5th Apr 2006 16:50
Guinness Peat Group PLC05 April 2006 GUINNESS PEAT GROUP PLC GLOBAL PLACEMENT OF NEW SHARES This announcement is not for release, distribution or publication, whetherdirectly or indirectly and whether in whole or in part, into or in the UnitedStates, Canada and Japan, and it does not constitute an offer of securities forsale into any of those jurisdictions. Guinness Peat Group plc ("GPG") announces that it has appointed Goldman SachsJBWere (NZ) Limited to manage a global placement for 40,000,000 new ordinaryshares of 5 pence each (with the right to place an additional 11,000,000 newshares) in GPG. GPG has made application for admission to listing to the UKListing Authority ("UKLA") and for admission to trading to the London StockExchange ("LSE") in respect of up to 51,000,000 ordinary shares of 5 pence each("Shares") in connection with the placement. Application will also be made forquotation of the Shares on the Australian Stock Exchange ("ASX") in CDI form.The Shares will be freely tradeable on the New Zealand Stock Exchange ("NZSX")on advice being given to the New Zealand Exchange Limited that the Shares havebeen issued. The Shares will rank equally in all respects with the existingissued share capital of GPG. For the avoidance of doubt the new shares will notrank for the interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2005 but will rankfor the 1 for 10 bonus issue as announced on 14 March 2006. All of GPG'sordinary shares are currently listed on the official list of the UKLA, the ASXand are quoted on NZSX, and rank equally in all respects. The purpose of the Placement is to increase the depth of the Company's financialresources to facilitate future investments. GPG is presently considering arange of investment opportunities within its existing portfolio and in thebroader Australian, New Zealand and UK markets. The placement will be undertaken through a global book build which is expectedto commence at 5.30pm on 5 April 2006 UK time being 4.30am on 6 April 2006 NZtime. It is proposed that the issue of the Shares will occur at 10.30pm on 12April 2006 UK time (being 9.30am on 13 April 2006 in New Zealand) and thatlisting of the Shares by the UKLA, admission to trading on the LSE, and tradingon the ASX and NZSX will take place on 13 April 2006. Goldman Sachs JBWere (NZ) Limited is the lead manager and sole book runner forthe Placement. JR RussellCompany Secretary 5 April 2006 For queries please contact: New Zealand: Tony Gibbs (Director) Tel: 0064 9 379 8888Australia: Gary Weiss (Director) Tel: 00 612 8298 4300London: Blake Nixon: (Director) Tel: 020 7484 3370 This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended toconstitute, and should not be construed as, an offer or invitation to buy ordispose of any Shares (or other securities) or investment advice in anyjurisdiction. The Shares will be offered in a private placement to eligibleinstitutional investors only. No prospectus has been or will be published inconnection with the placing of the Shares. The total number of Shares to beallotted will be less than 10% of the total number of shares currently listed onthe LSE and ASX, and quoted on the NZSX. The Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Actof 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold inthe United States absent registration or exemption from registration under theUS Securities Act. There will be no public offering of the Shares (or any othersecurities) in the United States. The Shares will not be the subject of an offerof securities to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of Section102B of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. This announcement is onlybeing distributed to and is only directed at: (i) persons who are outside theUnited Kingdom; or (ii) to investment professionals in the United Kingdomfalling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"); or (iii) high net worthentities, and other persons, in the United Kingdom, to whom it may lawfully becommunicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all suchpersons referred to as "Relevant Persons"). The Shares are only available to,and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwiseacquire such securities will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Anyperson who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this announcementor any of its contents. Persons distributing this announcement should satisfythemselves that it is lawful to do so. The Shares may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong other than to professionalinvestors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance of HongKong and in circumstances that do not constitute a public offer within themeaning of the Companies Ordinance of Hong Kong. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Coats