30th Jul 2018 17:35
LONDON (Alliance News) - Tobacco firm Imperial Brands PLC said on Monday it will sell up to 13.3 million shares, or just under a 10% stake, in Spanish distributor Compania de Distribucion Integral Logista Holdings SA.
The placing shares are held indirectly by Imperial, and will be offered to institutional investors via an accelerated bookbuild, open with immediate effect. Barclays Bank PLC and Morgan Stanley & Co International PLC are acting as joint global co-ordinators for the placing.
The final number of shares to be placed and the price at which they are sold is yet to be agreed, and the result of the placing will be announced "as soon as practicable".
Following completion of the placing, Imperial will indirectly hold 66.4 million Logista shares, representing a 50.01% stake in the company.
Imperial has entered into a 180 day lock-up agreement for remaining Logista shares, whereby it will not dispose of any remaining shares without the consent of global co-ordinators Barclays Bank and Morgan Stanley.
"Logista continues to perform strongly and we have taken the opportunity to realise further value from the business, releasing capital to support further debt reduction. As we announced in May, we are continuing to progress opportunities to reallocate capital, initially targeting proceeds of up to GBP2 billion which will be used to pay down debt, deliver returns to shareholders and where appropriate, invest in our growth agenda," said Imperial Chief Executive Alison Cooper.
Shares in Imperial closed 0.2% higher at 2,844.969 pence on Monday.
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