with the Company's articles of association. For the avoidance of doubt, the Confirmation constitutes each Placee's irrevocable legally binding agreement, subject to the Placing Agreement not having been terminated (described and under the "Conditions of the Placing" Section below), to pay the aggregate settlement amount for the Placing Shares to be subscribed for by that Placee regardless of the total number of Placing Shares (if any) subscribed for by any other investor(s) and, except with the consent of finnCap, the Confirmation will not be capable of variation or revocation after the time at which it is made;
5. each Placee's allocation and commitment will be subsequently evidenced by a contract note or electronic confirmation ("contract note") issued to such Placee by finnCap. The terms of this Appendix will be deemed incorporated in that contract note;
6. each Placee's allocation and commitment to subscribe for Placing Shares will be made on the terms and subject to the conditions in this Appendix and will be legally binding on the Placee on behalf of which it is made and except with finnCap's consent will not be capable of variation or revocation after the time at which it is made. Each Placee will have an immediate, separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to finnCap (as agent for the Company), to pay to it (or as it may direct) in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the Placing Price and the number of Placing Shares such Placee has agreed to acquire and the Company has agreed to allot and issue to that Placee.
7. except as required by law or regulation, no press release or other announcement will be made by finnCap or the Company using the name of any Placee (or its agent), in its capacity as Placee (or agent), other than with such Placee's prior written consent.
8. irrespective of the time at which a Placee's allocation(s) pursuant to the Placing is/are confirmed, settlement for all Placing Shares to be acquired pursuant to the Placing will be required to be made at the same time and on the basis explained below under "Registration and settlement";
9. all obligations under the Placing will be subject to fulfilment or (where applicable) waiver of the conditions referred to below under "Conditions of the Placing" and to the Placing not being terminated on the basis referred to below under "Termination of the Placing";
10. by participating in the Placing, each Placee will agree that its rights and obligations in respect of the Placing will terminate only in the circumstances described below and will not be capable of rescission or termination by the Placee; and
11. to the fullest extent permissible by law and applicable FCA rules, neither:
a. finnCap;
b. any of its affiliates, agents, directors, officers, consultants or employees; nor
c. to the extent not contained within (a) or (b), any person connected with finnCap as defined in the FSMA ((b) and (c) being together "affiliates" and individually an "affiliate" of finnCap);
shall have any liability (including, to the extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) to Placees or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise. In particular, neither finnCap nor any of its affiliates shall have any liability (including, to the extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) in respect of finnCap's conduct of the Placing or of such alternative method of effecting the Placing as finnCap and the Company may agree.
Registration and settlement
If Placees are allocated any Placing Shares in the Placing they will be sent a contract note which will confirm the number of Placing Shares allocated to them, the Placing Price and the aggregate amount owed by them to finnCap.
Each Placee will be deemed to agree that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment is completed as directed by finnCap in accordance with either the standing CREST or certificated settlement instructions which they have in place with finnCap.
Settlement of transactions in the Placing Shares (ISIN: GB00B3NCXX73) following Admission will take place within the CREST system, subject to certain exceptions. Settlement through CREST will be on a T+2 basis unless otherwise notified by finnCap and is expected to occur on 18 August 2022 (the "Settlement Date") in accordance with the contract notes. Settlement will be on a delivery versus payment basis. However, in the event of any difficulties or delays in the admission of the Placing Shares to CREST or the use of CREST in relation to the Placing, the Company and finnCap may agree that the Placing Shares should be issued in certificated form. finnCap reserves the right to require settlement for the Placing Shares, and to deliver the Placing Shares to Placees, by such other means as it deems necessary if delivery or settlement to Placees is not practicable within the CREST system or would not be consistent with regulatory requirements in a Placee's jurisdiction. If a Placee wishes to receive its Placing Shares in certificated form, it should contact Carly Cella at finnCap on 020 7220 0505 as soon as possible after receipt of its contract note.
Interest is chargeable daily on payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance with the arrangements set out above, in respect of either CREST or certificated deliveries, at the rate of 2 percentage points above the prevailing base rate of Barclays Bank plc as determined by finnCap.
