Miscellaneous
Issue of C Shares
IMPAX ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS PLC - ISSUE OF C SHARES
Introduction
On 12 September 2005 the Company announced that the Directors were
considering proposals for a further issue of Ordinary Shares with
Warrants. Proposals have been announced today for a Placing and Offer
for Subscription of C Shares which will convert into Ordinary Shares
to raise up to £80 million before expenses. Warrants will be issued
on the basis of one Warrant for every five Ordinary Shares resulting
from Conversion. Holders of existing Ordinary Shares on the Register
at the close of business on the business day prior to the Conversion
Date will also be issued, at no cost, with one Warrant for every five
existing Ordinary Shares then held. The Placing and Offer is not
being underwritten and will not proceed unless subscriptions are
received in aggregate for at least £25 million.
The Proposals also involve changes to the Company's articles of
association in relation to the continuation of the Company. The
Company has convened an Extraordinary General Meeting, to be held on
14 November 2005, at which Shareholders' approval for the Proposals
will be sought.
Background
The Company is an investment trust whose Ordinary Shares were
admitted to the Official List on 22 February 2002. The Company's
objective is to enable investors to benefit from rapid and sustained
growth in the markets for cleaner or more efficient delivery of basic
services of energy, water and waste. Investments are made
predominantly in quoted companies which provide, utilise, implement
or advise upon technology-based systems, products or services in
Environmental Markets, particularly those of alternative energy and
energy efficiency, water treatment and pollution control, and waste
technology and resource management. The Company's investment manager
is Impax Asset Management Limited.
As at 18 October 2005, the Company had unaudited net assets of £44.4
million. The Company's Net Asset Value per Share (unaudited)
performance over various periods to 18 October 2005, compared with
those of the FTSE All-Share and MSCI World indices, was as follows:
% return % return % return % return
since since since since
31 December 31 December 31 December 22 February
2002 2003 2004 2002*
NAV per Share 63.2 33.9 15.7 (9.7)
(unaudited)
FTSE All-Share Index 33.6 17.6 9.3 4.2
MSCI World Index 36.3 15.8 10.1 1.3
(sterling adjusted)
* The Company was listed on 22 February 2002
Source: Thomson Datastream
As at 18 October 2005, the Ordinary Shares were trading at a 3.6 per
cent. premium to NAV per Share (unaudited). The average discount on
the Ordinary Shares to NAV per Ordinary Share (unaudited) over the
twelve months to that date was 3.2 per cent.
The Proposals
The Board believes that there is significant demand for Ordinary
Shares from investors who are unable to purchase sufficient shares in
the secondary market. Consequently, the Board is taking the
opportunity provided by this demand, the Company's strong performance
since March 2003 and the premium to NAV per Share at which the
Ordinary Shares are trading to expand the Company by making C Shares
available to Qualifying Shareholders and new investors.
The Proposals involve:
- a Placing and Offer for Subscription of C Shares to raise
up to £80 million before expenses;
- an issue of Warrants on the Conversion Date to holders of
C Shares on the basis of one Warrant for every five Ordinary Shares
arising on Conversion;
- an issue of Warrants to holders of existing Ordinary
Shares on the Register at the close of business on the business day
prior to the Conversion Date (other than certain Overseas Investors
who are prevented by legal or regulatory requirements from receiving
Warrants) on the basis of one Warrant for every five existing
Ordinary Shares then held; and
- adoption of new Articles to provide for the C Share
rights and restrictions attaching to the C Shares and changes to the
continuation provisions of the Company.
