Result of REX Retail Offer & Notice of Meeting

AFC Energy Plc

12 June 2024

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDICES) AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OR INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR  THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE, OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON TO WHOM, TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OR BREACH OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THE COMMUNICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS OR MATERIALS RELATING TO THE REX RETAIL OFFER AS A FINANCIAL PROMOTION IS ONLY BEING MADE TO, AND MAY ONLY BE ACTED UPON BY, THOSE PERSONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 43 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (WHICH INCLUDES AN EXISTING MEMBER OF AFC ENERGY PLC).  ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO SUCH PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH SUCH PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF ANY OFFER OR INVITATION TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR ANY SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR SUBSCRIBE FOR, ANY SECURITIES OF AFC ENERGY PLC

12 June 2024

AFC Energy PLC

("AFC Energy" or the "Company")

Result of REX Retail Offer

and

Notice of General Meeting

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), a leading provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, is pleased to announce that the REX Retail Offer launched on 10 June 2024 via REX has now closed and the Company has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £2.0 million through the issue of 13,333,333 REX Retail Offer Shares at an issue price of 15 pence per new Ordinary Shares (the "Issue Price"). Accordingly, the Company has conditionally raised total gross proceeds of approximately £15.8 million pursuant to the Placing, the REX Retail Offer and the Subscription (the "Fundraising").

The Firm Placing and the Subscription are conditional upon the Placing Agreement not being terminated in accordance with its terms and First Admission. The Conditional Placing and the REX Retail Offer are conditional upon, amongst other things, the Placing Agreement not being terminated in accordance with its terms and the Resolutions required to implement the Conditional Placing and the REX Retail Offer being passed by the Shareholders at the General Meeting proposed to be held at 11:00 a.m. on 28 June 2024.

The Circular, which provides further details of the Fundraising and includes a notice convening the General Meeting, is expected to be sent to Shareholders on 12 June 2024 and will also be available on the Company's website at www.afcenergy.com.

Admission to trading

Conditional on, amongst other things, the passing of the Fundraising Resolutions at the General Meeting, admission of the 13,333,333 REX Retail Offer Shares and the 17,204,036 Conditional Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Second Admission") is expected to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 1 July 2024 (or such later time and/or date as the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may agree (being in any event no later than 8.00 a.m. on 17 July 2024)). A separate announcement will be made following the General Meeting as to the results of the General Meeting and the total voting rights following Second Admission.

Unless otherwise defined, definitions contained in this Announcement have the same meaning as set out in the announcement made by the Company on 10 June 2024 regarding the launch of the Placing (the "Launch Announcement").

Enquiries:

AFC Energy PLC Adam Bond (CEO) Peter Dixon-Clarke (CFO) REX Retail	[phone] [e-mail]
FTI Consulting - Financial PR Advisors	[phone]
Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Tilly Abraham	[e-mail]

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at https://www.afcenergy.com/.

The Company's LEI is 213800SRJST19GNS9U35.

This announcement should be read in its entirety. In particular, the information in the "Important Notices" section of the announcement should be read and understood.

Important Notices

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE "UNITED STATES" OR "US")), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, , JAPAN ORSOUTH AFRICA,  OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. FURTHER, THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION.

This announcement or any part of it does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. No public offer of the securities referred to herein is being made in any such jurisdiction.

No action has been taken by the Company, Peel Hunt or any of their respective affiliates, or any person acting on its or their behalf that would permit an offer of the REX Retail Offer Shares or possession or distribution of this announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such REX Retail Offer Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required by the Company and Peel Hunt to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

The REX Retail Offer Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US 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 may not be offered, sold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any State or any other jurisdiction of the United States. Accordingly, the Placing Shares will be offered and sold outside of the United States only in "offshore transactions" (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act ("Regulation S")) pursuant to Regulation S and otherwise in accordance with applicable laws pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration under the Securities Act. No public offering of the New Shares will be made in the United States. The REX Retail Offer has not been approved or disapproved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any US regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Proposed Fundraising, or the accuracy or adequacy of this Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

This announcement has not been approved by the London Stock Exchange.

The relevant clearances have not been, nor will they be, obtained from the securities commission of any province or territory of Canada, no prospectus has been lodged with, or registered by, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or the Japanese Ministry of Finance; the relevant clearances have not been, and will not be, obtained for the South Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable body in South Africa in relation to the REX Retail Offer Shares and the REX Retail Offer Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under or offered in compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa. Accordingly, the REX Retail Offer Shares may not (unless an exemption under the relevant securities laws is applicable) be offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which such activities would be unlawful.

Certain statements contained in this Announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses and plans of the Company and its subsidiaries from time to time (the "Group"). Words such as "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "aims", "potential", "will", "would", "could", "considered", "likely", "estimate" and variations of these words and similar future or conditional expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements and forecasts but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon future circumstances that have not occurred. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. As a result, the Group's actual financial condition, results of operations and business and plans may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. No representation or warranty is made as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, such forward-looking statements and forecasts. The forward-looking statements and (if any) forecasts contained in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement. The Company, its directors, Peel Hunt or their respective affiliates and any person acting on its or their behalf each expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements and forecasts, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required to do so by applicable law or regulation or the London Stock Exchange.

REX is a proprietary technology platform owned and operated by Peel Hunt LLP (registered address at 7th Floor, 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2AT; FRN 530083). Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt") is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for the Company and for no-one else and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as its client in relation to the REX Retail Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients, nor for providing advice in connection with the REX Retail Offer, Admission and the other arrangements referred to in this announcement.

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 Peel Hunt or by any of its affiliates or any person acting on its behalf 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.

This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning any investor's investment decision with respect to the REX Retail Offer. Any indication in this announcement of the price at which the Shares have been bought or sold in the past cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. The price of shares and any income expected from them 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. This announcement does not identify or suggest, or purport to identify or suggest, the risks (direct or indirect) that may be associated with an investment in the REX Retail Offer Shares. The contents of this announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each investor or prospective investor should consult their or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, business, financial or tax advice.

No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or profit estimate for any period, and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings, earnings per share or income, cash flow from operations or free cash flow for the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings, earnings per share or income, cash flow from operations or free cash flow for the Company. 

The information in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. None of Peel Hunt or any of its affiliates, accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to this announcement, including the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of the announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Peel Hunt and its affiliates, accordingly disclaim all and any liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise which they might otherwise be found to have in respect of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The REX Retail Offer Shares to be issued or sold pursuant to the REX Retail Offer will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual or other legal obligation to forward a copy of this announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into or forms part of this announcement. The REX Retail Offer Shares to be issued or sold pursuant to the REX Retail Offer will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than the London Stock Exchange.

This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with applicable law and regulation in the United Kingdom and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom. 

It is further noted that the REX Retail Offer is only open to investors in the United Kingdom who fall within Article 43 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (which includes an existing member of the Company).

 

END