24th Jul 2007 17:09
Babcock International Group PLC24 July 2007 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO ORFROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THERELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPRESS ANNOUNCEMENT 24 July 2007 BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC ("BABCOCK") FINAL CASH OFFERFOR INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS PLC ("INS" OR THE "COMPANY") OFFER UPDATE On 9 July 2007, Babcock announced that the Final Cash Offer had becomeunconditional in all respects and extended the Final Cash Offer until 3.00 p.m.on 24 July 2007. As at 3.00 p.m. (London time) on 24 July 2007, Babcock has acquired or hasreceived valid acceptances in respect of a total of 35,993,710 INS Shares,representing approximately 57.7 per cent. of the existing issued share capitalof INS. Of this total: - Babcock owns 27,954,131 INS Shares, representing approximately 44.8 per cent.of the existing issued share capital of INS; and - Babcock has received valid acceptances for 8,039,579 INS Shares representingapproximately 12.9 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of INS(including acceptances pursuant to irrevocable undertakings to accept the FinalCash Offer in respect of a total of 253,904 INS Shares, representingapproximately 0.4 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of INS). Extension of the Final Cash Offer The Board of Babcock announces that the Final Cash Offer has been extended andwill remain open for acceptance for a further 14 days, until 3.00 p.m. on7 August 2007. INS' AGM statement INS Shareholders should be aware that on Tuesday, 17 July 2007, Babcock wrote tothe Board of INS confirming that as INS was not a wholly-owned subsidiary ofBabcock, Babcock would be unable to provide financial support to INS in the formof bonds and guarantees or any other form of financial instrument. Inparticular, Babcock would not consider it appropriate to offer any form ofguarantee to customers of INS or any bank in respect of INS. However, if in thefuture INS was to become a wholly-owned subsidiary, Babcock would be in aposition to offer such facilities. While the Directors of INS indicated yesterday (within the Company's AGMstatement) that they do not consider that the absence of any financial supportfrom Babcock will have a short term impact on the business, they did state thatin their view it will limit the ability of INS to pursue some of the largeropportunities in the market place, as INS will only have access to these throughthird parties. The Directors of INS also confirmed their belief that the UKnuclear industry is changing dramatically and that the larger nuclear focusedcompanies and consortiums will become more dominant in the industry. Procedure for acceptance INS Shareholders who have not yet accepted the Final Cash Offer are urged to doso as soon as possible and in any event no later than 3.00 p.m. on 7 August2007. The procedure for acceptance is set out in paragraph 18 of Part 2 of theOffer Document. Forms of Acceptance not yet returned should be completed and returned inaccordance with the instructions set out in the Offer Document and in the Formof Acceptance so as to be received as soon as possible and in any event no laterthan 3.00 p.m. on 7 August 2007. If INS Shares are held in CREST acceptance should be made electronically so thatthe TTE instruction settles as soon as possible and in any event no later than3.00 p.m. on 7 August 2007. Settlement for INS Shareholders who have validly accepted the Final Cash Offerwill be despatched within 14 days of the relevant acceptance by first class post(in the case of INS Shares held in certificated form) or credited to therelevant CREST account (in the case of INS Shares held in uncertificated form).Settlement of the consideration in respect of further acceptances of the FinalCash Offer, which are valid and complete in all respects, will be despatchedwithin 14 days of receipt. Terms defined in the Offer Document dated 19 June 2007 shall have the samemeaning in this announcement. Enquiries: Babcock Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7291 5000Gordon CampbellPeter RogersBill Tame Hawkpoint (financial adviser to Babcock) Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7665 4500Paul Baines JPMorgan Cazenove (broker to Babcock) Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7588 2828Dermot McKechnie Financial Dynamics (Babcock PR enquiries) Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7121Susanne Walker The release, publication or distribution of this announcement to persons who arenot resident in the United Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevantjurisdictions in which they are located. Persons who are not resident in theUnited Kingdom should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicablerequirements. Any failure to comply with such applicable requirements mayconstitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdictions. Hawkpoint, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by theFinancial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Babcock and no one elsein connection with the Final Cash Offer and will not be responsible to anyoneother than Babcock for providing the protections afforded to clients ofHawkpoint nor for providing advice in relation to the Final Cash Offer, thecontent of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. JPMorgan Cazenove, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom bythe Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Babcock and no oneelse in connection with the Final Cash Offer and will not be responsible toanyone other than Babcock for providing the protections afforded to clients ofJPMorgan Cazenove nor for providing advice in relation to the Final Cash Offer,the content of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
BabcockINS.L