Placing and Offer for Subscription
The Company is seeking to raise up to £80 million, before expenses,
through the Placing and Offer for Subscription of C Shares. The
Placing and Offer are not being underwritten and, as a result, will
not proceed unless aggregate subscriptions are received which
represent a minimum of £25 million. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
has agreed, as agent for the Company, to use reasonable endeavours to
procure placees for up to 70 million C Shares in the Placing at a
price of 100p per share. A further 10 million C Shares are being made
available to Shareholders and new investors (other than certain
Overseas Investors) through the Offer for Subscription at a price of
100p per share. In the event that applications under the Offer in
excess of this amount are received, subscriptions under the Offer
will be scaled back, with existing Shareholders (other than certain
Overseas Investors) being allocated C Shares in preference to new
investors under the Offer. To the extent that less than 70 million C
Shares are subscribed for in the Placing the surplus C Shares will be
available under the Offer. If less than 10 million C Shares are
validly applied for under the Offer the surplus C Shares may be
placed pursuant to the Placing.
The Placing and Offer are conditional, inter alia, on the Placing and
Offer Agreement becoming unconditional, and not being terminated,
Admission of the C Shares and the passing of the resolutions to be
put forward at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
The result of the Placing and Offer will be announced on the date of
the Extraordinary General Meeting.
The Directors intend to apply the Net Proceeds in making investments
in accordance with the Company's investment objective as described
above and subject to applicable investment restrictions. Pending
investment, the Net Proceeds will be invested in short-term money
market instruments (including gilts and treasury bills) and cash with
institutions (or wholly owned subsidiaries of institutions) which are
rated A1 (or above) by Standard & Poor's or an equivalent rating
agency.
C Shares
The Placing and Offer will be of a new class of shares, C Shares, at
an issue price of 100p per share. An issue of C Shares is designed to
overcome the potential disadvantages for existing Shareholders which
could arise out of a conventional fixed price issue of further
Ordinary Shares for cash. In particular:
- the assets representing the Net Proceeds from the issue
of the C Shares will be accounted for and managed as a distinct pool
of assets until the Conversion Date. By accounting for the Net
Proceeds separately, holders of existing Ordinary Shares will not be
exposed to a portfolio containing a substantial amount of uninvested
cash before the Calculation Date;
- the Net Asset Value of the existing Ordinary Shares will
not be diluted by the expenses associated with the Proposals which
will be borne by the subscribers for C Shares; and
- the basis upon which the C Shares will convert into
Ordinary Shares is such that the number of Ordinary Shares to which
holders of C Shares will become entitled will reflect the relative
investment performance and value of the pool of new capital
attributable to the C Shares raised pursuant to the Placing and Offer
up to the Calculation Date as compared to the assets attributable to
the Ordinary Shares in issue at that time. As a result, the Net Asset
Value attributable to the Ordinary Shares then in issue will not be
adversely affected by Conversion.
The Net Proceeds and the investments made with them will be accounted
for and managed as a separate pool of assets until the date on which
at least 90 per cent. of the Net Proceeds have been invested or
committed to be invested or, if earlier, 31 March 2006. The
Conversion Ratio will then be calculated and the C Shares in issue
will convert into a number of Ordinary Shares calculated by reference
to the net assets then attributable to C Shares compared to the net
assets at the same time attributable to Ordinary Shares then in
issue. Entitlements to Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion will be
rounded down to the nearest whole number.
The Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion of the C Shares will rank
pari passu with the Ordinary Shares then in issue and will have the
rights set out in the Company's new Articles of Association.
Example of Conversion mechanism
The following example illustrates the basis on which the number of
Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion will be calculated. The example
is not, and is not intended to be, a forecast of the number of
Ordinary Shares which will arise on Conversion. The example
illustrates the number of Ordinary Shares which would arise on the
Conversion of 1,000 C Shares held at the Conversion Date, using
assumed Net Asset Values attributable to the C Shares and Ordinary
Shares in issue at the Calculation Date. The assumed Net Asset Value
attributable to an Ordinary Share is that at the close of business on
18 October 2005. The assumed Net Asset Value attributable to each C
Share is on the basis that there are no returns on the Net Proceeds
to the Calculation Date.
Example:
Number of C Shares subscribed 1000
Amount subscribed £1,000
Net Asset Value attributable to a C Share at the Calculation Date
£0.9825
Net Asset Value attributable to an Ordinary Share at the Calculation
Date £0.8876
Conversion Ratio 1.1069
Number of Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion 1,106
In this example, 221 Warrants would also be issued on Conversion.