Each Placee is deemed to agree that if it does not comply with these obligations, finnCap may sell any or all of their Placing Shares on their behalf and retain from the proceeds, for finnCap's own account and benefit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee plus any interest due. The relevant Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall below the Placing Price and for any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties) which may arise upon the sale of its Placing Shares on its behalf.
If Placing Shares are to be delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees must ensure that, upon receipt, the contract note is copied and delivered immediately to the relevant person within that organisation. Insofar as Placing Shares are registered in a Placee's name or that of its nominee or in the name of any person for whom a Placee is contracting as agent or that of a nominee for such person, such Placing Shares should, subject as provided below, be so registered free from any liability to United Kingdom stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax. Placees will not be entitled to receive any fee or commission in connection with the Placing.
Conditions of the Placing
The obligations of finnCap under the Placing Agreement are and the Placing is, conditional upon, inter alia:
1. the Company complying with its obligations under the Placing Agreement to the extent that they fall to be performed on or before Admission;
2. the Company having allotted, conditional only upon Admission, the Placing Shares in accordance with the Placing Agreement; and
3. Admission occurring by not later than 8:00 a.m. on 18 August2022 or such later time as finnCap may agree with the Company (being not later than 26 August 2022),
(all conditions to the obligations of finnCap included in the Placing Agreement being together, the "conditions").
If any of the conditions set out in the Placing Agreement are not fulfilled or, where permitted, waived in accordance with the Placing Agreement within the stated time periods (or such later time and/or date as the Company and finnCap may agree), or the Placing Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, the Placing will lapse and the Placee's rights and obligations shall cease and terminate at such time and each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by or on behalf of the Placee (or any person on whose behalf the Placee is acting) in respect thereof.
By participating in the Placing, each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations cease and terminate only in the circumstances described above and under "Termination of the Placing" below and will not be capable of rescission or termination by it.
finnCap may, in its absolute discretion and upon such terms as it thinks fit, waive fulfilment of certain of the conditions in the Placing Agreement in whole or in part, or extend the time provided for fulfilment of one or more conditions. Any such extension or waiver will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in this Appendix.
finnCap may terminate the Placing Agreement in certain circumstances, details of which are set out below.
Neither finnCap nor any of its Representatives nor the Company shall have any liability to any Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in respect of any decision any of them may make as to whether or not to waive or to extend the time and/or date for the satisfaction of any condition to the Placing nor for any decision any of them may make as to the satisfaction of any condition or in respect of the Placing generally and by participating in the Placing each Placee agrees that any such decision is within the absolute discretion of finnCap.
Termination of the Placing
finnCap may, in its absolute discretion, by notice to the Company, terminate the Placing Agreement at any time up to Admission if, inter alia:
1. the Company fails to comply with any of its obligations under the Placing Agreement;
2. any statement contained in this Announcement or any other document or announcement issued or published by or on behalf of the Company in connection with the Placing was or has been discovered to be untrue, inaccurate or misleading; or
3. any of the warranties given by the Company in the Placing Agreement were not true and accurate, or were misleading: (i) when given or deemed given; or (ii) at any time they are repeated or deemed repeated (by reference to the facts or circumstances in each case then subsisting) would no longer be true and accurate, or would be misleading.
In addition, finnCap may by notice in writing to the Company prior to Admission terminate the Placing Agreement if there has been a force majeure event.
By participating in the Placing, each Placee agrees with the Company and finnCap that the exercise by the Company or finnCap of any right of termination or any other right or other discretion under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the Company or finnCap or for agreement between the Company and finnCap (as the case may be) and that neither the Company nor finnCap need make any reference to such Placee and that none of the Company, finnCap nor any of their respective Representatives shall have any liability to such Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) whatsoever in connection with any such exercise.
Information for distributors
UK product governance
Solely for the purposes of Paragraph 3.2.7R regarding the responsibilities of UK Manufacturers under the product governance requirements contained within Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Production Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK 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 securities are: (i) compatible with an end target market of investors who meet the criteria of retail investors, investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in the UK Product Governance Requirements; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by UK Product Governance Requirements (the "UK Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the UK Target Market Assessment, distributors (for the purposes of UK Product Governance Requirements) should note that: (a) the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; (b) the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and (c) 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 UK 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 UK Target Market Assessment, finnCap will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the UK Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapter 9A or 10A respectively of the FCA Handbook Conduct of Business Sourcebook; or (b) are commendation 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.
