EEA Ownership Update

RNS Number : 9557T

Wizz Air Holdings PLC

12 January 2017

 

WIZZ AIR EEA OWNERSHIP UPDATE  

Ticker:  WIZZ

Geneva, 12 January 2017: The share register of Wizz Air Holdings Plc ("the Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") shows that as at 3 January 2017 the ownership of Ordinary Shares in the Company by Qualifying Nationals is c.51 per cent. Shareholders and potential investors are reminded that the Company's Board of Directors has set a maximum permitted level of Ordinary Share ownership by Non-Qualifying Nationals at 49 per cent (the "Permitted Maximum", as stated in the Company's Initial Public Offering prospectus dated 25 February 2015 (the "Prospectus").

As also disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company's articles of association enable the Company's Board of Directors to take action to ensure that the amount of Ordinary Shares held by Non-Qualifying Nationals does not reach 50 per cent or more. The Company reminds market participants that details of the actions that may be taken by the Board are set out in paragraph 6 of Part XI of the Prospectus. In particular, in certain circumstances, the directors may treat Ordinary Shares that gave rise to the need to take action and/or that are in excess of the Permitted Maximum as "Restricted Shares" and may deprive holders of Restricted Shares of the rights to attend, vote at, and speak at general meetings and/or require such holders to dispose of their Restricted Shares to a Qualifying National within 21 days. The directors are also given the power to transfer such Restricted Shares themselves if a holder fails to comply.

The Company's Board of Directors will continue to monitor the situation closely and will take such action as it considers necessary and as contemplated by the Company's articles of association.

The definitions of "Non-Qualifying National" and "Qualifying National" are set out in paragraph 6 of Part XI of the Prospectus and state the following:

-   a "Non-Qualifying National" includes any person who is not a Qualifying National in accordance with the definition below

-   a "Qualifying National" includes: (i) EEA Nationals, (ii) nationals of Switzerland and (iii) in respect of any undertaking, an undertaking which satisfies the conditions as to nationality of ownership and control of undertakings granted an operating licence contained in Article 4(f) of the Air Services Regulation, as such conditions may be amended, varied, supplemented or replaced from time to time, or as provided for in any agreement between the EU and any third country (whether or not such undertaking is itself granted an operating licence).

ABOUT WIZZ AIR

Wizz Air is the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, operates a fleet of 74 Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft, and offers more than 500 routes from 27 bases, connecting 134 destinations across 40 countries. At Wizz Air, a team of approximately 3,000 aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low ticket prices making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 23 million passengers in 2016. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ and is included in the FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share Indices. Wizz Air is registered under the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), the global benchmark in airline safety recognition. The company was recently named 2016 Value Airline of the Year by the editors of Air Transport World, one of the leading airline trade magazines, as well as 2016 Low Cost Airline of the Year by the Center for Aviation (CAPA), a leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence.

For more information:
Investors:	Iain Wetherall, Wizz Air:	[phone]
	Balint Veres, Wizz Air:	[phone]
Media:	Tamara Vallois, Wizz Air:	[phone]
	Edward Bridges / Jonathan Neilan, FTI Consulting LLP:	[phone]

 

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