Fractions of Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion and Warrants will
be aggregated and sold for the benefit of the Company.
Warrants
Investors who subscribe for C Shares will be issued with one Warrant
for every five Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion at no additional
cost. In addition, holders of existing Ordinary Shares on the
Register at the close of business on the business day prior to the
Conversion Date, other than certain Overseas Investors who are
prevented by legal or regulatory requirements from receiving
Warrants, will be issued, at no cost, Warrants on the basis of one
Warrant for every five existing Ordinary Shares then held.
The Warrants will be exercisable on 15 June in each of the years 2006
to 2010 inclusive. The exercise price of a Warrant will be 105 per
cent. of the NAV per Ordinary Share (as certified by the auditors) on
the Calculation Date.
Benefits of the Proposals
The Directors believe that the Proposals have the following principal
benefits:
- Shareholders will be able to subscribe for further shares
in the Company;
- the market capitalisation of the Company will increase
significantly following the Placing and Offer and it is expected that
the liquidity of the Ordinary Shares will be enhanced through a wider
shareholder base;
- the Placing and Offer will increase the size of the
Company and enable it to spread its fixed operating expenses over a
larger number of Ordinary Shares;
- the increased size of the Company will provide the Board
with the opportunity to utilise the share buyback powers on a more
proactive basis; and
- the issue of Warrants will represent a potentially
attractive option to subscribe in the future for further Ordinary
Shares.
Extraordinary General Meeting
An EGM of the Company has been convened for 10 a.m. on 14 November
2005 in order to obtain Shareholders' approval for implementation of
the Proposals.
Continuation of the Company
The existing Articles require the Board to propose an ordinary
resolution at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in
2007, and at every third annual general meeting of the Company
convened thereafter, that the Company should continue in existence as
an investment trust for a further three year period. In the event
that the continuation resolution is not passed the Board is required,
within three months, to put forward proposals for consideration by
Shareholders for the reorganisation, winding-up or reconstruction of
the Company. In order to provide a reasonable investment horizon for
those considering investing in the Company under the Placing and
Offer, a special resolution will be proposed at the Extraordinary
General Meeting to adopt new Articles in substitution for the
existing Articles to provide that continuation resolutions will be
proposed at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in
2010 and every three years thereafter. If this resolution is passed
no continuation resolution will be proposed at the Annual General
Meeting of the Company to be held in 2007.
Increase in Share Capital, Authority to Allot and Disapplication of
Pre-emption Rights
The Company proposes to increase the Company's authorised share
capital by the creation of 80 million C Shares and to seek authority
under section 80 of the Companies Act to allot relevant securities
with an aggregate nominal amount of up to £97 million which
represents 1,940 per cent. of the Company's ordinary share capital in
issue as at 20 October 2005. This authority will only be used to
allot C Shares and Warrants in accordance with the Proposals. Any
unutilised part of this authority will lapse on 31 March 2006.
The Company will also seek to disapply statutory pre-emption rights
otherwise applicable to the C Shares and Warrants intended to be
issued under the Proposals. The number of C Shares to which this
disapplication will apply is 80 million. This disapplication will
also lapse in respect of any unutilised part of the section 80
authority referred to above on 31 March 2006.
Authority to Repurchase Ordinary Shares
The Company also proposes to update the authority to make market
purchases of the Company's Ordinary Shares which was granted at the
Annual General Meeting of the Company on 4 May 2005. By means of a
special resolution the Company will seek Shareholder approval for
repurchases of up to 19,487,000 Ordinary Shares, or, if less, such
number of Ordinary Shares as represents approximately 14.99 per cent.
of the Company's issued ordinary share capital immediately following
Conversion. Any repurchase made pursuant to the authority will be
made at a price that is not less than 10p per Ordinary Share (being
the par value of each Ordinary Share) and not more than 105 per cent.
of the average of the middle market price per Ordinary Share as taken
from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange for the
five business days preceding the day of purchase. The authority being
sought will last until the date of the next Annual General Meeting
or, if less, a period of twelve months. Any Ordinary Shares so
purchased will be cancelled.
