Result of Cash Placing

RNS Number : 2602N

Rockhopper Exploration plc

08 June 2010

 

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS RELEASE, IS NOT FOR GENERAL PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL

8 June 2010

Rockhopper Exploration plc

("Rockhopper" or the "Company")

Result of Cash Placing

(the "Placing")

Rockhopper, the North Falkland Basin oil and gas exploration company, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the equity placing announced this morning.

A total of 17,320,000 new ordinary shares of the Company (the "Placing Shares") have been placed by Canaccord Genuity Ltd at a price of 280 pence per Placing Share, raising approximately £48.5 million before expenses.

The Placing Shares will be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares in the share capital of Rockhopper, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of their issue.

Application has been made for, and the Placing is conditional on, inter alia, admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that settlement will occur, Admission will become effective and dealings in the Placing Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 11 June 2010.

Following Admission of the Placing Shares, Rockhopper's issued share capital will consist of 192,504,954 ordinary shares of 1p each. As such, the total number of ordinary shares in Rockhopper to which voting rights are attached on the basis of one vote per ordinary share held will be 192,504,954.

The above total voting rights figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine whether they are required to notify their interests in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Pierre Jungels, Chairman of Rockhopper, commented:

"We are delighted that the placing has been successfully completed and met such an enthusiastic and swift response. We see this as a significant vote of confidence from investors in our work on the drilling campaign to date and in our plans for the rest of this year. Rockhopper has grown rapidly over the last twelve months and is well placed to continue to achieve substantial further growth during the next phase of its development.

The board will consider, provided the relevant requirements are met, whether the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange would be the most appropriate platform for the Company's continued expansion both by improving its profile as well as potentially increasing the liquidity of trading in its securities and enabling wider investor access to Rockhopper's shares."

Enquiries:

Rockhopper Exploration plc

Sam Moody - Managing Director

Tel. [phone] (via M: Communications)

Canaccord Genuity Limited
Robert Finlay / Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor

Tel. [phone]

M: Communications

Patrick d'Ancona or Ben Simons

Tel. [phone]

General

This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan or any jurisdiction into which the same would be unlawful. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire shares in the capital of the Company in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan or any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful. The shares in the Company referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any State or other jurisdiction of the United States, and the securities may not be offered, sold, pledged or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Any offering to be made in or into the United States will be made to a limited number of "institutional accredited investors" within the meaning of  Rule 501(a) (1), (2), (3) or (7) of Regulation D under the US Securities Act who are also "qualified institutional buyers" within the meaning of Rule 144A under the US Securities Act and "qualified purchasers" for the purposes of the U.S. Investment Company Act 1940, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the US Securities Act in a transaction not involving any public offering.   The Placing Shares are being offered and sold outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the US Securities Act.  No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information herein, will not be accepted.

This announcement has been issued by and is the sole responsibility of the Company. 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 Canaccord Genuity or by any of its 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.

Canaccord Genuity, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to any persons other than the Company for providing the protections afforded its clients for providing advice in relation to the Placing or in relation to the contents of this announcement or any other transaction, arrangement or matter referred to in it. 

The distribution of this announcement or Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company or Canaccord Genuity that would permit an offering of such shares or possession or distribution of this announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required by the Company and Canaccord Genuity to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to the Company's future prospects, developments and business strategies. Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as 'believe', 'could', 'envisage', 'potential', 'estimate', 'expect', 'may', 'will' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. The forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement.

 

END

 

 

ROIFPMJTMBBMBRM