EEA product governance
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 in the European Economic Area (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 the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of (a) retail investors, (b)investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and (c) eligible counterparties, each as defined in the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "EEA Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the EEA 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 EEA 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 EEA Target Market Assessment, finnCap will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the EEA Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) are commendation 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 determining appropriate distribution channels.
Representations, warranties and further terms
By participating in the Placing, each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) represents, warrants, undertakes, acknowledges and agrees to the Company and finnCap (for itself and for any such prospective Placee) that (save where finnCap expressly agrees in writing to the contrary):
1. it has read and understood this Announcement (including this appendix) in its entirety and that its subscription for the Placing Shares is subject to and based upon all the terms, conditions, representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings and other information contained herein and that it has not relied on, and will not rely on, any information (including in any investor presentation) given or any representations, warranties or statements made at any time by any person in connection with Admission, the Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares or otherwise, other than the information contained in this Announcement and the Publicly Available Information;
2. it has not received a prospectus or other offering document in connection with the Placing and acknowledges that no prospectus or other offering document:
a. is required under the UK Prospectus Regulation; nor
b. has been or will be prepared in connection with the Placing;
3. the New Ordinary Shares are admitted to trading on AIM, and that the Company is therefore required to publish certain business and financial information in accordance with the AIM Rules, which includes a description of the nature of the Company's business and the Company's most recent balance sheet and profit and loss account and that it is able to obtain or access such information without undue difficulty, and is able to obtain access to such information or comparable information concerning any other publicly traded company, without undue difficulty;
4. it has made its own assessment of the Placing Shares and has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing and neither finnCap nor the Company nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees nor any person acting on behalf of any of them has provided, and will not provide, it with any material regarding the Placing Shares or the Company or any other person other than the information in this Announcement or the Publicly Available Information; nor has it requested finnCap, the Company, any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, employees or officers or any person acting on behalf of any of them to provide it with any such information;
5. neither finnCap nor any person acting on behalf of it nor any of its affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees has or shall have any liability for any Publicly Available Information, or any representation relating to the Company, provided that nothing in this paragraph excludes the liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation made by that person;
6. the only information on which it is entitled to rely on and on which it has relied in committing to subscribe for the Placing Shares is contained in the Publicly Available Information, such information being all that it deems necessary to make an investment decision in respect of the Placing Shares and it has made its own assessment of the Company, the Placing Shares and the terms of the Placing based on the Publicly Available Information;
7. neither finnCap nor the Company (nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees) have made any representation or warranty to it, express or implied, with respect to the Company, the Placing or the Placing Shares or the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the Publicly Available Information;
8. it has conducted its own investigation of the Company, the Placing and the Placing Shares, satisfied itself that the information is still current and relied on that investigation for the purposes of its decision to participate in the Placing;
9. it has not relied on any investigation that finnCap or any person acting on its behalf may have conducted with respect to the Company, the Placing or the Placing Shares;
10. the content of this Announcement and the Publicly Available Information has been prepared by and is exclusively the responsibility of the Company and that neither finnCap nor any persons acting on its behalf is responsible for or has or shall have any liability for any information, representation, warranty or statement relating to the Company contained in this Announcement or the Publicly Available Information nor will they be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any information, representation, warranty or statement contained in this Announcement, the Publicly Available Information or otherwise. Nothing in this Appendix shall exclude any liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation;
11. it is not, and at the time the Placing Shares are acquired will not be, a resident of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa or Russia;
12. the Placing Shares have not been registered or otherwise qualified, and will not be registered or otherwise qualified, for offer and sale nor will a prospectus be cleared or approved in respect of any of the Placing Shares under the securities laws of the United States, or any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered, sold, taken up, renounced or delivered or transferred, directly or indirectly, within the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or in any country or jurisdiction where any such action for that purpose is required;
13. it has the funds available to pay for the Placing Shares for which it has agreed to subscribe and acknowledges and agrees that it will pay the total subscription amount in accordance with the terms of this Announcement on the due time and date set out herein, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be placed with other Placees or sold at such price as finnCap determines;
14. it and/or each person on whose behalf it is participating in the Placing:
a. is entitled to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing under the laws and regulations of all relevant jurisdictions;
