31st Oct 2014 16:18
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY RESTRICTED JURISDICTION OR WHERE IT WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION
Date: 31 October 2014
RECOMMENDED CASH OFFER
by
SODEXO MOTIVATION SOLUTIONS U.K. LIMITED
(a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sodexo SA)
for
MOTIVCOM PLC
(to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement underPart 26 of the Companies Act 2006)
Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting
The Board of Motivcom plc ("Motivcom") is pleased to announce that, at the Court Meeting and the General Meeting convened earlier today in connection with the recommended acquisition by Sodexo Motivation Solutions U.K. Limited ("SMSUK"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sodexo SA, of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Motivcom (the "Acquisition") by means of a Court sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme"), all the resolutions were passed.
The detailed voting results in relation to the Court Meeting and the General Meeting are summarised below.
Court Meeting
| Number of Scheme Shares Voted | Scheme Shares Voted (%) | Number of Scheme Shareholders who voted | Scheme Shareholders who voted (%) | Number of Scheme Shares voted as a percentage of the total number of Scheme Shares (%) |
For | 20,292,740 | 98 | 27 | 96 | 83.57 |
Against | 400,000 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1.65 |
Total | 20,692,740 | 100 | 28 | 100 | 85.22 |
74.56% of the total number of Scheme Shares were voted for the resolution to approve the Scheme as a percentage of the issued share capital and 1.47% were voted against.
Accordingly, the resolution proposed at the Court Meeting was duly passed.
General Meeting
At the General Meeting, the general and special resolutions, as set out in the notice of General Meeting contained in part X (Notice of General Meeting of Motivcom plc) of the Scheme Document issued by Motivcom on 1 October 2014, were duly passed, and the results are summarised as follows:
Resolution 1
| Number of Motivcom Shares voted | Percentage of Motivcom Shares voted (%) |
For | 20,691,240 | 99.99 |
Against | Nil | Nil |
Vote withheld ¹ | Nil | Nil |
Discretionary | 1,500 | 0.01 |
Total | 20,692,740 | 100 |
¹ A vote "withheld" is not a vote in law and accordingly is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes for and against the Special Resolution.
Resolution 2
| Number of Motivcom Shares voted | Percentage of Motivcom Shares voted (%) |
For | 23,225,240 | 98.30 |
Against | 400,000 | 1.69 |
Vote withheld ¹ | Nil | Nil |
Discretionary | 1,500 | 0.01 |
Total | 23,626,740 | 100 |
Resolution 3
| Number of Motivcom Shares voted | Percentage of Motivcom Shares voted (%) |
For | 23,224,801 | 98.31 |
Against | Nil | Nil |
Vote withheld ¹ | 400,000 | 1.69 |
Discretionary | 1,939 | 0.01 |
Total | 23,626,740 | 100 |
Next Steps
Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or (where capable of being waived) waiver of the other Conditions set out in the Scheme Document, including the Court sanctioning the Scheme at the First Court Hearing and confirming the Capital Reduction at the Second Court Hearing. The First Court Hearing and the Second Court Hearing are expected to take place on 18 November 2014 and 20 November 2014, respectively. Subject to the Conditions, as described above, being satisfied or (where applicable) waived, the Scheme is expected to become effective on 20 November 2014. The expected timetable for the implementation of the Scheme is attached as an Appendix to this announcement. If there is any change to any of these key dates, an announcement will be made through a Regulatory Information Service.
All references to time in this announcement are to UK time. Capitalised terms in this announcement (unless otherwise defined) have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document.
