25th Jul 2006 07:02
IG Group Holdings plc25 July 2006 Not for release or distribution or publication in whole or part in or into theUnited States, Canada, Japan or Australia. 25 July 2006 IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC ("IG Group" or the "Company") Launch of Share Placing in IG Group by IG Group's directors, employees and their related interests IG Group Holdings plc ("IG Group" or the "Company") (the "SellingShareholders"), announces today the commencement of an accelerated bookbuiltsecondary placing (the "Placing") of up to 20,098,650 million ordinary shares of0.005p in IG Group (the "IG Group Shares") by a number of IG Group's directors,employees and their related interests. The Placing represents up to 6.1% of theoutstanding issued share capital of IG Group. UBS Limited ("UBS") is acting assole global co-ordinator and bookrunner. The sale price will be determined and announced after closing of the acceleratedbookbuilding process. The timing of closing of the bookbuilding process will bedetermined in due course by UBS. Immediately prior to the launch of the Placing IG Group's directors, employeesand their related interests were interested, in aggregate, in 45.2 million IGGroup Shares representing approximately 13.8% of IG Group's issued sharecapital. Assuming the Placing is completed in full, IG Group's directors andemployees and their related parties will be interested in, in aggregate, 24.9million IG Group Shares representing approximately 7.6% of IG Group's issuedshare capital. Assuming the Placing proceeds in full, the free float of theCompany will increase to approximately 85%. The IG Group Shares are being placed in order to allow IG Group's directors andemployees and their related parties to realise part of their investment in IGGroup. Shares representing 49.8% of the total IG Group Shares to be placed arebeing sold by Nat le Roux. As indicated on 26 May, Nat will step down from therole of Chief Executive once a new Finance Director has been appointed. Assumingthe Placing proceeds in full, Tim Howkins, Finance Director and Chief ExecutiveDesignate will sell 1,500,000 shares or 39.3% of the shares currently availablefor him to sell, and will retain a holding of 4,081,800 shares representing 1.2%of the Company. The remaining shares of the executive directors, including those of Nat le Roux,will continue to be governed by lock-in arrangements, which regulate the sale ofshares in which directors are interested, until the announcement of PreliminaryResults for the year ending May 2007, in respect of 9.8 million shares(approximately 3.0% of IG Group's issued share capital). Enquiries: IG Group Tim Howkins Tel: +44 (0) 20 7896 0011 Financial Dynamics Rob Bailhache Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 7200Nick Henderson UBS Limited Christopher Smith Tel: + 44 (0)20 7568 4389Tom Shippey Tel: + 44 (0)20 7568 7320 MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THISANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OFFER OF SECURITIES TO WHICH IT RELATES ARE ONLY ADDRESSEDTO AND DIRECTED AT PERSONS WHO ARE (1) QUALIFIED INVESTORS WITHIN THE MEANING OFDIRECTIVE 2003/71/EC AND ANY RELEVANT IMPLEMENTING MEASURES (THE " PROSPECTUSDIRECTIVE") AND (2) WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TOINVESTMENTS WHO FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 19(1) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETSACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005 (THE "ORDER") OR ARE PERSONS FALLINGWITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) ("HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATEDASSOCIATIONS, ETC") OF THE ORDER (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS"RELEVANT PERSONS"). THE INFORMATION REGARDING THE PLACING SET OUT IN THISANNOUNCEMENT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANTPERSONS. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENTRELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITHRELEVANT PERSONS. This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer of securities,or constitute a solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe forsecurities. Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken, released,published, transmitted or distributed, directly or indirectly in or into theUnited States, Canada, Australia or Japan, or any jurisdiction where suchannouncement would be unlawful. Any failure to comply with this restriction mayconstitute a violation of United States, Canadian, Australian or Japanesesecurities laws, or any jurisdiction where such announcement would be unlawful. No action has been taken by the Selling Shareholders, or any of their respectiveaffiliates, or any other person that would permit an offer of the Placing Sharesor possession or distribution of this announcement or any other offering orpublicity material relating to the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction whereaction for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession thisannouncement comes into should inform themselves about and observe any suchrestrictions. This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in anyjurisdiction, including the United States. The securities referred to hereinhave not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933(the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United Statesunless they are registered under the Securities Act or pursuant to an availableexemption therefrom. No public offering of securities of IG Group Holdings plcis being made in the United States. Any investment decision to buy securities in the Placing must be made solely onthe basis of publicly available information which has not been independentlyverified by UBS or the Selling Shareholders. UBS are acting for the Selling Shareholders only in connection with the Placing,and no one else, and will not be responsible to anyone other than the SellingShareholders for providing the protections offered to clients of UBS nor forproviding advice in relation to the Placing. This does not constitute a recommendation concerning the Placing. The value ofshares can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to futureperformance. Potential investors should consult a professional adviser as to thesuitability of any offering for the individual concerned. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
IG