b. has fully observed such laws and regulations;
c. has capacity and authority and is entitled to enter into and perform its obligations as an acquirer of Placing Shares and will honour such obligations; and
d. has obtained all necessary consents and authorities (including, without limitation, in the case of a person acting on behalf of a Placee, all necessary consents and authorities to agree to the terms set out or referred to in this Appendix) under those laws or otherwise and complied with all necessary formalities to enable it to enter into the transactions contemplated hereby and to perform its obligations in relation thereto and, in particular, if it is a pension fund or investment company it is aware of and acknowledges it is required to comply and that it is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to its subscription for Placing Shares;
15. is not, and any person who it is acting on behalf of is not, and at the time the Placing Shares are subscribed will not be, a resident of, or with an address in, or subject to the laws of, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa, and it acknowledges and agrees that the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered or otherwise qualified under the securities legislation of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa and may not be offered, sold, or acquired, directly or indirectly, within those jurisdictions;
16. it and the beneficial owner of the Placing Shares is, and at the time the Placing Shares are acquired will be, outside the United States and acquiring the Placing Shares in an "offshore transaction" as defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S under the Securities Act;
17. it understands that the Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered, sold or resold in or into or from the United States except pursuant to an effective registration under the Securities Act, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable state securities laws; and no representation is being made as to the availability of any exemption under the Securities Act for the reoffer, resale, pledge or transfer of the Placing Shares;
18. it (and any account for which it is purchasing) is not acquiring the Placing Shares with a view to any offer, sale or distribution thereof within the meaning of the Securities Act;
19. it understands that:
a. the Placing Shares are "restricted securities" within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act;
b. no representation is made as to the availability of the exemption provided by Rule 144 for resales of Placing Shares; and
c. it will not deposit the Placing Shares in a depositary receipt programme in the United States or for US persons (as defined in the Securities Act);
20. it will not offer, sell, transfer, pledge or otherwise dispose of any Placing Shares except:
a. in an offshore transaction in accordance with Rules 903 or 904 of Regulation S under the Securities Act; or
b. pursuant to another exemption from registration under the Securities Act, if available,
and in each case in accordance with all applicable securities laws of the states of the United States and other jurisdictions;
21. it understands that the Placing Shares are expected to be issued to it through CREST but may be issued to it in certificated, definitive form and acknowledges and agrees that the Placing Shares may, to the extent they are delivered in certificated form, bear a legend to the following effect unless agreed otherwise with the Company:
"THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), OR UNDER THE APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT (A) PURSUANT TO A REGISTRATION STATEMENT WHICH HAS BEEN DECLARED EFFECTIVE UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, (B) IN AN OFFSHORE TRANSACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULE 903 OR RULE 904 OF REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR (C) PURSUANT TO ANY OTHER AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND, IN EACH CASE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN THE FOREGOING, THE SHARES MAY NOT BE DEPOSITED INTO ANY UNRESTRICTED DEPOSITARY RECEIPT FACILITY IN RESPECT OF SHARES ESTABLISHED OR MAINTAINED BY A DEPOSITARY BANK. EACH HOLDER, BY ITS ACCEPTANCE OF THESE SHARES, REPRESENTS THAT IT UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES TO THE FOREGOING RESTRICTIONS";
22. it will not distribute, forward, transfer or otherwise transmit this Announcement or any part of it, or any other presentational or other materials concerning the Placing in or into or from the United States (including electronic copies thereof) to any person, and it has not distributed, forwarded, transferred or otherwise transmitted any such materials to any person;
23. none of finnCap, its affiliates and any person acting on behalf of any of them is making any recommendations to it or advising it regarding the suitability of any transactions it may enter into in connection with the Placing and that participation in the Placing is on the basis that it is not and will not be a client of finnCap and that finnCap has no duties or responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor for the exercise or performance of any of its rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or vary any conditions or exercise any termination right;
24. it will make payment to finnCap for the Placing Shares allocated to it in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Announcement on the due times and dates set out in this Announcement, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be placed with others on such terms as finnCap determines in its absolute discretion without liability to the Placee and it will remain liable for any shortfall below the net proceeds of such sale and the placing proceeds of such Placing Shares and may be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties due pursuant to the terms set out or referred to in this Announcement) which may arise upon the sale of such Placee's Placing Shares on its behalf;
25. its allocation (if any) of Placing Shares will represent a maximum number of Placing Shares which it will be entitled, and required, to subscribe for, and that the Company may call upon it to subscribe for a lower number of Placing Shares (if any), but in no event in aggregate more than the aforementioned maximum;
26. no action has been or will be taken by any of the Company, finnCap or any person acting on behalf of the Company or finnCap that would, or is intended to, permit a public offer of the Placing Shares in the United States or in any country or jurisdiction where any such action for that purpose is required;
27. the person who it specifies for registration as holder of the Placing Shares will be:
a. the Placee; or
b. a nominee of the Placee, as the case may be;
