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 OF SUCH JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                         26 February 2020

RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION

of

HARWOOD WEALTH MANAGEMENT GROUP PLC ("HARWOOD")

by

HURST POINT TOPCO LIMITED ("BIDCO")

a newly formed company indirectly controlled by funds managed by Carlyle 

NOTICE OF COURT HEARING AND UPDATED EXPECTED SCHEME TIMETABLE

Further to Harwood's announcements on 24 February and 17 February 2020, the boards of Harwood and Bidco are pleased to announce that the Court Hearing has now been scheduled to be heard on 6 March 2020. 

An updated expected timetable of principal events is set out below.  

Expected Timetable of Principal Events

The following indicative timetable sets out the revised expected dates for implementation of the Scheme.  

The following dates and times associated with the Scheme may be subject to further change and will depend on, among other things, the date on which the Conditions to the Scheme are satisfied or waived, and the date on which the Court sanctions the Scheme. Harwood will give adequate notice of any further updates or changes to these dates and times, when known, by issuing a further announcement through a Regulatory Information Service. See also note (1) below.

Notes:

(1)   The dates and times given are indicative only, are based on current expectations and may be subject to further change. References to times are to London time, unless otherwise stated. If any of the times and/or dates above change further, the revised times and/or dates will be announced via a Regulatory Information Service.

(2)   The "Scheme Effective Time" of the Scheme is the date and time at which the Scheme becomes effective pursuant to its terms and will be on delivery of the Scheme Court Order to the Registrar of Companies in the UK. The Scheme Court Order is expected to be delivered to the Registrar of Companies on the date on which the Court makes the Scheme Court Order such that, following the Scheme Record Time, the Scheme will become Effective. The events which are stated as occurring on subsequent dates, including the crediting of CREST accounts, are conditional on the Scheme Effective Time and operate by reference to this time.

(3)   This is the latest date by which the Scheme may become Effective. However, the Long Stop Date may be extended to such later date as Bidco and Harwood may, with the consent of the Panel, agree and, if required, the Court may allow.

General

Capitalised terms in this announcement, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme document sent to Harwood Shareholders on 20 January 2020 (the "Scheme Document"), a copy of which, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, is available on the Harwood website at www.harwoodwealth.co.uk.

Enquiries:

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Evercore, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is acting exclusively as financial adviser to Harwood and no one else in connection with the Acquisition, the other matters referred to in this announcement and the Scheme Document, and will not be responsible to anyone other than Harwood for providing the protections afforded to clients of Evercore nor for providing advice in connection with the matters referred to herein. Neither Evercore 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 Evercore in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, the Acquisition or otherwise.  Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Evercore by FSMA, or the regulatory regime established thereunder, or under the regulatory regime of any jurisdiction where exclusion of liability under the relevant regulatory regime would be illegal, void or unenforceable, neither Evercore nor any of its affiliates accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, and no representation, express or implied, is made by it, or purported to be made on its behalf, in relation to the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy or completeness or with respect to the verification of any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with Harwood or the matters described in this announcement and the Scheme Document.  To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Evercore and its affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility or liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any statement contained herein.

N+1 Singer Advisory LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting as financial adviser, nominated adviser and corporate broker exclusively for Harwood and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and the matters set out in this announcement, and will not be responsible to any person other than Harwood for providing the protections afforded to clients of N+1 Singer, nor for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any matter referred to herein.  Neither N+1 Singer 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 delict, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of N+1 Singer in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

RBC Capital Markets is the trading name for RBC Europe Limited, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority and is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.  RBC Capital Markets is acting exclusively for Bidco and Carlyle and for no one else in connection with the Acquisition and will not be responsible to anyone other than Bidco and/or Carlyle for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any other matters referred to in this announcement.  Neither RBC Capital Markets nor any of its affiliates accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, and no representation, express or implied, is made by it, or purported to be made on its behalf, in relation to the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy or completeness or with respect to the verification of any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with Harwood or the matters described in this announcement.  To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, RBC Capital Markets and its affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility or liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any statement contained herein.

Publication on a website

A copy of this announcement shall be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on Harwood's website at www.harwoodwealth.co.uk by no later than 12 noon (London time) on 27 February 2020.  For the avoidance of doubt, neither the contents of this website nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks is incorporated into or forms part of this announcement or the Scheme Document.

Request for hard copy

Harwood Shareholders may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Computershare Investor Services PLC on +44 (0)370 707 1836 between 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or by submitting a request in writing to Computershare at The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99 6ZZ, United Kingdom).  Please note that Computershare cannot provide any financial, legal or tax advice and calls may be recorded and monitored for security and training purposes.  Harwood Shareholders may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form.

Important Information

If Harwood Shareholders are in any doubt about the Acquisition, the contents of this announcement, the Scheme Document or the action they should take, they are recommended to seek their own independent financial, tax and legal advice immediately from their stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if they are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.