NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7 December 2023
RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION
of
ONTHEMARKET PLC ("OnTheMarket" or the "Company")
by
COSTAR
a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary
of
COSTAR GROUP, INC. ("CoStar")
COURT SANCTION OF SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT, EXERCISE OF OPTIONS AND ADMISSION TO TRADING ON AIM, SUSPENSION OF DEALINGS AND RULE 2.9 ANNOUNCEMENT
On 19 October 2023, the Boards of CoStar
On 4 December 2023, the Scheme was approved by the requisite majorities 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 OnTheMarket Shareholders at the General Meeting.
Capitalised terms used and not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document.
Sanction of the Scheme
The Boards of OnTheMarket and CoStar
The Scheme will become Effective upon the delivery of a copy of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies, which is expected to occur on 12 December 2023.
Next steps
In order to satisfy the exercise of certain OnTheMarket Share Awards under the OnTheMarket Share Plans with effect from, or immediately prior to (as the case may be), the sanction of the Scheme by the Court, including by certain persons discharging managerial responsibilities ("PDMRs") of the Company (as set out in the disclosures below), the Company has allotted and issued, subject to the Scheme being sanctioned by the Court, 4,903,471 OnTheMarket Shares to the OnTheMarket EBT Trustee (the "First Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares").
Application for admission of the First Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares to trading on AIM ("First Admission") has been made and admission is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 11 December 2023. The First Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares will rank pari passu with the OnTheMarket Shares in issue at such time.
OnTheMarket confirms that the last day of dealings in, and for registrations of transfers of, OnTheMarket Shares (including the First Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares) will be 11 December 2023 and the Scheme Record Time will be 6.00 p.m. on 11 December 2023. Scheme Shareholders on OnTheMarket's register of members at the Scheme Record Time will, upon the Scheme becoming Effective, be entitled to receive the consideration under the Scheme.
Dealings in OnTheMarket Shares (including the First Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares) on AIM will be suspended from 7:30 a.m. on 12 December 2023. The suspension is made pursuant to OnTheMarket's application to the London Stock Exchange and is being effected as part of the Scheme.
In addition, in order to satisfy the exercise of certain additional OnTheMarket Share Awards under the OnTheMarket Share Plans on the day immediately following the Effective Date, the Company has allotted and issued, subject to and conditional upon the Scheme becoming Effective, 269,478 OnTheMarket Shares to the OnTheMarket EBT Trustee (the "Second Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares").
Application for admission of the Second Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares to trading on AIM ("Second Admission") has been made and admission is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 13 December 2023. The Second Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares will rank pari passu with the OnTheMarket Shares in issue at such time. The Second Tranche OnTheMarket Share Award Shares will be acquired by CoStar
It is further expected that, subject to the Scheme becoming Effective on 12 December 2023, the cancellation of admission to trading of OnTheMarket Shares on AIM will take effect from 7:00 a.m. on 14 December 2023.
A further announcement will be made when the Scheme becomes Effective.
Rule 2.9 disclosure and total voting rights
In accordance with Rule 2.9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code"), on First Admission, OnTheMarket will have in issue 85,111,256 ordinary shares of
This figure of 85,111,256 OnTheMarket Shares may also be used by shareholders, from First Admission, as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
On Second Admission, OnTheMarket will have in issue 85,380,734 OnTheMarket Shares with no OnTheMarket Shares held in treasury.
This figure of 85,380,734 OnTheMarket Shares may also be used by shareholders, from Second Admission, as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them
1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
Jason Tebb |
||||||||
2 |
Reason for the notification
|
|||||||||
a) |
Position/status
|
Chief Executive Officer |
||||||||
b) |
Initial notification/ Amendment
|
Initial Notification |
||||||||
3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
b) |
LEI
|
N/A |
||||||||
4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
|
|||||||||
a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument
Identification code
|
Ordinary shares of 0.2p in OnTheMarket plc.
ISIN: GB00BFN3K335
|
||||||||
b) |
Nature of the transaction
|
Exercise of options to acquire shares in OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
c) |
Price(s) and volume(s)
|
|
||||||||
d) |
Aggregated information
Aggregated volume
Price
|
N/A |
||||||||
e) |
Date of the transaction
|
7 December 2023 |
||||||||
f) |
Place of the transaction
|
Outside Trading Venue |
1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
|
|||||||
a) |
Name
|
Tom Carter |
||||||
2 |
Reason for the notification
|
|||||||
a) |
Position/status
|
Chief Financial Officer |
||||||
b) |
Initial notification/ Amendment
|
Initial Notification |
||||||
3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
|
|||||||
a) |
Name
|
OnTheMarket plc |
||||||
b) |
LEI
|
N/A |
||||||
4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
|
|||||||
a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument
Identification code
|
Ordinary shares of 0.2p in OnTheMarket plc.
ISIN: GB00BFN3K335
|
||||||
b) |
Nature of the transaction
|
Exercise of options to acquire shares in OnTheMarket plc |
||||||
c) |
Price(s) and volume(s)
|
|
||||||
d) |
Aggregated information
Aggregated volume
Price
|
N/A |
||||||
e) |
Date of the transaction
|
7 December 2023 |
||||||
f) |
Place of the transaction
|
Outside Trading Venue |
1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
Helen Whiteley |
||||||||
2 |
Reason for the notification
|
|||||||||
a) |
Position/status
|
Chief Commercial Officer |
||||||||
b) |
Initial notification/ Amendment
|
Initial Notification |
||||||||
3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
b) |
LEI
|
N/A |
||||||||
4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
|
|||||||||
a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument
Identification code
|
Ordinary shares of 0.2p in OnTheMarket plc.