28. finnCap and the Company will not be responsible for any liability to stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax resulting from a failure to observe this requirement. Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of such Placee agrees to subscribe for Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing and agrees to indemnify the Company and finnCap in respect of the same on the basis that the Placing Shares will be allotted to a CREST stock account of finnCap or transferred to a CREST stock account of finnCap who will hold them as nominee on behalf of the Placee until settlement in accordance with its standing settlement instructions with it;
29. the allocation, allotment, issue and delivery to it, or the person specified by it for registration as holder, of Placing Shares will not give rise to a stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax liability under (or at a rate determined under) any of sections 67, 70, 93 or 96 of the Finance Act 1986 (depository receipts and clearance services) and that it is not participating in the Placing as nominee or agent for any person or persons to whom the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares would give rise to such a liability;
30. it and any person acting on its behalf (if within the United Kingdom) falls within Article 19(5) and/or 49(2) of the Order and is a "professional client" or an "eligible counterparty" within the meaning of Chapter 3 of the FCA's Conduct of Business Sourcebook and undertakes that it will acquire, hold, manage and (if applicable) dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its business only;
31. it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in the United Kingdom or in any member state of the EEA prior to the expiry of a period of six months from Admission except to persons whose ordinary activities involve them in acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of investments (as principal or agent) for the purposes of their business or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted and which will not result in an offer to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of section 85(1) of the FSMA or an offer to the public in any member state of the EEA within the meaning of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
32. in the case of a Relevant Person in the United Kingdom who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
a. it is a UK Qualified Investor; and
b. in the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation:
i. the Placing Shares acquired by and/or subscribed for by it in the Placing have not been acquired and/or subscribed for on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired or subscribed for with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors or in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of securities to the public other than an offer or resale, in the United Kingdom, to UK Qualified Investors, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of finnCap has been given to each such proposed offer or resale;
ii. where Placing Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in the United Kingdom other than UK Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing Shares to it is not treated under the UK Prospectus Regulation as having been made to such persons;
33. in the case of a Relevant Person in a member state of the EEA (each, a "Relevant State") who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
a. it is a EEA Qualified Investor; and
b. in the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the Prospectus Regulation:
i. the Placing Shares acquired by and/or subscribed for by it in the Placing have not been acquired and/or subscribed for on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired or subscribed for with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the United Kingdom other than EEA Qualified Investors or in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of securities to the public other than an offer or resale, in a Relevant State, to EEA Qualified Investors, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of finnCap has been given to each such proposed offer or resale;
ii. where Placing Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in the United Kingdom other than EEA Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation as having been made to such persons;
34. it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and it will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the FSMA) relating to Placing Shares in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not require approval of the communication by an authorised person and it acknowledges and agrees that this Announcement has not been approved by finnCap in its capacity as an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA and it may not therefore be subject to the controls which would apply if it was made or approved as financial promotion by an authorised person;
35. it has complied and it will comply with all applicable laws with respect to anything done by it or on its behalf in relation to the Placing Shares (including all relevant provisions of the FSMA in respect of anything done in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom);
36. if it has received any confidential price sensitive information about the Company in advance of the Placing, it has not:
a. dealt in the securities of the Company;
b. encouraged or required another person to deal in the securities of the Company; or
c. disclosed such information to any person, prior to the information being made publicly available;
37. neither finnCap, nor the Company nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees nor any person acting on behalf of finnCap or its affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees is making any recommendations to it, nor advising it regarding the suitability of any transactions it may enter into in connection with the Placing nor providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements, undertakings, or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor the exercise or performance of any of finnCap's rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or vary any conditions or exercise any termination right;
38. finnCap and its affiliates, acting as an investor for its or their own account(s), may bid or subscribe for and/or purchase Placing Shares and, in that capacity, may retain, purchase, offer to sell or otherwise deal for its or their own account(s) in the Placing Shares, any other securities of the Company or other related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references in this Announcement to the Placing Shares being offered, subscribed, acquired or otherwise dealt with should be read as including any offer to, or subscription, acquisition or dealing by, finnCap and/or any of its affiliates acting as an investor for its or their own account(s). Neither finnCap nor the Company intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transaction otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligation to do so;
