Allotment and Issuance of Shares

RNS Number : 7890W

Smiths News PLC

02 January 2014

 



Smiths News PLC

("Smiths News" or "the Company")

Allotment and Issuance of Shares

Pursuant to the Smiths News announcement dated 24 April 2012 in respect of the acquisition of Hedgelane Limited, Smith News announces that the conditions relating to the payment of up to £4.0m of deferred consideration have now been satisfied in full.  The Company is therefore now satisfying the Group's obligation to pay this consideration by the allotment and issue of a total of 4,530,012 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares").  The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares of the Company.

The Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") has approved the admission of the New Ordinary Shares to the Official List and the London Stock Exchange has granted permission for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading and, accordingly, the New Ordinary Shares will be allotted and issued by the Company on 3 January 2014.

The New Ordinary Shares represent approximately 2.4% of the enlarged issued share capital of Smiths News immediately after the issue of the New Ordinary Shares and, as a result, the Company's capital will now consist of 188,975,273 ordinary shares of 5 pence each with voting rights.  The Company does not hold any shares in Treasury at the date of this announcement and, therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company will now be 188,975,273.

The above figure can be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which to determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Enquiries:

Smiths News PLC
Mark Cashmore, Group Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
Nick Gresham, Chief Financial Officer
Buchanan
Jeremy Garcia / Gabriella Clinkard	Tel: [phone]

About Smiths News PLC:

Smiths News PLC comprises Smiths News, the UK's leading wholesaler of newspapers and magazines, Bertram Books, a leading UK book wholesaler and The Consortium, a leading independent distributor of consumable products to the education and care markets.

Smiths News distributes newspapers and magazines on behalf of all the major national publishers as well as a large number of regional publishers.  The business serves approximately 30,000 customers across England and Wales, supplying large general retailers as well as smaller independent newsagents.  Smiths News has an approximate 55% share of the newspaper and magazine wholesaling market in the UK.  In addition to its distribution activities, Smiths News collects and processes returns, supplies sales information to publishers and provides a range of services for its retail customers.

Bertram Books supplies books to a mix of independent booksellers, on-line and multiple retailers, and libraries.  Bertrams is a leading supplier of consumer and academic books in the UK and a growing player in international, digital and direct to consumer markets.

The Consortium supplies consumable products to approximately 30,000 customers across the education and care markets.  The Consortium is a leading UK distributor with an approximate 5% share in a growing and fragmented market.

 

END

 

 

IOEGMGGMDZKGDZM