Following the Placing and Offer, the increased size of the Company
will provide the Board with the opportunity to utilise the share
buyback powers on a more proactive basis.
Admission and Dealings
Applications have been made to the UK Listing Authority for up to 80
million C Shares to be admitted to the Official List and to the
London Stock Exchange for the same number of C Shares to be admitted
to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed
securities. It is expected that Admission will become effective, and
that dealings in the C Shares will commence, on 15 November 2005.
Applications will be made to the UK Listing Authority for the
Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion and the Warrants to be issued
on the Conversion Date to be admitted to the Official List, and to
the London Stock Exchange for the Ordinary Shares and Warrants to be
admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed
securities. Admission of the Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion
and the Warrants will become effective and dealings in them will
commence on the London Stock Exchange by no later than 31 March 2006.
Certificates and CREST
The C Shares, the Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion and the
Warrants will be issued in registered form and may be held in
certificated or uncertificated form.
Temporary documents of title will not be issued pending the despatch
of definitive certificates for C Shares and Warrants. Dealings in C
Shares in advance of the crediting of the relevant CREST accounts or
the issue of share certificates will be at the risk of the persons
concerned.
Costs and Expenses
The costs of the Placing and Offer will be borne out of the proceeds
of the Placing and Offer and, accordingly, will effectively be borne
by those subscribing for C Shares. The total costs of the Placing and
Offer (including any commissions) will be 1.75 per cent. of the gross
proceeds of the Placing and Offer.
Directors' Intentions in relation to the Offer
Directors intend to make subscriptions under the Offer in the
aggregate amount of £22,500.
Recommendation to Shareholders
The Board considers that the Proposals are in the best interests of
Shareholders as a whole. The Board has received advice from Dresdner
Kleinwort Wasserstein and, in giving that advice, Dresdner Kleinwort
Wasserstein has placed reliance on the Board's commercial
assessments. Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that
Shareholders vote in favour of the Resolutions to be proposed at the
EGM.
The Board intends to vote in favour of the Resolutions in respect of
its own beneficial holdings of Ordinary Shares which amount in
aggregate to 30,000 Ordinary Shares.
Expected Timetable
Record Date for Priority Application Forms 5 p.m. on 19 October
under the Offer 2005
Latest time and date for receipt of Priority 3 p.m. on 7 November
Application Forms and Application Forms and 2005
payment under the Offer
Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of 10 a.m. on 12 November
Proxy 2005
Extraordinary General Meeting 10 a.m. on 14 November
2005
C Shares issued; Admission of C Shares and 8 a.m. on 15 November
dealings in C Shares commence; CREST accounts 2005
credited in respect of C Shares issued in
uncertificated form
Certificates for C Shares issued in Week commencing 21
certificated form despatched November 2005
Latest date for Conversion 31 March 2006
Admission of the Ordinary Shares arising on Conversion and of the
Warrants to the Official List and to dealings on the London Stock
Exchange's market for listed securities will occur on the Conversion
Date.
On the Conversion Date, holders of existing Ordinary Shares on the
Register at the close of business on the business day prior to the
Conversion Date will be issued with one Warrant in respect of every
five existing Ordinary Shares then held.
Contacts
Impax Environmental Markets plc Tel: 020 7434 1122
Ian Simm
Bruce Jenkyn-Jones
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Tel: 020 7623 8000
Dominic Waters
David Yovichic
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited (which is
authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority) is
acting exclusively for the Company in connection with the proposals
described in this announcement, and will not regard any other person
(whether or not a recipient of this announcement or other
information) as its customer in relation to such proposals and will
not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections
afforded to its customers or for providing any advice in connection
with the proposals and/or the contents of this announcement. Persons
requiring advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
20 October 2005
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