39. (i) it has complied with and will continue to comply with its obligations under the Uk version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018), Criminal Justice Act 1993 and Part VIII of the FSMA; (ii) it has complied with its obligations in connection with money laundering and terrorist financing under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended), the Terrorism Act 2000 (as amended), the Terrorism Act 2006, the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) 2017 Regulations and the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and any other applicable law (together, the "AMLRegulations"); and (iii) it is not a person: (1) with whom transactions are prohibited under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or any economic sanction programmes administered by, or regulations promulgated by, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; (2) named on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets maintained by HM Treasury of the United Kingdom; or (3) subject to financial sanctions imposed pursuant to a regulation of the EU or a regulation adopted by the United Nations which forms part of domestic UK law (together the "Regulations"); and, if making payment on behalf of a third party, that satisfactory evidence has been obtained and recorded by it to verify the identity of the third party as required by the Regulations and pursuant to the AML Regulations and has obtained all governmental and other consents (if any) which may be required for the purpose of, or as a consequence of, such purchase, and it will provide promptly to finnCap or the Company such evidence, if any, as to the identity or location or legal status of any person (including in relation to the beneficial ownership of any underlying investor) which finnCap or the Company may request from it in connection with the Placing (for the purpose of complying with such Regulations or ascertaining the nationality of any person or the jurisdiction(s) to which any person is subject or otherwise or any other information as may be required to comply with legal or regulatory requirements (including in particular under the AML Regulations)) in the form and manner requested by finnCap or the Company on the basis that any failure by it to do so may result in the number of Placing Shares that are to be purchased by it or at its direction pursuant to the Placing being reduced to such number, or to nil, as finnCap may decide at its sole discretion;
40. in order to ensure compliance with the Regulations including the AML Regulations, finnCap (for itself and as agent on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars may, in their absolute discretion, require verification of its identity. Pending the provision to finnCap or the Company's registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity, definitive certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be retained at finnCap's absolute discretion or, where appropriate, delivery of the Placing Shares to it in uncertificated form may be delayed at finnCap's or the Company's registrars', as the case may be, absolute discretion. If within a reasonable time after a request for verification of identity finnCap (for itself and as agent on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars have not received evidence satisfactory to them, either finnCap and/or the Company may, at its absolute discretion, terminate its commitment in respect of the Placing, in which event the monies payable on acceptance of allotment will, if already paid, be returned without interest to the account of the drawee's bank from which they were originally debited;
41. it acknowledges that its commitment to acquire Placing Shares on the terms set out in this Announcement and in the contract note will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may in future be made to the terms and conditions of the Placing and that Placees will have no right to be consulted or require that their consent be obtained with respect to the Company's or finnCap's conduct of the Placing;
42. it has knowledge and experience in financial, business and international investment matters as is required to evaluate the merits and risks of subscribing for the Placing Shares. It further acknowledges that it is experienced in investing in securities of this nature and is aware that it may be required to bear, and is able to bear, the economic risk of, and is able to sustain, a complete loss in connection with the Placing. It has relied upon its own examination and due diligence of the Company and its affiliates taken as a whole, and the terms of the Placing, including the merits and risks involved;
43. it irrevocably appoints any duly authorised officer of finnCap as its agent for the purpose of executing and delivering to the Company and/or its registrars any documents on its behalf necessary to enable it to be registered as the holder of any of the Placing Shares for which it agrees to subscribe for upon the terms of this Announcement;
44. the Company, finnCap and others (including each of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees) will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties, acknowledgements and agreements, which are given to finnCap on its own behalf and on behalf of the Company and are irrevocable;
45. if it is acquiring the Placing Shares as a fiduciary or agent for one or more investor accounts, it has full power and authority to make, and does make, the foregoing representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements, undertakings and indemnities on behalf of each such accounts;
46. time is of the essence as regards its obligations under this Appendix;
47. any document that is to be sent to it in connection with the Placing will be sent at its risk and may be sent to it at any address provided by it to finnCap;
48. the Placing Shares will be issued subject to the terms and conditions of this Appendix and the articles of association of the Company; and
49. the terms and conditions contained in this Appendix and all documents into which this Appendix is incorporated by reference or otherwise validly forms a part and/or any agreements entered into pursuant to these terms and conditions and all agreements to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing will be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and it submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in relation to any claim, dispute or matter arising out of such contract except that enforcement proceedings in respect of the obligation to make payment for the Placing Shares (together with interest chargeable thereon) may be taken by the Company or finnCap in any jurisdiction in which the relevant Placee is incorporated or in which any of its securities have a quotation on a recognised stock exchange.
