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
18 May 2022
Recommended Cash and Share Offer
for
Clipper Logistics plc ("Clipper")
by
GXO Logistics, Inc ("GXO")
Waiver of the
On 28 February 2022, the board of directors of Clipper and GXO announced that they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash and share offer to be made by GXO for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Clipper (the "Acquisition"). It is intended that the Acquisition will be effected by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act (the "Scheme"), and is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the scheme document that was published on 17 March 2022 (the "Scheme Document").
Defined terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings set out in the Scheme Document.
Waiver of the
Pursuant to paragraph 1 of Part B of Part Three of the Scheme Document, GXO hereby announces that the Condition relating to the
In light of the
Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction (or, if applicable, waiver) of the remaining Conditions set out in the Scheme Document including the following: (i) the Condition referred to in paragraph 3 of Part A of Part Three of the Scheme Document is satisfied; (ii) the Court sanctions the Scheme; and (iii) the Court Order is delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
The expected timetable of principal events remains as disclosed by Clipper and GXO on 9 May 2022.
Enquiries
GXO |
|
Media Matthew Schmidt (US) |
+1 (203) 307 2809 |
Kat Kalinina ( |
+44 7974 594 467 |
Investors Mark Manduca |
+1 203 585 8986 |
|
|
Rothschild & Co (Lead Financial Adviser to GXO) |
+44 (0)20 7280 5000 |
Neil Thwaites Alexander Mitteregger |
|
|
|
Barclays (Joint Financial Adviser to GXO) Philipp Gillmann Akshay Majithia Jon Bone (Corporate Broking)
|
+44 (0)20 7623 2323
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is retained as legal adviser to GXO.
Important Notices
N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited ("Rothschild & Co"), which is authorised and regulated in the
Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its Investment Bank ("Barclays"), which is authorised in the
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 to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise.
This announcement has been prepared in accordance with and for the purpose of complying with English law and the Code, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and the Listing Rules and the 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 Shareholders
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement and/or any accompanying documents (in whole or in part) in or into or from jurisdictions other than the
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Acquisition disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person. This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with English law and the Code and the 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 of
Copies of this announcement and formal documentation relating to the Acquisition will not be and must not be, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction or any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction and persons receiving such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise forward, distribute or send them in or into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Doing so may render invalid any related purported vote in respect of the Acquisition.
If the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer (unless otherwise permitted by applicable law and regulation), the Takeover Offer may not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into or by use of the mails or any other means or instrumentality (including facsimile, e-mail or other electronic transmission, telex or telephone) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any facility of a national, state or other securities exchange of, any Restricted Jurisdiction and the Acquisition will not be capable of acceptance by any such use, means, instrumentality or facilities or from within any Restricted Jurisdiction.
Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders are contained in the Scheme Document.
Notice to Canadian Shareholders
The distribution of the New GXO Shares in
Additional information for U.S. Investors
The Acquisition is being made to acquire the securities of an English company by means of a scheme of arrangement under English law. A transaction effected by means of a scheme of arrangement is not subject to the tender offer rules or the proxy solicitation rules under the
The financial information included in this announcement and the Scheme documentation in relation to GXO has been or will have been prepared in accordance with
The New GXO Shares to be issued pursuant to the Acquisition have not been registered under the
New GXO Shares issued to persons other than "affiliates" of GXO (defined as certain control persons, within the meaning of Rule 144 under the
Neither the SEC nor any
It may be difficult for U.S. investors to enforce their rights and any claim arising out of the
Save as specified in relation to certain of the documents incorporated by reference by paragraph 1 of Part Seven (Financial Information) of the Scheme Document, none of the financial information in this announcement has been audited in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in
The receipt of cash and New GXO Shares pursuant to the Acquisition by a
In accordance with normal
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in
The statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date of this announcement, unless some other time is specified in relation to them, and service of this announcement shall not give rise to any implication that there has been no change in the facts set forth in this announcement since such date. Nothing in this announcement shall be deemed to be a forecast, projection or estimate of the future financial performance of Clipper, the Clipper Group, GXO or the GXO Group, except where otherwise stated.
Forward looking statements
This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement), oral statements made regarding the Acquisition and other information published by GXO and Clipper include statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that might cause or contribute to a material difference include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in GXO's filings with the SEC and the following: the severity, magnitude, duration and aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; economic conditions generally; supply chain challenges, including labour shortages; competition and pricing pressures; the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's ability to align the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's investments in capital assets, including equipment, service centres and warehouses, to their respective customers' demands; the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's ability to successfully integrate and realise anticipated synergies, cost savings and profit improvement opportunities with respect to acquired companies; acquisitions may be unsuccessful or result in other risks or developments that adversely affect the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's financial condition and results; the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's ability to develop and implement suitable information technology systems and prevent failures in or breaches of such systems; the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's ability to raise debt and equity capital; litigation; labour matters, including the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's ability to manage its subcontractors, and risks associated with labour disputes at the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's customers and efforts by labour organizations to organize its employees; risks associated with defined benefit plans for the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's current and former employees; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; fluctuations in fixed and floating interest rates; issues related to the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's intellectual property rights; governmental regulation, including trade compliance laws, as well as changes in international trade policies and tax regimes; natural disasters, terrorist attacks or similar incidents; a material disruption of the GXO Group's and/or the Clipper Group's operations; the inability to achieve the level of revenue growth, cash generation, cost savings, improvement in profitability and margins, fiscal discipline, or strengthening of competitiveness and operations anticipated or targeted; the impact of potential cyber-attacks and information technology or data security breaches; the inability to implement technology initiatives successfully; the expected benefits of the Acquisition, and uncertainties regarding the Acquisition, including the risk that the Acquisition will not produce the desired benefits; a determination by a tax authority that a distribution or certain related Acquisition on transactions should be treated as taxable transactions; expected financing transactions undertaken in connection with the separation and risks associated with additional indebtedness; the risk that dis-synergy costs, costs of restructuring transactions and other costs incurred in connection with the separation will exceed estimates; and the impact of the separation on GXO's businesses, operations, relationships with customers, suppliers, employees and other business counterparties, and the risk that the separation may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected, which could result in additional demands on GXO's resources, systems, procedures and controls, disruption of ongoing business, and diversion of management's attention from other business concerns. All forward-looking statements set forth in this announcement are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by the GXO Group or the Clipper Group will be realised or, even if substantially realised, that they will have the expected consequences to or effects on us or its business or operations. Forward-looking statements set forth in this announcement speak only as of the date hereof, and neither GXO nor Clipper undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, changes in expectations or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by law.
Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code (the "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 in the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at http://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. If you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure, you should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.
No profit forecasts, estimates or quantified benefits statements
No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast, 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 Clipper for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share for Clipper.
Publication on website
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 on GXO's website https://www.gxo.com/information-regarding-possible-offer-for-clipper-logistics-plc/ and Clipper's website at https://www.clippergroup.co.uk/possible-offer/ by no later than 12 noon (
Requesting hard copy documents
In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, Clipper Shareholders and persons with information rights may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Clipper's registrar, Equiniti between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday (except English and Welsh public holidays), on the Shareholder Helpline on 0371-384-2917 from the
For persons who receive a copy of this announcement in electronic form or via a website notification, a hard copy of 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 in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form.
Electronic communications
Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain information provided by Clipper Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons for the receipt of communications from Clipper may be provided to GXO during the Offer Period where such information is requested under Section 4 of Appendix 4 of the Code to comply with Rule 2.11(c) of the Code.
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, accountant or other independent financial adviser duly authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 if you are in the
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