Granting of Options and Issue of Equity

RNS Number : 1712T

Kennedy Ventures PLC

16 July 2015

 

16 July 2015

Kennedy Ventures plc

Granting of Options, Related Party Transaction and Issue of Equity

Kennedy Ventures plc ("Kennedy Ventures" or the "Company"), which is focused on tantalite production in Namibia through its 75% holding in African Tantalum (Pty) Limited, announces the following transactions in the Company's issued share capital.

Issue of Options

Further to the announcement by Kennedy Ventures on 26 March 2014, options have been granted to the following Directors of the Company:

Director	Number of Options	Exercise Price (p)	Exercise Expiry Date
Giles Clarke	1,599,705	1.25	25 March 2018
Nick Harrison	1,599,705	1.25	25 March 2018

In addition, a further 1,066,470 options have been granted to each of Peter Redmond and Colin Weinberg, both of whom are former directors of Kennedy Ventures, on the same terms in recognition of services provided to the Company.

Related Party Transaction

Further to the announcement by Kennedy Ventures on 3 July 2015 regarding the unsecured loan facility ("Loan Facility") provided to the Company by Westleigh Investment Holdings Limited ("WIHL"), a company in which Giles Clarke and Nick Harrison, both of whom are directors of Kennedy Ventures, hold a beneficial interest of 73.28% and 26.72% respectively, the Company confirms that it has agreed to repay the Loan Facility in full as set out below:

·    £100,000 of the Loan Facility will be repaid through the issue to WIHL of 1,904,762 new ordinary shares of £0.01 ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 5.25 pence per Ordinary Share (representing a 2.5% premium to the closing price on 14 July 2015); and

·    The balance of £42,000 will be repaid in cash from the proceeds of the Company's recent placing.

The transaction above in respect of the Loan Facility is a related party transaction under the AIM Rules for Companies and the independent directors consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned.

Conversion of Accrued Fees

Further to the announcement by the Company on 15 July 2015 regarding board changes, Peter Redmond and Colin Weinberg have agreed to convert accrued fees amounting to £10,000 each into new Ordinary Shares at a price of 5.25 pence per Ordinary Share, resulting in the issue of 380,952 new Ordinary Shares.

Application has been made for admission of the new Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected that Admission will occur on or around 22 July 2015.

Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 105,268,129 Ordinary Shares, with each carrying the right to one vote. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. This figure above may therefore 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 in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Kennedy Ventures plc	020 3757 4983
Peter Hibberd c/o Georgia Mann
Cenkos Securities (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)	0131 220 6939
Derrick Lee / Nick Tulloch
Shore Capital (Joint Broker)	020 7408 4090
Mark Percy / Toby Gibbs (corporate finance)
Jerry Keen (corporate broking)
Peterhouse Corporate Finance (Joint Broker) Duncan Vasey	020 7469 0935
Camarco
Billy Clegg / Georgia Mann	020 3757 6983

 

Notes to editors

Tantalite concentrates form the vast majority of feedstock for all tantalum products. As such they are critical and unreplaceable parts of a wide range of modern electronics including computers, tablets, mobile phones, motor components and video game systems.

Aside from electronics, tantalum has significant usage in super alloys, specialised steels, corrosion resistant equipment and medicine.

Tantalum's applications are based on its unique physio - chemical properties. The oxides and metal have extremely high melting points, high heat conductivity and strong resistance to corrosive environments. Combined, these factors have entrenched its international demand and made it an important component of numerous research projects and new technologies.

Trade pricing is following tantalum markets as per Asian Metals and Metal Pages.

In August 2012, the US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a rule mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to require companies reporting to the SEC to publicly disclose the origins of the tantalum they buy in order to restrict the use of conflict minerals that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country.  As a result, users of tantalum are encouraged to demonstrate that their supply chain is transparent to ensure that conflict-free tantalum is procured.

It is intended that the tantalum produced by Aftan will be conflict-free.

 

END

 

 

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