By participating in the Placing, each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) agrees to indemnify and hold the Company, finnCap and each of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees harmless from any and all costs, claims, liabilities and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) arising out of or in connection with any breach of the representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings given by the Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) in this Appendix or incurred by finnCap, the Company or each of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees arising from the performance of the Placee's obligations as set out in this Announcement, and further agrees that the provisions of this Appendix shall survive after the completion of the Placing.
The agreement to allot and issue Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax in the United Kingdom relates only to their allotment and issue to Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents, direct by the Company. Such agreement assumes that the Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to transfer the Placing Shares into a clearance service. If there are any such arrangements, or the settlement related to any other dealings in the Placing Shares, stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax may be payable. In that event, the Placee agrees that it shall be responsible for such stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax and neither the Company nor finnCap shall be responsible for such stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax. If this is the case, each Placee should seek its own advice and they should notify finnCap accordingly. In addition, Placees should note that they will be liable for any capital duty, stamp duty and all other stamp, issue, securities, transfer, registration, documentary or other duties or taxes (including any interest, fines or penalties relating thereto) payable outside the United Kingdom by them or any other person on the acquisition by them of any Placing Shares or the agreement by them to acquire any Placing Shares and each Placee, or the Placee's nominee, in respect of whom (or in respect of the person for whom it is participating in the Placing as an agent or nominee) the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares has given rise to such non-United Kingdom stamp, registration, documentary, transfer or similar taxes or duties undertakes to pay such taxes and duties, including any interest and penalties (if applicable), forthwith and to indemnify on an after-tax basis and to hold harmless the Company and finnCap in the event that either the Company and/or finnCap have incurred any such liability to such taxes or duties.
The representations, warranties, acknowledgements, undertakings and indemnities contained in this Appendix are given to finnCap for itself and on behalf of the Company and are irrevocable.
finnCap is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom and is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Placing, and finnCap will not be responsible to anyone (including any Placees) other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Placing or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.
Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of the Placee acknowledges that finnCap does not owe any fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings, acknowledgements, agreements or indemnities in the Placing Agreement.
Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of the Placee acknowledges and agrees that finnCap may (at its absolute discretion) satisfy its obligations to procure Placees by itself agreeing to become a Placee in respect of some or all of the Placing Shares or by nominating any connected or associated person to do so.
When a Placee or any person acting on behalf of the Placee is dealing with finnCap, any money held in an account with finnCap on behalf of the Placee and/or any person acting on behalf of the Placee will not be treated as client money within the meaning of the relevant rules and regulations of the FCA made under the FSMA. Each Placee acknowledges that the money will not be subject to the protections conferred by the client money rules: as a consequence this money will not be segregated from finnCap's money in accordance with the client money rules and will be held by it under a banking relationship and not as trustee.
References to time in this Announcement are to London time, unless otherwise stated.
All times and dates in this Announcement may be subject to amendment. Placees will be notified of any changes.
No statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of the Company.
The price of shares and any income expected from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the full amount invested upon disposal of the shares. Past performance is no guide to future performance, and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
The Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than the London Stock Exchange.
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.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
Latest directors dealings
- 1 day ago Legal & General Group
- 1 day ago Legal & General Group
- 1 day ago GETECH Group
- 1 day ago Great Portland Estates
- 1 day ago Time Out Group