ARGO Initial admission - Offcl Lst

RNS Number : 6853W

Argo Blockchain PLC

03 August 2018

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR RELEASE IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OR AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, OR ANY PROVINCE OR TERRITORY THEREOF OR TO OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OF ANY NATIONAL, RESIDENT OR CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OR ANY PERSON RESIDENT IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA.

3 August 2018

Argo Blockchain PLC

('Argo' or 'the Company')

Admission to the Official List and first day of dealings

Argo, a UK-based provider of cryptomining services, is pleased to announce that its ordinary shares of £0.001 each (Ordinary Shares) have been admitted to the standard segment of the Official List and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, following a successful placing of Ordinary Shares to raise £25m before expenses for the Company.

First dealings in the Ordinary Shares are due to commence at 8am today under the ticker symbol ARB, making Argo the first cryptomining services provider to join the London stock market.

A total of 156,250,000 ordinary shares (representing 53.2% of the Company's issued share capital on Admission) were placed at 16 pence per share, valuing Argo at a market capitalisation of £47 million. The Placing was significantly over-subscribed.

On admission, the Company will have 293,750,000 ordinary shares in issue.

Mirabaud Securities Ltd acted as the sole bookrunner and stock broker to the Company.

The purpose of the flotation is to raise the public profile and provide new funds for the Company's expansion and long-term growth.

Commenting on Argo's flotation, Jonathan Bixby, Executive Chairman, said:

"Argo's admission to the London main market is a major step in the Company's development and will put us in a strong position to execute our long-term growth strategy. We are delighted with the strong response from investors which will enable us to grow our business in multiple jurisdictions."

Company highlights

Argo was established in December 2017 to develop a global datacentre management business facilitating cryptocurrency Mining as a Service (MaaS) to be available at scale to anyone, anywhere in the world.

The service went live on 11 June 2018 and initially covers four cryptocurrencies, being Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Zcash. These cryptocurrencies had a total market capitalisation of over $51bn as at July 26th 2018. The Company may, in future, add or remove cryptocurrencies from its service offerings.

The Directors believe that there is significant pent-up demand for a user-friendly and cost-effective MaaS that enables users to procure mining services without the up-front capital commitment to purchase hardware or the necessary technical skills to operate a home mining farm.

Argo's system allows the user to configure and manage the cryptocurrency they wish to mine, which mining pool they wish to contribute to and how they would like to store the generated coins. The Company does not intend to offer any form of cryptocurrency custody service, and therefore the user will be responsible for the storage and security of their cryptocurrency.

The Company's prospectus published in connection with its listing is available on the Company's website at www.argoblockchain.com/prospectus and on the National Storage Mechanism.             

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Argo Blockchain
Jonathan Bixby Executive Chairman Mike Edwards President & Executive Director Neil Thapar Financial Communications Adviser	via Tancredi [phone] [phone]
Mirabaud
Sole Bookrunner and Corporate Broker Peter Krens	[phone]
Tancredi Intelligent Communication (Media Relations)
Salamander Davoudi [e-mail] Georgia Hanias [e-mail]	[phone] [phone]

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

Neither this announcement or any copy of it may be made or transmitted into the United States, or distributed, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part in the United States. Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be made or transmitted, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part into Australia, Canada, Japan, or the Republic of South Africa or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions, except in compliance with applicable securities laws. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of Australian, Canadian, Japanese, South African or United States securities laws. The distribution of this announcement in other jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions. 

This announcement and the Prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire or subscribe for, Ordinary Shares in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is unlawful or would impose any unfulfilled registration, qualification, publication or approval requirements on the Company or Mirabaud. The offer and sale of Ordinary Shares has not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan. Subject to certain exemptions, the Ordinary Shares may not be offered to or sold within Australia, Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan or to any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan.

The Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), or under the securities laws or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States or of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa, or any province or territory thereof. Subject to certain exceptions, the Ordinary Shares may not be taken up, offered, sold, resold, transferred or distributed, directly or indirectly, and this document may not be distributed by any means including electronic transmission within, into, in or from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa or to as for the account of any national, resident or citizen of the United States or any person resident in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa.  The Ordinary Shares may only be offered or sold in offshore transactions as defined in and in accordance with Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act.  Acquirers of the Ordinary Shares may not offer to sell, pledge or otherwise transfer the Ordinary Shares in the United States, or to any US Person as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act, including resident corporations, or other entities organised under the laws of the United States, or non-US branches or agencies of such corporations unless such offer, sale, pledge or transfer is registered under the Securities Act, or an exemption from registration is available.  The Company does not currently plan to register the Ordinary Shares under the Securities Act.  The distribution of this document in or into other jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this document comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Mirabaud Securities Ltd (trading as Mirabaud), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting only for the Company in connection with the matters described in this announcement and is not acting for or advising any other person, or treating any other person as its client, in relation thereto and will not be responsible for providing the regulatory protection afforded to clients of Mirabaud or advice to any other person in relation to the matters contained herein.

 

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