NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM ANY RESTRICTED JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6 February 2023
RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION
for
Crestchic plc ("Crestchic" or the "Company")
by
Aggreko Limited
("Aggreko")
to be implemented by means of a Scheme of Arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006
Results of Court Meeting and General Meeting and satisfaction of French foreign direct investment condition
On 8 December 2022, the boards of Aggreko and Crestchic announced that they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash offer pursuant to which Aggreko will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Crestchic (the "Acquisition").
The Acquisition is to be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme"). Full details of the Acquisition were sent to the shareholders of Crestchic in the circular dated 22 December 2022 (the "Scheme Document"). Capitalised terms used and not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document.
Crestchic is pleased to announce that, at the Court Meeting and General Meeting held earlier today in connection with the Acquisition:
· the Scheme was approved by the requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders at the Court Meeting; and
· the Special Resolution in connection with the implementation of the Scheme was passed by the requisite majority of Crestchic Shareholders at the General Meeting.
Details of the resolutions proposed and passed are set out in the notices of the Court Meeting and the General Meeting contained in Parts 9 and 10 (respectively) of the Scheme Document.
Voting results of the Court Meeting
The table below sets out the results of the poll conducted at the Court Meeting. Each Scheme Shareholder, whether present in person or by proxy, was entitled to one vote per Scheme Share held at the Voting Record Time.
|
Scheme Shares voted |
Scheme Shareholders voted |
Number of Scheme Shares voted as a % of the total Scheme Shares |
||
Number |
%* |
Number |
%* |
||
FOR** |
18,974,213 |
96.62 |
59 |
85.51 |
67.29 |
AGAINST |
664,455 |
3.38 |
10 |
14.49 |
2.36 |
TOTAL |
19,638,668 |
100.00 |
60 |
100.00 |
69.65 |
The aggregate of Scheme Shareholders voting for and against the resolution exceeds the total number and percentage of Scheme Shareholders who voted because 9 registered members gave instructions for votes to be cast in favour of the resolution in respect of part of their holding of Scheme Shares and against the resolution in respect of another part of their holding of Scheme Shares.
Voting results of the General Meeting
The table below sets out the results of the poll conducted at the General Meeting. Each Crestchic Shareholder, whether present in person or by proxy, was entitled to one vote per Crestchic Share held at the Voting Record Time.
|
Number of Shares voted |
% of Shares voted* |
FOR** |
18,989,057 |
96.58 |
AGAINST |
668,613 |
3.40 |
WITHHELD*** |
4,266 |
0.02 |
TOTAL |
19,661,936 |
100.00 |
* Rounded to two decimal places.
** Incorporates proxy appointments which gave discretion to the Chair of the meeting.
*** A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes 'For' or 'Against' the Special Resolution.
The total number of Shares in issue at the Voting Record Time was 29,656,203. The Company holds 1,460,150 Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in Crestchic at the Voting Record Time were 28,196,053.
Update on the French foreign direct investment condition
The boards of Aggreko and Crestchic are pleased to advise that the French Minister of Economy has confirmed that the Acquisition falls outside of the scope of relevant foreign direct investment screening legislation and therefore Condition 3.2 of Section A of Part 3 of the Scheme Document has been satisfied.
Next steps and timetable
The outcome of the Court Meeting and General Meeting means that Conditions 2.1 and 2.2 (as set out in Part 3 of the Scheme Document) have been satisfied. As noted above, Condition 3.2 of Section A of Part 3 of the Scheme Document has also been satisfied. The Scheme remains subject to the satisfaction or (where applicable) waiver of the remaining Conditions and further terms set out in the Scheme Document, including the Court sanctioning the Scheme at the Court Hearing and delivery of a copy of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies.
The expected timetable of principal events is set out below. The dates are indicative only and are subject to change.
Court Hearing |
20 February 2023 |
Last day of dealings in, and for the registration of transfers of, and disablement in CREST of, Crestchic Shares |
21 February 2023 |
Scheme Record Time |
6:00 p.m. on 21 February 2023 |
Suspension of listing of, and dealings in, Crestchic Shares on AIM |
7:30 a.m. on 22 February 2023 |
Effective Date |
22 February 2023 |
Cancellation of admission to trading of Crestchic Shares on AIM |
7:00 a.m. on 23 February 2023 |
Latest date for dispatch of cheques, and crediting of CREST accounts and processing electronic transfers due under the Scheme |
Within 14 days of Effective Date |
Long Stop Date |
11:59 p.m. on 31 May 2023 |
All references to times in this Announcement are to
A further announcement will be made when the Scheme becomes Effective.