Enquiries
Motivcom plc | +44 (0)845 053 5529 |
Susan Hocken, Finance Director |
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Grant Thornton, Nominated Adviser, Financial Adviser and Rule 3 Adviser to Motivcom | +44 (0)207 383 5100 |
Philip Secrett |
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Salmaan Khawaja |
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Jamie Barklem |
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Vasu Majumdar |
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Numis Securities Limited, Financial Adviser and Broker to Motivcom | +44 (0)207 260 1000 |
David Poutney, Head of Corporate Broking |
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Lorna Tilbian, Head of Media |
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Nick Westlake, Managing Director, Corporate Finance |
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Sodexo | +33 1 57 75 80 56 |
Pierre Benaich, Director of Financial Communications |
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Lazard, Financial Adviser to SMSUK | +44 (0)20 7187 2000 |
Alexandra Soto |
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Vasco Litchfield |
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Further information
This announcement is for information only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of any offer to sell or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities, or any solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Offer or otherwise. The Offer will be made on the terms and subject to the conditions and further terms set out herein and in Appendix 1 to this announcement and the further terms and conditions to be set out in the Scheme Document and Forms of Proxy when issued. Any vote by Motivcom Shareholders in respect of the Offer should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Scheme Document, which will include details of how to vote in favour of the Scheme. Motivcom Shareholders are advised to read the formal documentation in relation to the Offer which will be distributed to Motivcom Shareholders in due course, as it will contain important information relating to the Offer.
Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain other information provided by Motivcom Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons in connection with the receipt of communications from Motivcom may be provided to SMSUK during the Offer Period (as required under Section 4 of Appendix 4 to the Takeover Code).
Grant Thornton UK LLP, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Motivcom and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and, accordingly, will not be responsible to anyone other than Motivcom for providing the protections afforded to clients of Grant Thornton UK LLP or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition.
Numis Securities Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Motivcom and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and, accordingly, will not be responsible to anyone other than Motivcom for providing the protections afforded to clients of Numis Securities Limited or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition.
Lazard & Co., Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for SMSUK and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and, accordingly, will not be responsible to anyone other than SMSUK for providing the protections afforded to clients of Lazard & Co., Limited or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition.
Overseas shareholders
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in or into, jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes who are not resident in the United Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable legal or regulatory restrictions in those jurisdictions. Motivcom Shareholders who are in any doubt regarding such matters should consult an appropriate independent adviser in the relevant jurisdiction without delay. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies involved in the Offer disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person.
This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with English law, the AIM Rules, the rules of the London Stock Exchange and the Takeover 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 any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.
Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in 1 per cent 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 p.m. (London time) on the tenth business day following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the tenth 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 Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1 per cent 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, 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 p.m. (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 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 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.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Motivcom Group and certain plans and objectives of the boards of directors of Motivcom and SMSUK. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "will", "may", "should", "would", "could" or other words of similar meaning. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by the boards of directors of Motivcom and SMSUK in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty, and the factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this announcement could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this announcement. Motivcom and SMSUK assume no obligation to update or correct the information contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
The statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date of this announcement, unless some other time is specified in relation to them, and publication of this announcement shall not give rise to any implication that there has been no change in the facts set out in this announcement since such date. Nothing contained in this announcement shall be deemed to be a forecast, projection or estimate of the future financial performance of Motivcom and SMSUK except where expressly stated.
Appendix
Expected Timetable of Principal Events
Event | Time and/or date |
Scheme Court Hearing (to sanction the Scheme)
| 18 November 2014 (1) |
Last day of dealings in, and for registration of transfers and disablement in CREST of, Motivcom Shares
| 19 November 2014
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Scheme Record Time | 6.00 p.m. on 19 November 2014 (1)
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Dealings in Motivcom Shares on AIM suspended
| 7.30 a.m. on 20 November 2014 (1) |
Reduction Court Hearing (to confirm Capital Reduction)
| 20 November 2014 (1) |
Effective Date of the Scheme and re-registration as a private company
| 20 November 2014 (1) |
Cancellation of admission to trading on AIM of, and cessation of dealings in, Motivcom Shares
| 7.00 a.m. on 21 November 2014 (1)
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Dispatch of cheques and crediting of CREST accounts for cash by consideration due under the Scheme
| by 5 December 2014 (1)
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Long Stop Date (2)
| 12 March 2015 |
Notes:
(1) These times and dates are indicative only and will depend, among other things, on the date upon which (i) the Court sanctions the Scheme: (ii) the Court confirms the associated Capital Reduction; and (iii) the Court Orders and the Statement of Capital are delivered to the Registrar of Companies and, if the Court so orders, when the Reduction Court Order and the Statement of Capital are registered by him.
(2) The Long Stop Date is the latest date by which the Scheme may become Effective unless Motivcom and SMSUK agree, with the consent of the Panel and if the Court permits, a later date.
Related Shares:
MCM.L