Results of ABB Placing

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER STATE OR JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014).

SDL plc 

Results of ABB Placing

SDL plc, ("SDL" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group" / LSE: SDL) an international provider of services in language translation technology and content management, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its placing of new ordinary shares announced earlier today.

A total of 8,234,400 new ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 10 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of the Company, have been placed by Investec Bank PLC and Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP (the "Joint Bookrunners") at a price of 440p per share (the "Placing Price") raising gross proceeds of £36.2 million (the "Placing").

The Placing Price of 440p each represents a discount of 0.8 per cent. to the closing price on 13 July 2018.

The Placing Shares will, when issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares. This includes the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared or paid in respect of such Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.

Application has been made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to the premium segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (together "Admission"). It is expected that Admission will take place at 8.00 a.m. on 18 July 2018 (or such date as may be agreed between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners). The Placing is conditional upon, amongst other things, Admission becoming effective. The Placing is also conditional on the placing agreement between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners not being terminated in accordance with its terms prior to Admission.

Smaller related party transactions

Certain funds in which Schroders plc has a voting or beneficial interest together constitute a related party for the purposes of Chapter 11 of the Listing Rules of the FCA (the "Listing Rules") by virtue of them being entitled to exercise in aggregate more than 10 per cent. of the votes to be cast at general meetings of the Company (thereby constituting a substantial shareholder of the Company pursuant to the Listing Rules). These funds have committed to subscribe for 578,300 Placing Shares for a total consideration of approximately £2.5 million.

Aberforth Partners LLP is a related party for the purposes of Chapter 11 of the Listing Rules by virtue of it being entitled to exercise more than 10 per cent. of the votes to be cast at general meetings of the Company (thereby constituting a substantial shareholder of the Company pursuant to the Listing Rules). Aberforth Partners LLP has committed to subscribe for 886,500 Placing Shares for a total consideration of approximately £3.9 million.

Artemis Investment Management LLP is a related party for the purposes of Chapter 11 of the Listing Rules by virtue of it being entitled to exercise more than 10 per cent. of the votes to be cast at general meetings of the Company (thereby constituting a substantial shareholder of the Company pursuant to the Listing Rules). Artemis Investment Management LLP has committed to subscribe for 962,841 Placing Shares for a total consideration of approximately £4.3 million.

These three commitments to the Placing constitute smaller related party transactions under Listing Rule 11.1.10R. Investec Bank plc and N+1 Singer, in accordance with Listing Rule 11.1.10R 2(b), have jointly confirmed that the terms of the proposed Placing with such parties are fair and reasonable as far as the shareholders of the Company are concerned.

Total voting rights

Following Admission, the Company will have 90,614,596 Ordinary Shares in issue. There are no Ordinary Shares held in treasury.

Therefore, the Company hereby confirms that the total number of voting rights in the Company will, following Admission, be 90,614,596. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Terms used in this announcement shall, unless the context otherwise requires, bear the meanings given to them in the announcement with respect to the Placing released by the Company earlier today.

For further information:

SDL plc 01628 410 100

Adolfo Hernandez, CEO

Xenia Walters, CFO

Investec Bank plc ("Investec") 0207 597 5970

David Flin

Neil Coleman

Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP ("N+1 Singer") 020 7496 3000

Shaun Dobson

Ben Farrow

FTI Consulting 0203 727 1000

Edward Bridges

Emma Hall

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Neither this Announcement, nor any copy of it, may be taken or transmitted, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, in, or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, or the Republic of South Africa or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant securities laws of such jurisdiction. This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for any shares in the capital of the Company in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South Africa or any other state or jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorised or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of securities laws of such jurisdictions. The Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or under any securities laws of any state of other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any state of other jurisdiction of the United States.

There is no intention to register any portion of the Placing in the United States or to conduct any public offering of securities in the United States or elsewhere. All offers of Placing Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended from time to time, including by Directive 2010/73/EC to the extent implemented in the relevant member state and includes any relevant implementing directive measure in any member state (the "Prospectus Directive") from the requirement to produce a prospectus.

Recipients of this Announcement should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business, data and property described in this Announcement. This Announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning any investor's options with respect to the Placing. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The contents of this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each shareholder or prospective investor should consult with his or her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.

Members of the public are not eligible to take part in the Placing. This Announcement is for information purposes only and are directed only at: (a) persons in Member States of the Economic European Area who are qualified investors within the meaning of article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive ("Qualified Investors"); and (b) in the United Kingdom, Qualified Investors who are persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investments professional" in article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"); (ii) are persons falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc") of the Order; or (iii) are persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated; (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This Announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons.

This Announcement is not being distributed by, nor has it been approved for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended ("FSMA") by, a person authorised under FSMA. This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply. No prospectus will be made available in connection with the matters contained in this Announcement and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Directive) to be published. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.

Persons (including without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made by Investec or N+1 Singer, or by any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to any interested person or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. None of the information in this Announcement has been independently verified or approved by Investec or N+1 Singer any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates. Save for any responsibilities or liabilities, if any, imposed on Investec or N+1 Singer by FSMA or by the regulator regime established under it, no responsibility or liability is accepted by either Investec or N+1 Singer or any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or 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 or from any acts or omissions of the Company in relation to the Placing. 

Investec, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the "PRA") and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the PRA, is acting solely for the Company and no-one else in connection with the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. Investec is not responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Investec or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement or the transactions and arrangements described herein.

N+1 Singer, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting for the Company and no-one else in connection with the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. N+1 Singer is not responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of N+1 Singer or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement or the transactions and arrangements described herein.

The distribution of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, Investec and/or N+1 Singer that would permit an offering of such shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company, Investec and N+1 Singer to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

No prospectus will be made available in connection with the matters contained in this Announcement and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Directive) to be published. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.

In connection with the Placing, each of the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the shares in the Placing as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for the own accounts such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares being offered, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or acquisition, placing or dealing by, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps) with investors in connection with which the Joint Bookrunners and any of their respective affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares. The Joint Bookrunners do not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

Cautionary statements

This Announcement may contain and the Company may make verbal statements containing "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. The information contained in this Announcement is subject to change without notice and except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

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 contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 ("MAR"). The person responsible for arranging release of this information on behalf of the Company is Pamela Pickering.

Information to Distributors

Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"); (b) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment").

Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Placing Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Joint Bookrunners have only procured investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares.

Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.