Results of Open Offer

RNS Number : 8851A

SAGA PLC

02 October 2020

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD BREACH ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A PROSPECTUS OR PROSPECTUS EQUIVALENT BUT AN ADVERTISEMENT. INVESTORS SHOULD NOT SUBSCRIBE FOR, OR OTHERWISE PURCHASE, ACQUIRE, SELL OR DISPOSE OF, ANY OF THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT EXCEPT ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN AND INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE PROSPECTUS PUBLISHED BY THE COMPANY.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2 October 2020

Saga plc

Results of Open Offer

Ahead of its General Meeting at 10.30 am today, Saga PLC (the "Company" or "Saga") issues the following updating on the results of its Open Offer. Saga announced on 10 September 2020 the details of a Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer (the "Capital Raising") to raise gross proceeds of approximately £150 million. On 10 September 2020, it announced the results of the Conditional Placing and, subject to the applicable conditions, has raised gross proceeds of approximately £74.8 million. This is in addition to the gross proceeds of approximately £75.5m raised pursuant to the Firm Placing.

Capitalised terms not otherwise defined in the text of this announcement have the meanings given in the Company's announcement of 10 September 2020.

The Open Offer closed for acceptances at 11 a.m. on 30 September 2020 in accordance with its terms. The Company announces that it has received valid acceptances under the Open Offer in respect of 271,937,350 Open Offer Shares, representing 43.63 per cent. of the 623,335,182 Open Offer Shares available pursuant to the Open Offer. The remaining shares have been placed with conditional placees, a significant proportion of which comprised existing shareholders. These shares have been placed first with Sir Roger De Haan and then subsequently to other conditional placees in line with the preferential clawback arrangements as set out in the Company's announcement of 10 September 2020.

As set out in the Prospectus published on 11 September 2020 by Saga in connection with the Capital Raising (the "Prospectus"), Sir Roger De Haan is subscribing for 348,583,026 New Shares in the Firm Placing and is also subscribing for 204,250,307 New Shares in the Placing and Open Offer, and, as a result, from Admission will hold 26.40 per cent. of the Enlarged Share Capital.

The Placing and Open Offer is conditional on, among other things:

· the Resolutions being passed by Shareholders at the General Meeting;

· Admission becoming effective by not later than 8.00 a.m. on 5 October 2020 (or such later time or date as the Joint Global Coordinators and the Company may agree);

· the Placing and Open Offer Agreement becoming unconditional; and

· the Subscription Agreement becoming unconditional.

The necessary shareholder approvals for the Placing and Open Offer and the Capital Raising will be sought at the General Meeting to be held at 10.30 a.m. today, the full details of which are set out in the Notice of General Meeting contained in the Prospectus.

Applications have been made for the 971,918,208 New Shares issued pursuant to the Capital Raising to be admitted to listing on the premium segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that Admission of the New Shares will become effective and dealings in the New Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 5 October 2020.

New Shares issued in uncertificated form are expected to be credited to CREST accounts at 8.00 a.m. on 5 October 2020, and definitive share certificates for the New Shares issued in certificated form are expected to be despatched by post, at the applicant's risk, on or around 23 October 2020.

The Enlarged Share Capital of the Company immediately following Admission will be 2,093,921,536 Ordinary Shares in aggregate. This figure may be used by Shareholders (and others with notification obligations) 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 Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For further information, please contact:

Saga plc Investor Relations	Mark Watkins	Tel: [phone]
Sponsor, Joint Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner to Saga
J.P. Morgan Cazenove	Edward Squire, James A. Kelly, Andrew Stockdale	Tel: [phone]
Joint Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner to Saga
Numis	Charles Farquhar, Stephen Westgate, Jamie Loughborough	Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7260 1000
Joint Bookrunner to Saga
HSBC	Anthony Parsons, Richard Fagan, Graeme Lewis	Tel: [phone]
Financial Adviser to Sir Roger De Haan
Greenhill	David Wyles, Dean Rodrigues	Tel: [phone]
Media Enquiries
Headland Consultancy	Susanna Voyle, Henry Wallers, Sophie O'Donoghue	Tel: [phone]

