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Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting

15th Nov 2022 11:30

RNS Number : 4700G
Biffa plc
15 November 2022
 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

15 November 2022

 

RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION

of

Biffa plc

by

Bears Bidco Limited (a newly incorporated company controlled by funds managed by affiliates of ECP V, LLC)

Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting

Biffa plc ("Biffa") is pleased to announce that, at the Court Meeting and General Meeting of Biffa Shareholders, each held earlier today in connection with the recommended cash offer for the acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Biffa by Bears Bidco Limited ("Bidco") (the "Acquisition"), all of the resolutions proposed were duly passed.

Capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document dated 21 October 2022.

At the Court Meeting, a majority in number of Scheme Shareholders, who voted (either in person or by proxy) and who together represented 75% or more in value of all Scheme Shares voted by such Scheme Shareholders, voted in favour of the resolution to approve the Scheme. The resolution was accordingly passed. At the General Meeting, the resolution to approve the Scheme and provide for its implementation and associated amendments to the articles of association of Biffa was also passed by the requisite majority.

COURT MEETING The voting on the resolution to approve the Scheme was taken on a poll and the results were as follows:

Number of Scheme Shareholders who voted

Percentage of Scheme Shareholders who voted

Number of Scheme Shares voted

Percentage of Scheme Shares voted

Number of Scheme Shares voted as a percentage of the issued share capital entitled to vote on the Scheme

FOR

272

89.97%

145,763,631

96.57%

47.61%

AGAINST

30

10.03%

5,177,717

3.43%

1.69%

TOTAL

302

N/A

150,941,608

N/A

49.30%

 

GENERAL MEETING The voting on the resolution to approve and provide for implementation of the Scheme and associated amendments to the articles of association of Biffa was taken on a poll and the results were as follows:

Number of votes

Percentage of votes

FOR

144,814,462

96.55%

AGAINST

5,179,361

3.45%

TOTAL

149,993,823

N/A

WITHHELD

15,156

N/A

 

The outcome of today's Court Meeting and General Meeting means that Conditions 2.1 and 2.2 (as set out in Part IV of the Scheme Document) have been satisfied.

Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the other Conditions set out in the Scheme Document, including (but not limited to) the receipt of the requisite approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission for the proposed change in control of Bray Insurance Company Limited that will take place on completion of the Acquisition, as well as the Court sanctioning the Scheme. Subject to the Scheme receiving the sanction of the Court, the Scheme is now expected to become effective in the first quarter of 2023.

A copy of the resolution passed at the General Meeting is being submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority and will shortly be available for inspection on the National Storage Mechanism at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

All references to times in this announcement are to London time, unless otherwise stated. All percentages are rounded to two decimal places.

Enquiries:

Biffa plc

Michael Topham, Chief Executive Officer

Richard Pike, Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

 

Rothschild & Co +44 20 7280 5000

Stuart Vincent

Robert Barnes

 

HSBC Bank plc +44 20 7991 8888

Anthony Parsons

Joe Weaving

James Hopton

 

Numis +44 20 7260 1000

Mark Lander

Stuart Ord

Kevin Cruickshank

 

Media Enquiries

Houston +44 204 529 0549

Kate Hoare

Kay Larsen

[email protected]

 

Important Notices

N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited ("Rothschild & Co"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Biffa and for no one else in connection with the subject matter of this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Biffa for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in connection with the subject matter of this announcement.

 

HSBC Bank plc is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom and is acting exclusively as financial adviser for Biffa and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and other matters referred to 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 Acquisition or any other matters referred to in this announcement and is not, and will not be, responsible to anyone other than Biffa for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition, the contents of this announcement or any transaction or arrangement referred to in this announcement.

 

Numis Securities Limited ("Numis"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Biffa and no‑one else in connection with the subject matter and will not be responsible to anyone other than Biffa for providing the protections afforded to clients of Numis nor for providing advice in relation to the subject matter or any other matters referred to in this announcement.

Disclosure requirements of the Code

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Takeover Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

Rule 26.1 disclosure

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in a Restricted Jurisdiction), free of charge at https://www.biffa.co.uk/investors/offer by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following the date of this announcement. The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

 

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