Benchmark Group PLC
23 May 2003
For immediate release - 23 May 2003
EGM RESULT RE: SHARE BUY-BACK PROGRAMME
Benchmark Group PLC announces that at an Extraordinary General Meeting held
today shareholders authorised the Company to implement a buy-back programme for
up to 6,680,000 of its own shares (just under 7 per cent. of issued share
capital) by way of market purchases. Independent shareholders also approved, on
a poll, the waiver by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers of any resulting
obligations under the City Code for the Company's two largest shareholders,
Friends Provident plc and GuocoLand Limited, to make a general offer for the
shares not owned by them.
The current and maximum potential shareholdings of Friends Provident and
GuocoLand (and their respective concert parties) if the buy-back programme were
carried out in full but neither Friends Provident nor GuocoLand sold any of
their existing holdings are set out below:
(1) (2) (3)
Number of ordinary Percentage of current Maximum percentage
shares currently held issued share capital of issued share capital
assuming full
utilisation of buy-back
authority
% %
Friends Provident 33,816,672 34.70 37.26
GuocoLand 33,657,790 34.54 37.08
Any purchases under the buy-back programme would not prejudice the maintenance
of the Company's listing, as a minimum of 25 per cent. of the shares in issue
would remain in public hands.
For further information:
Benchmark Group PLC Tavistock Communications
Nigel Kempner Jeremy Carey/Molly Dover
Tel: 020 7659 0500 Tel: 020 7600 2288
mdover@tavistock.co.uk
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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