17th Jun 2011 10:37
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO
OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO THE SAME WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 June 2011
All Global Investments Limited
Mandatory Cash Offer for The Rank Group Plc
Notice of Closing Date of Offer
Background
On 6 May 2011, All Global Investments Limited ("AGIL"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guoco Group Limited ("Guoco"), announced the acquisition of 45,251,203 Rank Shares, representing approximately 11.6 per cent. of Rank's issued share capital, from members of the Genting Berhad group at a price of 150p for each Rank Share. The Acquisition increased Guoco's beneficial interest in Rank to 159,486,902 shares, representing approximately 40.8 per cent. of Rank's issued share capital.
In accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 of the Code, AGIL then announced the terms of a cash offer to be made for all of the issued and to be issued share capital of Rank which was not already owned by the Guoco Group. The full terms of, and condition to, the Offer and the procedure for acceptance were set out in the offer document issued by AGIL on 17 May 2011 (the "Offer Document").
The Offer became unconditional on 7 June 2011 and was extended until further notice.
Closing Date
The Offer, which remains subject to the terms set out in the Offer Document, will remain open for acceptance until 1.00 p.m. (London time) on 1 July 2011 (the "Closing Date"), when it will close. The Offer will not be extended beyond the Closing Date.
Capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement shall have the meaning given to them in the Offer Document.
Enquiries
Evercore Partners Limited
Edward Banks 020 7268 2700
College Hill
Matthew Smallwood 020 7457 2020
Justine Warren
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer to sell or invitation to purchase or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Offer or otherwise, nor will there be any purchase or transfer of the securities referred to in this announcement in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law or regulation.
Evercore Partners Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Guoco and AGIL and no-one else in relation to the Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Guoco or AGIL for providing the protections afforded to the customers of Evercore Partners Limited or for providing advice in relation to the Offer or in relation to the contents of this announcement or any transaction or arrangement referred to herein.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, in accordance with, and to the extent permitted by, the Code and normal UK market practice, Guoco or its nominees or brokers (acting as agents) or their respective affiliates may from time to time make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, Rank Shares, other than pursuant to the Offer, before or during the period in which the Offer remains open for acceptance. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Such purchases, or arrangements to purchase, will comply with all applicable UK rules, including the Code and the rules of the London Stock Exchange to the extent applicable. In addition, in accordance with, and to the extent permitted by, the Code and normal UK market practice, Evercore Partners Limited and its affiliates may engage in purchasing activities consistent with their respective normal and usual practice and applicable law. Any information about such purchases will be disclosed on a next day basis to the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers and will be available from any Regulatory Information Service, including the Regulatory News Service on the London Stock Exchange website, www.londonstockexchange.com.
The distribution of this document in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by the laws of those jurisdictions and therefore persons into whose possession this document comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
The availability of the Offer to Rank Shareholders who are not resident in the United Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are located or of which they are citizens. Such persons should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable legal or regulatory requirements of those jurisdictions. In particular, the Offer is not, unless decided otherwise by AGIL, being made in or into or from, and is not capable of acceptance in or from, any Restricted Jurisdiction. Further details in relation to overseas Rank Shareholders are contained in the Offer Document.
The Offer is not intended to be made, directly or indirectly, in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction and the Offer is not capable of acceptance from or within any Restricted Jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction and persons receiving this announcement (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send it in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction, as doing so may invalidate any purported acceptance of the Offer.
This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law and the Code and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the UK.
Publication on Guoco website
In accordance with Rule 19.11 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available at www.guoco.com by no later than 12 noon on 20 June 2011.
Related Shares:
Rank