11th Sep 2006 16:21
HMV Group PLC11 September 2006 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO ORFROM AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RECOMMENDED CASH OFFER by HMV GROUP PLC (acting through its wholly-owned subsidiary Waterstone's Booksellers Limited) to acquire the Ordinary Shares of 5 pence each of OTTAKAR'S PLC not already owned by HMV Group plc COMPLETION OF COMPULSORY ACQUISITION AND CLOSING OF THE OFFER Completion of Compulsory Acquisition Further to its announcement on 28 July 2006 regarding the despatch of compulsoryacquisition notices to Ottakar's Shareholders who had not accepted the Offer,HMV Group announces that it has today (acting through its wholly-ownedsubsidiary, Waterstone's Booksellers Limited) compulsorily acquired theremaining Ottakar's Shares for which it had not received acceptances (being152,343 Ottakar's Shares representing approximately 0.68 per cent. of Ottakar'sissued share capital) in accordance with the compulsory acquisition notices.Accordingly, HMV Group and its wholly owned subsidiaries now own 100% ofOttakar's share capital. Closing of the Offer The Offer will close at 3.00pm 14 days following the date of this announcement. Terms used in this announcement shall have the meaning given to them in theOffer Document. Enquiries HMV GroupAlan Giles Tel: +44 (0) 1628 818 355Neil BrightElaine Marriner UBS Investment Bank (financial adviser and joint broker to HMV Group)Aidan Clegg Tel: +44 (0) 20 7567 8000Scilla Grimble This announcement does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell or thesolicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy any security, nor is it asolicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be anysale, issuance or transfer of the securities referred to in this announcement inany jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. The Offer is made solely bymeans of the Offer Document and the Form of Acceptance, which contain the fullterms and conditions of the Offer, including details of how it may be accepted. UBS is acting exclusively for HMV Group and no one else in connection with theOffer and will not be responsible to anyone other than HMV Group for providingthe protections afforded to clients of UBS nor for providing advice in relationto the Offer, the content of this announcement or any other matter referred toherein. The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certainjurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in any suchjurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributedshould inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. The Offer (unless otherwise determined by HMV Group and permitted by applicablelaw and regulation) is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or bythe use of mails or any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation,telephonically or electronically) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or anyfacility of a national, state or other securities exchange of, Australia,Canada, Japan or the United States and the Offer is not capable of acceptance byany such use, means, instrumentality or facilities. Copies of this announcementand any formal documentation relating to the Offer are not being, and must notbe, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sentin or into or from Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States and personsseeking such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must notmail or otherwise forward, distribute or send them in or into or from Australia,Canada, Japan or the United States. The ability of Ottakar's Shareholders who are not resident in the United Kingdomto accept the Offer may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions inwhich they are located. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdomshould inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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