17th May 2006 12:10
Cape PLC17 May 2006 Cape plc ("Cape" or "Company") Scheme of Arrangement - Update On 16 June 2005, Cape announced a proposed scheme of arrangement (the "Scheme")to provide for the long term financing of a great majority of all future UKasbestos-related claims likely to be successfully made against the Company andthose of its subsidiaries included in the Scheme. On 9 March 2006, Cape announced that the Court had made an order regarding theScheme in the terms that Cape had requested and that the Court had ordered thatmeetings of the Scheme companies' Scheme creditors be convened to consider andvote on the Scheme. The meetings were held on 16 May 2006. In order to be approved by its creditors, each Scheme company required that morethan 50 per cent. in number, representing 75 per cent. or more by value ofclaims, of those Scheme creditors who attended and voted at the each of the twoclass meetings of that company voted in favour of the Scheme. The Scheme was originally proposed by the Company and 24 of its subsidiaries.The requisite majorities were obtained at the meetings in respect of 14 Schemecompanies (including Cape, Cape Industrial Services Limited, Predart Limited andSomewatch Limited, being referred to in the Scheme as the "Key SchemeCompanies") (together the "Included Companies"). Majorities were not obtained in respect of 11 Scheme companies (the "ExcludedCompanies"). In each case there were no votes against the Scheme by creditors ofthe Excluded Companies but no creditors attended or voted at the meetings.Accordingly, the Scheme will not become effective in respect of these companies. To date, relatively few claims have been made against the Excluded Companies.Claims made against the Excluded Companies in the past three years representless than one per cent. (by number and by value) of total claims made againstthe Scheme Companies during that period. The Directors are not aware of anyreason why the pattern of future claims should be significantly different.Accordingly, in the opinion of the Directors, the fact that the ExcludedCompanies will not be included in the Scheme is unlikely to have any materialeffect on the Group as a whole, its finances or the Scheme creditors of theIncluded Companies. The Excluded Companies will remain liable to settle any asbestos-related claimsmade against them in the future. The Excluded Companies will not have theprotections afforded by the Scheme and, in such circumstances, since theExcluded Companies have few or no assets the directors of the relevant companymay have no alternative other than to commence or accede to insolvencyproceedings. The Scheme in respect of the Included Companies remains conditional, inter alia,upon the sanction of the Court being obtained by not later than 30 June 2006.Cape will shortly make an application to the Court seeking this sanction. Afurther announcement will be made once the date of the hearing of thisapplication is known. For further information, please contact: Cape PLCMartin May, Chairman +44 (0) 1924 876 276 Bell Pottinger Corporate & FinancialNick Lambert +44 (0) 20 7861 3232 / +44 (0) 7811 358 764 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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