STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE RIGHTS

RNS Number : 0435E

Lloyds Banking Group PLC

14 December 2009

 



121/09    

14 December 2009

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, HONG KONG, ISRAEL, JAPAN, THAILAND OR ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC ANNOUNCES STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE RIGHTS ISSUE

Unless otherwise defined in this announcement, capitalised definitions shall have the same meaning as in the rights issue prospectus (the "Prospectus") published on 3 November 2009 by Lloyds Banking Group plc (the "Company" or "Lloyds Banking Group") in connection with the Rights Issue.

Following the closing of the Rights Issue offer period on 11 December 2009, Lloyds Banking Group announces that it has received valid acceptances in respect of 34,794,322,592 New Shares representing approximately 95.314 per cent. of the total number of New Shares to be issued pursuant to the Rights Issue announced by the Company on 3 November 2009.

Commenting on the results of the Rights Issue, Eric Daniels, Group Chief Executive, said:

"I would like to thank our shareholders for their considerable support for our capital raising programme. Our focus remains on delivering on our plans to become the UK's leading financial services company, which we believe will result in significant benefits for all our shareholders."

It is expected that the New Shares in uncertificated form will be credited to CREST accounts on 14 December 2009 and that definitive share certificates will be dispatched to shareholders by no later than 29 December 2009.

It is expected that the New Shares will commence trading fully paid on London Stock Exchange plc's main market for listed securities on 14 December 2009.

As disclosed in the Prospectus, BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS Limited and Citigroup Global Markets U.K. Equity Limited, acting as joint global co-ordinators, will use reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for the balance of New Shares for which valid acceptances were not received. A further announcement as to the number of New Shares for which subscribers have been procured will be made in due course. 

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For further information:

Investor Relations

Michael Oliver                                                              [phone]

Director of Investor Relations

Email: [e-mail]

Douglas Radcliffe                                                        [phone]

Senior Manager, Investor Relations

Email: [e-mail]

Media Relations

Shane O'Riordain                                                         [phone]

Group Communications Director

Email: shaneo'[e-mail]

Ross Keany                                                                 [phone]

Senior Media Relations Manager

Email: [e-mail] 

BofA Merrill Lynch                                                    [phone]

Matthew Greenburgh

Rupert Hume-Kendall 

Oliver Holbourn

UBS Investment Bank                                              [phone] 

Christopher Fox  

Christopher Smith

Lucy Taylor-Smith

Citi                                                                               [phone]

David James

Andrew Thompson

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement contains forward looking statements with respect to the business, strategy and plans of Lloyds Banking Group, its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition and performance. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The Group's actual future results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these forward looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including UK domestic and global economic and business conditions, the ability to derive cost savings and other benefits as well as to mitigate exposures from the acquisition and integration of HBOS, risks concerning borrower quality, market related trends and developments, changing demographic trends, changes in customer preferences, changes to regulation, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities in the UK or jurisdictions outside the UK, including other European countries and the US, exposure to regulatory scrutiny, legal proceedings or complaints, competition and other factors. Please refer to the latest Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of such factors. The forward looking statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date of this announcement, and the Group undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward looking statements.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for or purchase any transferable securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of the information in the Prospectus and the pricing statement issued by the Company on 24 November 2009 (the "Pricing Statement") in connection with the admission of its ordinary shares to the Official List of the Financial Services Authority and to trading on London Stock Exchange plc's main market for listed securities. 

This announcement does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. The Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights and New Shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or under any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. There will be no public offer of the Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights and New Shares in the United States. Neither the SEC nor any other US federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights and New Shares or passed an opinion on the adequacy of this announcement, the Prospectus, the Pricing Statement or the Provisional Allotment Letters. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. Shareholders who are or become affiliates (within the meaning of the Securities Act) of Lloyds Banking Group will be subject to restrictions on the resale of the New Shares in the United States.

The securities mentioned herein and in the Prospectus may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, in any Restricted Jurisdiction absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the relevant laws of any Restricted Jurisdiction. There will be no public offer of such securities in any Restricted Jurisdiction. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to subscribe for, the securities being issued in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.

The contents of Lloyds Banking Group's website do not form part of the Prospectus, the Pricing Statement or this announcement. 

The contents of this announcement are not to be construed as legal, financial, business or tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult its own legal adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial or tax advice.

Merrill Lynch, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, and UBS are acting severally and exclusively for Lloyds Banking Group and for no one else as joint sponsors, joint financial advisers and joint global co-ordinators in relation to the Rights Issue and the listing of the New Shares on the Official List and their admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities, and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to clients of Merrill Lynch or UBS, respectively, nor for providing advice in connection with the Rights Issue, proposed listing or admission to trading or contents of this document or any other matters referred to in this document, other than to the extent required by law or appropriate regulation in the UK.

Citi, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Lloyds Banking Group and for no one else as joint bookrunner and joint global co-ordinator in relation to the Rights Issue and the listing of the New Shares on the Official List and their admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities, and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citi nor for providing advice in connection with the Rights Issue, proposed listing or admission to trading or contents of this document or any other matters referred to in this document, other than to the extent required by law or appropriate regulation in the UK.

 

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