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Statement re Auction Procedure

16th Sep 2021 14:54

RNS Number : 0517M
Augean Plc
16 September 2021
 

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 SUCH JURISDICTION

For immediate release

16 September 2021

Augean PLC ("Augean" or the "Company")

Statement regarding competitive situation and Auction Procedure

Introduction

On 30 July 2021, Antwerp Management Limited ("MSI Bidco") announced a firm intention to make an offer to acquire the Company at an offer value of 280 pence in cash plus a contingent value right of up to a further 20 pence by way of loan notes per Augean share (the "Original MSI Offer"). The board of directors of the Company stated that it intended to recommend the Original MSI Offer to Augean shareholders.

On 16 August 2021, the Company posted a shareholder circular in connection with the Original MSI Offer convening a Court meeting and general meeting of the Company to be held on 9 September 2021 (the "MSI Shareholder Meetings"). The shareholder circular contained a recommendation from the board of directors of the Company that shareholders should vote in favour of the Original MSI Offer at the MSI Shareholder Meetings.

On 24 August 2021, Eleia Limited ("Eleia Bidco") announced a firm intention to make an offer to acquire the Company at an offer price of 325 pence in cash per Augean share (the "Eleia Offer"). In light of the superior value of the Eleia Offer, the board of directors of the Company stated that:

(a) it intended to recommend the Eleia Offer to Augean shareholders and, accordingly, was withdrawing its recommendation of the Original MSI Offer; and

(b) it intended to adjourn the MSI Shareholder Meetings.

On 6 September 2021, the Company posted a shareholder circular in connection with the Eleia Offer convening a Court meeting and general meeting of the Company to be held on 30 September 2021 (the "Eleia Shareholder Meetings"). The shareholder circular contained a recommendation from the board of directors of the Company that shareholders should vote in favour of the Eleia Offer at the Eleia Shareholder Meetings.

On 8 September 2021, MSI Bidco announced a revision to the terms of the Original MSI Offer, increasing the consideration payable to Augean shareholders to 340 pence in cash per Augean share with no contingent value right (the "Increased MSI Offer"). In light of the superior value of the Increased MSI Offer as compared to the Eleia Offer, the board of directors of the Company stated that it intended to recommend the Increased MSI Offer to Augean shareholders and, accordingly, was withdrawing its recommendation of the Eleia Offer.

On 9 September 2021, the Company adjourned the MSI Shareholder Meetings to 30 September 2021, being the date on which the Eleia Shareholder Meetings have been convened.

Competitive situation and adjournment of shareholder meetings

On the basis that neither MSI Bidco nor Eleia Bidco have declared their offers final, such that either offer may be further increased or otherwise revised, a competitive situation continues to exist. Accordingly, the Board of Augean has agreed with the Panel Executive, MSI Bidco and Eleia Bidco an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation (the "Auction Procedure").

Further to the announcement today by the Panel Executive that, in the absence of a "no increase" statement by either MSI Bidco or Eleia Bidco prior to 5.00 p.m. (London time) on 21 September 2021, the Auction Procedure will apply from that time. The Auction Procedure will consist of a maximum of five rounds which will all take place on the evening of 22 September 2021. As soon as practicable following the completion of the auction procedure on the evening of 22 September 2021, the Panel Executive will make an announcement setting out the prices of the offers to be announced or confirmed by MSI Bidco and Eleia Bidco by no later than 7.00 a.m. (London time) on 23 September 2021.

Accordingly, in order to provide sufficient time for the resolution of this competitive situation, the Augean Directors propose to adjourn the MSI Shareholder Meetings and the Eleia Shareholder Meetings to a day in the week commencing 11 October 2021.

Following the conclusion of the Auction Procedure, the Board of Augean expects to post a shareholder circular in respect of the results of the Auction Procedure, containing further information about any revisions to the Increased MSI Offer and/or the Eleia Offer, and including details of its advice, any recommendation to Augean shareholders and the revised transaction timetable.

Enquiries

Augean

Jim Meredith, Mark Fryer

+44 (0) 1937 844 980

Rothschild & Co (Sole Financial Adviser to Augean)

Ravi Gupta, Robert Barnes

+44 (0) 207 280 5000

Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker to Augean)

Jen Boorer, Rachel Hayes

+44 20 7496 3000

 

Rothschild & Co is providing independent advice to Augean pursuant to Rule 3 of the Code. Ashurst LLP has been retained as legal adviser to Augean.

