29th Sep 2008 12:21
British American Tobacco p.l.c.
29 September 2008
British American Tobacco p.l.c. received the following notification on 29 September 2008:-
QUOTE
TR-1: Notification of Major Interests in Shares
1.Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
British American Tobacco p.l.c.
2. Reason for the notification (please state Yes/No)
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights (No)
An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. indirectly holds the shares in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (No)
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights (No)
Other (please specify): (Yes) There has been a change in the chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights are effectively held.
3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation:
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.
4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3):
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. (indirect)
Richemont S.A. (indirect)
Reinet Jersey Holdings Limited (indirect)
R&R Holdings S.A. (direct)
5. Date of the transaction (and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different): 26 September 2008 (30 per cent. threshold was crossed 25 April 2008)
6. Date on which issuer notified:
29 September 2008
7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached:
30 per cent (on 25 April 2008)
8. Notified details:
A. Voting rights attached to shares
|
Class/type of shares |
Situation previous to the Triggering transaction |
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction |
|||||
|
Number of Shares |
Number of Voting Rights |
Number of shares |
Number of voting rights |
% of voting rights |
|||
|
Direct |
Indirect |
Direct |
Indirect |
||||
|
Ordinary shares of 25 pence each ISIN: GB0002875804 |
604,336,627 |
604,336,627 |
604,336,627 |
604,336,627 |
30.1% |
B. Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
|
Type of financial instrument |
Expiration date |
Exercise/Conversion Period/Date |
Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/converted |
% of voting rights |
|
N/A |
Total (A+B)
Number of voting rights % of voting rights
604,336,627 30.1 per cent.
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:
R&R Holdings S.A. is a direct shareholder of the issuer (holding 604,336,627 ordinary shares of 25 pence each). Reinet Jersey Holdings Limited is the parent undertaking of R&R Holdings S.A. for the purposes of the DTRs. Richemont S.A. is the parent undertaking of Reinet Jersey Holdings Limited and Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. is Richemont S.A.'s own parent undertaking for those purposes.
Proxy voting
10. Name of the proxy holder:
N/A
11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold:
N/A
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights:
N/A
13. Additional information:
The total number of voting rights in the issuer used to calculate the relevant percentages in this notification was 2,004,711,530, being the number disclosed by the issuer to the market on 1 September 2008.
14, Contact name:
Alan Grieve / Matthew Kilgarriff
15. Contact telephone number:
+41 22 721 3506 / +41 22 721 3504
UNQUOTE
Note: In 2007 and 2008, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel") granted a waiver of the requirement for R&R Holdings S.A. ("R&R") under the City Code to make a general offer for the remainder of the entire issued share capital of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (the "Company") in the event of R&R reaching or exceeding 30 per cent of the Company's issued share capital (the "Waiver"). The Waiver was approved by the Company's shareholders (excluding R&R) at the Company's AGM in April 2008 at which time it was noted that the Directors of the Company expected to continue to seek annual approval of a waiver from its shareholders (excluding R&R) to a level not exceeding 35 per cent of the Company's issued ordinary share capital.
Details of the 2008 waiver from the Panel are set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting (30 April 2008) and Circular to Shareholders published by the Company on 1 April 2008.
Geoffrey Cunnington
Deputy Secretary
British American Tobacco p.l.c.
Tel: 020 7845 1925
Related Shares:
British American Tobacco