8th Apr 2009 07:00
WILLIAM HILL PLC (the "Company")
RIGHTS ISSUE TAKE UP
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
8 April 2009
William Hill PLC announces that, as at 11.00 a.m. on 7 April 2009, being the latest date of receipt of valid subscriptions, it had received valid acceptances in respect of 338,922,844 New Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 97.41 per cent of the total number of New Ordinary Shares offered to Shareholders, pursuant to the 1 for 1 Rights Issue announced by the Company on 27 February 2009 (the "Rights Issue").
It is expected that the New Ordinary Shares in uncertificated form will be credited to CREST accounts on 8 April 2009 and that definitive share certificates in respect of New Ordinary Shares in certificated form will be dispatched to Shareholders by no later than 16 April 2009. It is expected that the New Ordinary Shares will commence trading fully paid on London Stock Exchange plc's main market for listed securities on 8 April 2009.
As disclosed in part VII of the Prospectus dated 27 February 2009 and in accordance with its underwriting obligations in respect of the Rights Issue, Citigroup Global Markets U.K. Equity Limited will use reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for the balance of 9,004,597 New Ordinary Shares not validly taken up under the Rights Issue, subject to certain terms and conditions agreed with the Company. A further announcement as to the number of New Ordinary Shares for which subscribers have been procured will be made in due course.
Defined terms used in this announcement shall have the same meanings as in the Prospectus relating to the Rights Issue dated 27 February 2009, unless the context requires otherwise.
- Ends -
Enquiries:
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William Hill PLC |
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Lyndsay Wright, Head of IR |
+44 (0)20 8918 3614 |
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Citi |
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Andrew Seaton Jan Skarbek |
+44 (0)20 7986 4000 |
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Brunswick Deborah Spencer Nina Soon |
+44 (0) 20 7404 5959 |
This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for or purchase any Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights or New Ordinary Shares referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information in the Prospectus published by the Company on 27 February 2009 in connection with the Rights Issue. This announcement does not constitute, or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell, otherwise dispose of or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, otherwise dispose of, issue, purchase, otherwise acquire or subscribe for, any security in the capital of the Company in any jurisdiction. Any decision to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any Provisional Allotment Letter, Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights and/or New Ordinary Shares should only be made on the basis of information contained in and incorporated by reference into the Prospectus which contains further details relating to the Company in general as well as a summary of the risk factors to which an investment in the New Ordinary Shares is subject. Nothing in this announcement should be interpreted as a term or condition of the Rights Issue.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Prospectus will not be available to Shareholders located in Restricted Jurisdictions. This announcement is not directed to, or intended for distribution or use by, any person or entity that is a citizen or resident or located in any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability, or use would be contrary to law or regulation which would require any registration or licensing within such jurisdiction.
This announcement and the information contained herein is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the New Ordinary Shares and the Provisional Allotment Letters may not be offered or sold in the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a person located in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended or an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration. The Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the New Ordinary Shares and the Provisional Allotment Letters have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or jurisdiction of the United States and no public offering of the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the New Ordinary Shares or the Provisional Allotment Letters will be made in the United States. No money, securities or other consideration from any person inside the United States is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained in this announcement, will not be accepted.
This announcement does not constitute an offer of Nil Paid Rights, Fully Paid Rights, New Ordinary Shares or Provisional Allotment Letters to any person with a registered address in, or who is resident in, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa. None of the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the New Ordinary Shares or the Provisional Allotment Letters has been or will be registered under the relevant laws of any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa. Subject to certain limited exceptions, neither the Prospectus, the Provisional Allotment Letter nor this announcement will be distributed in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa.
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.
Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Citigroup Global Markets U.K. Equity Limited (each and together, "Citi"), are each regulated and authorised in the United Kingdom by the FSA. Citigroup Global Markets Limited is acting as sponsor, financial adviser and corporate broker and Citigroup Global Markets U.K. Equity Limited is acting as bookrunner and underwriter to the Company and for no-one else in connection with the Rights Issue. Citi will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as a client in relation to the Rights Issue and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citi or for providing advice in relation to the Rights Issue, the contents of this announcement or any matters or arrangements referred to herein or therein. Barclays Bank PLC and RBS Hoare Govett Limited are each regulated and authorised in the United Kingdom by the FSA, and are each acting severally as joint lead managers and underwriters, and Lloyds TSB Bank plc is regulated and authorised in the United Kingdom by the FSA, and is acting as co-lead manager (together with the joint lead managers and underwriters, the "Lead Managers"), to the Company and to no one else in connection with the Rights Issue and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as a client in relation to the Rights Issue and none of the Lead Managers will be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of each of the Lead Managers or for providing advice in relation to the Rights Issue, the contents of this announcement or any matters or arrangements referred to herein or therein.
Citi and any of the Lead Managers may, in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions, engage in transactions in relation to the Nil Paid Rights, the Fully Paid Rights, the New Ordinary Shares and/or related instruments for their own account for the purpose of hedging their underwriting exposure or otherwise. Except as required by applicable law or regulation Citi and the Lead Managers do not propose to make any public disclosure in relation to such transactions.
This announcement should not be considered a recommendation by Citi or the Lead Managers or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or any of their respective affiliates in relation to any purchase of or subscription for securities. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of Citi or the Lead Managers or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or any of their respective affiliates or any other person as so to the accuracy, fairness, sufficiency or completeness of the information or the opinions or the beliefs contained in this announcement (or any part hereof). None of the information contained in this announcement has been independently verified or approved by Citi or the Lead Managers or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or any of their respective affiliates. Save in the case of fraud, no liability is accepted by Citi or the Lead Managers or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or any of their respective affiliates for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in such information or opinions or for any loss, cost or damage suffered or incurred howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise in connection with this announcement. No person has been authorised to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this announcement and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied on as having been authorised by the Company, Citi or the Lead Managers. Subject to the Listing Rules, the Prospectus Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the issue of this announcement shall not, in any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Group since the date of this announcement or that the information in it is correct as at any subsequent date.
Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with applicable law and regulation in the United Kingdom 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 and regulations of any jurisdiction outside of the United Kingdom.
Related Shares:
WMH.L