Important notices

N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited ("Rothschild & Co"), which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Augean and no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Augean for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild & Co nor for providing advice in connection with any matter referred to herein. Neither Rothschild & Co nor any of its affiliates (nor their respective directors, officers, employees or agents) owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Rothschild & Co in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP ("Singer Capital Markets"), which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively as Nominated Adviser and Broker for Augean and for no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Augean for providing the protections afforded to its clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the content of this announcement or any other matter referred to herein. Neither Singer Capital Markets nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Singer Capital Markets in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Further information

This announcement is for information purposes only, and is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of, any offer or inducement to sell or an invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to this announcement or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities of Augean in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.

The Increased MSI Offer (as defined above) is made solely on the terms set out in the scheme document in respect of the Original MSI Offer published on 16 August 2021 (the "MSI Scheme Document") (and any supplement or revision to the MSI Scheme Document and the accompanying Forms of Proxy (or, if the Increased MSI Offer is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document and accompanying form of acceptance), which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Increased MSI Offer. Any vote in respect of the Scheme or other decision or response in relation to the Increased MSI Offer should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the MSI Scheme Document (and any supplement or revision to the MSI Scheme Document) (or, if the Increased MSI Offer is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document and accompanying form of acceptance). Augean Shareholders are advised to read carefully the MSI Scheme Document (and any supplement or revision to the MSI Scheme Document) and related Forms of Proxy (or, if applicable, the Offer Document and accompany form of acceptance). Capitalised terms used but not defined in this paragraph have the meaning given to them in the MSI Scheme Document.

The Eleia Offer is made solely on the terms set out in the scheme document in respect of the Eleia Offer published on 6 September 2021 (the "Eleia Scheme Document") (and any supplement or revision to the Eleia Scheme Document and the accompanying Forms of Proxy (or, if the Eleia Offer is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document and accompanying form of acceptance), which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Eleia Offer. Any vote in respect of the Scheme or other decision or response in relation to the Eleia Offer should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Eleia Scheme Document (and any supplement or revision to the Eleia Scheme Document) (or, if the Eleia Offer is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document and accompanying form of acceptance). Augean Shareholders are advised to read carefully the Eleia Scheme Document (and any supplement or revision to the Eleia Scheme Document) and related Forms of Proxy (or, if applicable, the Offer Document and accompany form of acceptance). Capitalised terms used but not defined in this paragraph have the meaning given to them in the Eleia Scheme Document.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus, prospectus equivalent document or prospectus exempted document for the purposes of Article 1(4) or (5) of the UK Prospectus Regulation.

No person should construe the contents of this announcement as legal, financial or tax advice and any interested person should consult their own advisers in connection with such matters.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement) may contain certain "forward-looking statements" with respect to Augean. 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, but do not always, use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "will", "may", "should", "would", "could" or other words or terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of, Augean's, or any member of the Augean group's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Increased MSI Offer or the Eleia Offer; and (iii) the effects of global economic conditions and government regulation on, Augean's or any member of the Augean group's business. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. By their nature, because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and are based on certain key assumptions and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors include, but are not limited to, the satisfaction of the conditions to the Increased MSI Offer or the Eleia Offer, as well as additional factors, such as changes in political and economic conditions, changes in the level of capital investment, retention of key employees, changes in customer habits, success of business and operating initiatives and restructuring objectives, impact of any acquisitions or similar transactions, changes in customers' strategies and stability, competitive product and pricing measures, changes in the regulatory environment, fluctuations of interest and/or exchange rates and the outcome of any litigation.

These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future strategies and environments. You are cautioned not to place any reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Augean or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. 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.

Neither Augean nor any of its associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this announcement will actually occur.

Augean assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise forward-looking or other statements contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

Publication on website and availability of hard copies

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be made available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions), free of charge, at https://www.augeanplc.com/offer/ by no later than 12.00 noon (London time) on the Business Day following the date of publication of this announcement. Save as expressly referred to in this announcement, neither the contents of these websites nor any website accessible from hyperlinks is incorporated into and do not form part of this announcement.

In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, Augean Shareholders and persons with information rights may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Augean's registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC, between 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. (London time), Monday to Friday (except UK public holidays) on +44 (0) 370 889 3205 or at [email protected]. Calls are charged at the standard geographical rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Please note that Computershare Investor Services PLC cannot provide any financial, legal or tax advice, and calls may be recorded and monitored for security and training purposes. For persons who receive a copy of this announcement in electronic form or via a website notification, a hard copy of this announcement and any document or information incorporated by reference into this announcement will not be sent unless so requested. Such persons may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them should be in hard copy form.

Dealing and opening position disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in one 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 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 one 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(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 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.

General

If you are in any doubt about the contents of this announcement or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor or independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriate authorised independent financial adviser.

 

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