For further information please call:
Crestchic plc |
|
Peter Harris, Executive Chairman Iwan Phillips, Finance Director
|
Tel: +44 (0)1283 531645 |
Smith Square Partners LLP (Financial adviser to Crestchic) |
|
John Craven Angus Grierson Paul Baines |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3696 7260 |
|
|
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser and broker to Crestchic) |
|
Robert Finlay David Coaten |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4050 |
Henry Willcocks |
|
|
|
Buchanan Communications Ltd (public relations adviser to Crestchic) |
|
Charles Ryland |
Tel: +44 (0)207466 5000 |
Stephanie Whitmore |
|
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Smith Square Partners, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the
Shore Capital which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not constitute, or form part of any offer, invitation, inducement or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of or exercise rights in respect of any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Offer or otherwise. The Offer will be made solely through the Scheme Document and the accompanying Forms of Proxy (or by any other document by which the Offer is made), which will together contain the full terms and conditions of the Offer, including details of how to vote in respect of the Offer. Any decision in respect of, or other response to, the Offer should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Scheme Document or any document by which the Offer is made.
This Announcement has been prepared in connection with proposals in relation to a scheme of arrangement pursuant to and for the purpose of complying with English law and City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code") and 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 jurisdictions outside
Overseas jurisdictions
The release, publication or distribution of this Announcement in or into certain jurisdictions other than the
Unless otherwise determined by Aggreko or required by the Code, and permitted by applicable law and regulation, the Offer shall not be made available, directly or indirectly, in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction and no person may vote in favour of the Scheme by any such means from within a Restricted Jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction if to do so would constitute a violation of the laws of that jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this Announcement and all documents relating to the Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction, and persons receiving this Announcement and all documents relating to the Offer (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send them in, into or from such jurisdictions where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction.
The availability of the Offer to Target Shareholders who are not resident in the
The Offer shall be subject to the applicable requirements of the Takeover Code, the Panel, the London Stock Exchange, the Financial Conduct Authority the AIM Rules and the Registrar of Companies.
Forward‑Looking Statements
This Announcement contains statements about Aggreko and Crestchic that are or may be forward‑looking statements. Forward looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, may be forward‑looking statements. Often, but not always, forward‑looking statements can be identified by the use of forward‑looking words such as "targets", "plans", "prepares", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "should", "could", "would", "may", "anticipates", "estimates", "synergy", "cost‑saving", "projects", "goal" or "strategy" or, "does not expect", "is expected", "is subject to", "budget", "projects", "scheduled", "forecasts", "intends", "cost-saving", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward‑looking statements may 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 Aggreko's or Crestchic's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Offer; and (iii) the effects of government regulation on Aggreko's or Crestchic's business.
These forward‑looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Such forward‑looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and are based on certain key assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any forward‑looking statements. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward‑looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward‑looking statements attributable to Aggreko or Crestchic or any of their respective members, directors, officers or employees or any persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. Except as required by applicable law or regulatory obligation, Aggreko and Crestchic disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward‑looking or other statements contained in this Announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
No Profit Forecasts or Estimates
No statement in this Announcement is intended as a profit forecast or profit estimate or quantified benefits statement for any period and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share for Crestchic for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share for Crestchic.
Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% 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. (
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% 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 p.m. (
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.
Publication on a website
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement and the documents required to be published pursuant to Rule 26 of the Code will be made available, free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on the Company's website (www.crestchicplc.com) no later than 12 noon (
Right to receive documents in hard copy form
Any person entitled to receive a copy of documents, announcements and information relating to the Offer is entitled to receive such documents in hard copy form free of charge. A person may also request that all future documents, announcements and information in relation to the Offer are sent to them in hard copy form.
A hard copy of this Announcement may be requested by contacting Crestchic's Registrar's on 0371 664 0321. Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the
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