27th Jun 2008 09:08
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR JERSEY. THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT A PROSPECTUS BUT AN ADVERTISEMENT AND INVESTORS SHOULD NOT SUBSCRIBE FOR ANY TRANSFERABLE SECURITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS PRESS RELEASE EXCEPT ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION IN THE PROSPECTUS.
Press Release Friday 27th June 2008
Ownership of Gold Bullion Securities products on London and Australian Stock Exchanges to transfer to ETF Securities
Gold Bullion Holdings Ltd has agreed to sell to ETF Securities Limited management and control of its Gold Bullion Securities products, being:
the Lyxor Gold Bullion Securities product (LSE code GBS), which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris, Borsa Italiana and the Deutsche Boerse; and the Australian listed Gold Bullion Securities product (ASX code GOLD)
Under the agreement, the two products will be marketed with the ETFS suite of exchange traded commodities (ETCs). Although the name will change to ETFS Gold Bullion Securities the exchange codes will remain the same (being "GBS" on the LSE, Euronext Paris and Borsa Italiana and "GG98" on Deutsche Boerse).
The sale and purchase is subject to certain regulatory consents and the parties anticipate the transaction will be completed very shortly. It will involve no changes to any of the operations and will not impact investors in the securities in any way.
Commenting, Graham Tuckwell, Chairman of ETF Securities, said:
"The acquisition of these two gold ETCs demonstrates our commitment to be the leading provider of exchange traded commodities. These products will fit well within our commodities platform and will be part of an expanded marketing effort for gold products in particular."
Commenting, James Burton, CEO of World Gold Council, majority-owner of Gold Bullion Holdings, said:
"As the world's first two gold ETFs, GBS and GOLD have played an instrumental role in the development of the allocated, physically-backed, gold ETF market, which now represents more than 780 tonnes of global gold demand.
"This development will help us to consolidate our efforts through the exchange traded gold programme to further launch and promote gold ETF products around the world. "
The GBS securities are currently marketed by Lyxor and the parties have commenced discussions with Lyxor on the most suitable arrangements for the marketing and branding to be changed over to ETF Securities.
James Burton added: "I would like to express our sincere thanks to the dedicated team at Lyxor, who have so successfully marketed the GBS securities on our behalf."
Since the launch of these first gold ETFs some five years ago, most of the same management team and directors have gone on to establish ETF Securities, which is now the leading exchange traded commodity (ETC) firm in Europe, with more than 120 ETCs listed on five exchanges and more than US$6 billion in assets.
As of 25 June 2008 holdings in the London product were US$3.3bn or 115 tonnes of gold and holdings in the Australian product were US$0.3bn or 11 tonnes of gold.
WGC will continue to support ETF Securities in the marketing of gold as part of its remit to promote investment demand for gold.
Enquiries:
ETF Securities: Graham Tuckwell +44 7910 112 756 or
Hector McNeil +44 20 7448 4330
World Gold Council: Matt Graydon, Head of External Relations
+44 (0) 207 826 4716
Notes to Editors:
World Gold Council
The World Gold Council (WGC), a commercially-driven marketing organisation, is funded by the world's leading gold mining companies. A global advocate for gold, the WGC aims to promote the demand for gold in all its forms through marketing activities in major international markets.
For further information visit: www.gold.org
ETF Securities Ltd
The management of ETF Securities Limited pioneered the development of Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs), in 2003. Building on its success ETF Securities created the world's first entire ETC platform which was listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2006. Since then, ETF Securities has listed its ETCs on Europe's major exchanges (Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Italy) with each exchange creating a separate ETC segment. With Classic, Forward, Short and Leveraged ETCs available, investors can execute most trading and investment strategies previously not possible.
For further information visit: www.etfsecurities.com
This press release does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any transferable securities to be issued by ETFS Commodity Securities Limited or any other securities, nor shall it or any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form part of or be relied on in connection with any contract or investment decision relating thereto. Any offer, invitation or solicitation shall be made solely by means of the prospectus and recipients of this advertisement who are considering a purchase of securities following distribution of the prospectus in connection therewith are reminded that any such purchase should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in such prospectus and any supplementary prospectus(es). This advertisement does not constitute any recommendation regarding the securities of ETFS Commodity Securities Limited.
The communication of this press release is not being made by, and this press release has not been approved by, an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA"). Accordingly this press release is not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of this press release or any other document issued in connection with the offer and sale of the ETCs is only being made to and directed at those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of Investment Professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), or high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(1) of the Order or any person to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The communication of this press release (or any other document issued in connection with the offer and sale of the ETCs) must not be acted upon or relied upon by persons who are not relevant persons. Persons distributing this press release must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. All applicable provisions of the FSMA must be complied with in respect of anything done in relation to the ETCs in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
This is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities issued by Commodity Securities Limited (" Securities") have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States. These Securities are being offered and sold only outside the United States to non-US persons in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S of the US Securities Act. The Issuer has not been and does not intend to become registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act and related rules. These Securities and any beneficial interest therein may not be reoffered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred in the United States or to US persons. If the Issuer determines that any Security Holder is a Prohibited US Person (being a US Person who is not a "qualified purchaser" as defined in the Investment Company Act), the Issuer may redeem the Securities held by that Security Holder in accordance with the provisions described in the Prospectus. The Securities may not be purchased with plan assets of any "employee benefit plan" within the meaning of section 3(3) of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), any "plan" described in section 4975(e)(1) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") or any entity whose underlying assets include "plan assets" of any of the foregoing by reason of an employee benefit plan's or other plan's investment in such entity, which employee benefit plan, plan or entity is subject to Title I of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code or any United States Federal, state, or local law or non-United States law that is substantially similar to the prohibited transaction provisions of section 406 of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code (any such employee benefit plan, plan or entity, a "Prohibited Benefit Plan Investor"). If the Issuer determines that any Security Holder is a Prohibited Benefit Plan Investor, the Issuer may redeem the Securities held by that Security Holder in accordance with the provisions described in the Prospectus relating to those Securities."
"Dow Jones," "AIG®" "Dow Jones-AIG Commodity IndexSM," "DJ-AIGCISM", "Dow Jones-AIG Commodity 3-Month Forward Index" are service marks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and American International Group, Inc. ("American International Group"), as the case may be, and will be licensed for use for certain purposes by ETF Securities Ltd. ETCs based on the DJ-AIGCISM or related sub-indices (including single commodity sub-indices) or 3-Month Forward Indexes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, AIG Financial Products Corp. ("AIG-FP"), American International Group, or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, and none of Dow Jones, AIG-FP, American International Group, or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, makes any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s).
To obtain a copy of the prospectus please visit the website at www.etfsecurities.com
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