The person responsible for making this Announcement on behalf of the Company is Mark Watkins, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Finance.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This announcement has been issued by and is the sole responsibility of the Company. This announcement is not a prospectus or prospectus equivalent but an advertisement and investors should not subscribe for, or otherwise purchase, acquire, sell or dispose of any of the securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of the information contained in the combined prospectus and circular published by the Company in connection with the Capital Raising (the "Prospectus") in due course. The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. A copy of the Prospectus is available on the Company's website, https://www.corporate.saga.co.uk/, provided that the Prospectus is not, subject to certain exceptions, be available to certain Shareholders in certain restricted or excluded territories. The Prospectus gives further details of the Capital Raising.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities of the Company (the "Securities"), or the solicitation of any vote or approval in, the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia) (the "United States" or "US") or in any other jurisdiction, pursuant to this announcement or otherwise. The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the UK and the availability of any offer to Shareholders of Saga who are not resident in the UK may be affected by the laws of relevant jurisdictions. Therefore, any persons who are subject to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the UK or Shareholders of Saga who are not resident in the UK will need to inform themselves about and observe any applicable requirements.

The Securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or under the securities laws or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and accordingly may not be offered, sold, pledged or transferred, directly or indirectly, in, into or within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and the securities laws of any relevant state or jurisdiction of the United States. There will be no public offering of Securities in the United States and there is no intention to register any portion of any offering in the United States.

J.P. Morgan Securities plc (which conducts its UK investment banking business as J.P. Morgan Cazenove) ("JPM") is authorised by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (the "PRA") and regulated in the United Kingdom by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"). Numis Securities Limited ("Numis") is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA. HSBC Bank plc ("HSBC", and together with JPM and Numis, the "Joint Bookrunners") is authorised by the PRA and regulated in the United Kingdom by the PRA and FCA. The Joint Bookrunners are acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Capital Raising and the matters referred to herein and will not regard any other person as a client in relation to the Capital Raising and the matters referred to herein and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients or for providing advice in relation to the Capital Raising and the matters referred to herein.

Greenhill & Co. International LLP ("Greenhill"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Sir Roger De Haan and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sir Roger De Haan for providing the protections afforded to its clients or affiliates, or for providing advice in relation to any matter or arrangement referred to herein.

None of the Joint Bookrunners, nor Greenhill, nor any of their respective affiliates (or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to this announcement, including the truth, accuracy, fairness, sufficiency or completeness of the information or the opinions or beliefs contained in this announcement (or any part hereof). None of the information in this announcement has been independently verified or approved by the Joint Bookrunners, or Greenhill, or any of their respective affiliates. The Joint Bookrunners and each of their respective affiliates (and their respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) accordingly disclaim all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or in respect of any statements or other information contained in this announcement and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by either a Joint Bookrunner or any of their respective affiliates (or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this announcement. Save in the case of fraud, no responsibility or liability is accepted by the Joint Bookrunners or any of their respective affiliates (or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or advisers) for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in such information or opinions or for any loss, cost or damage suffered or incurred howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise in connection with this announcement. No person has been authorised to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this announcement and, if given or made, such announcements must not be relied on as having been authorised by the Company, the Joint Bookrunners or any of their respective affiliates. Subject to the Listing Rules, the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and MAR, the issue of this announcement and any subsequent announcement shall not, in any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Group since the date of this announcement or that the information contained in it is correct as at any subsequent date.

This announcement contains "forward-looking statements", which include statements other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, its future financial condition and performance and results of operations; its strategy, plans, objectives, prospects, growth, goals and targets; future developments in the industry and markets in which the Company participates or is seeking to participate; and anticipated regulatory changes in the industry and markets in which the Company operates. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "guidance", "intend", "may", "plan", "project", "should" or "will" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions, some of which are outside of the Company's influence and/or control, regarding the Company's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. Shareholders and potential investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Company's actual financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and distributions to Shareholders and the development of its financing strategies, and the development of the industry in which it operates, may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Company's financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and distributions to Shareholders and the development of their financing strategies, and the development of the industry in which they operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast.

This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning any Shareholder's or investor's options with respect to the Placing and Open Offer. The price of shares 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. The contents of this announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each investor or prospective investor should consult his, her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.

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.

Information to Distributors

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 (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 New Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the New Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the New Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the New Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the New 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 Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Capital Raise. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Joint Bookrunners will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the New Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own Target Market Assessment in respect of the New Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.

 

END

 

 

ROIEANEFEAKEFFA