ISIN: GB00BFN3K335
|
||||||||
b) |
Nature of the transaction
|
Exercise of options to acquire shares in OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
c) |
Price(s) and volume(s)
|
|
||||||||
d) |
Aggregated information
Aggregated volume
Price
|
N/A |
||||||||
e) |
Date of the transaction
|
7 December 2023 |
||||||||
f) |
Place of the transaction
|
Outside Trading Venue |
1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
Morgan Ross |
||||||||
2 |
Reason for the notification
|
|||||||||
a) |
Position/status
|
Product & Technology Director |
||||||||
b) |
Initial notification/ Amendment
|
Initial Notification |
||||||||
3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
|
|||||||||
a) |
Name
|
OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
b) |
LEI
|
N/A |
||||||||
4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
|
|||||||||
a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument
Identification code
|
Ordinary shares of 0.2p in OnTheMarket plc.
ISIN: GB00BFN3K335
|
||||||||
b) |
Nature of the transaction
|
Exercise of options to acquire shares in OnTheMarket plc |
||||||||
c) |
Price(s) and volume(s)
|
|
||||||||
d) |
Aggregated information
Aggregated volume
Price
|
N/A |
||||||||
e) |
Date of the transaction
|
7 December 2023 |
||||||||
f) |
Place of the transaction
|
Outside Trading Venue |
General
All references in this announcement to times are to
Save where otherwise defined herein, capitalised terms and expressions used in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document.
Enquiries
OnTheMarket Jason Tebb Tom Carter |
Tel: +44 20 7353 4200 |
Zeus (Rule 3 adviser, joint financial adviser, nominated adviser and joint corporate broker to OnTheMarket) Jamie Peel Benjamin Robertson James Hornigold
|
Tel: +44 20 3829 5000 |
Shore Capital (joint financial adviser and joint corporate broker to OnTheMarket) Daniel Bush Fiona Conroy Iain Sexton |
Tel: +44 20 7408 4090 |
Teneo (PR adviser to OnTheMarket) Giles Kernick Barnaby Harrison |
Tel: +44 20 7353 4200 |
CoStar and CoStar Scott Wheeler Cyndi Eakin Gene Boxer
|
Tel: +1 202 346 6500 |
Goldman Sachs (sole financial adviser to CoStar and CoStar Barry O'Brien Warren Stables Tim Creamer
|
Tel: +1 212 902 1000 Tel: +44 20 7774 1000 Tel: +1 212 902 1000 |
FGS Global (PR adviser to CoStar and CoStar James Murgatroyd Gordon Simpson
|
Tel: +44 20 7251 3801 |
Important notices
Zeus Capital Limited ("Zeus"), which is authorised and regulated in the
Shore Capital and Corporate Limited and Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (together or individually, "Shore Capital"), which are authorised and regulated in the
Goldman Sachs International, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the
Further information
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form any part of, an offer to sell or subscribe for or any invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise. The Acquisition is being implemented solely through and on the terms set out in the Scheme Document and the accompanying Forms of Proxy (or, in the event that the Acquisition is to be implemented by means of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document and form of acceptance), which contains the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition. Any approval, decision or other response to the Acquisition should be made only on the basis of the information in the Scheme Document (or if the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document). OnTheMarket Shareholders are strongly advised to read the formal documentation in relation to the Acquisition.
This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus exempted document.
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 the publication 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.
Overseas Shareholders
This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law, the AIM Rules, the Code and the Market Abuse Regulation 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 the
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the
Any person (including, without limitation, nominees, trustees and custodians) who would, or otherwise intends to, forward this announcement, the Scheme Document or any accompanying document(s) to any jurisdiction outside the
Unless otherwise determined by CoStar and/or CoStar
In the event that the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer and extended into the US, CoStar
The Acquisition relates to the shares of a company incorporated in
If CoStar
In addition to any such Takeover Offer, CoStar
The receipt of cash consideration by an OnTheMarket Shareholder for the transfer of their OnTheMarket Shares pursuant to the Scheme will be a taxable transaction for
Financial information relating to OnTheMarket included in this announcement or included in the Scheme Document has been prepared in accordance with accounting standards applicable in the
It may be difficult for a US-based investor to enforce their rights and any claim they may have arising under US securities laws since the Scheme relates to the shares of a company incorporated under the laws of, and located in, the
Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders are contained in the Scheme Document.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement may contain certain "forward-looking statements" with respect to OnTheMarket, CoStar
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. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future strategies and environments. None of CoStar, CoStar
No profit forecasts or estimates
No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or estimate for CoStar, CoStar
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), free of charge, on OnTheMarket's website at https://plc.onthemarket.com/recommended-cash-acquisition/ by no later than 12:00 noon on the Business Day following the date of this announcement. Neither the contents of this website nor the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on such website is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Requesting hard copies
In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, a person so entitled may request a hard copy of this announcement, free of charge, by contacting OnTheMarket's registrar, Link Group, on +44 (0) 371 664 0321 between 9.00 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday (
Disclosure requirements of the Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1 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: (a) the offeree company; and (b) 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 on the 10th Business Day (as defined in the Code) following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm on the 10th Business Day (as defined in the Code) 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 1 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: (a) the offeree company; and (b) any securities exchange offeror, 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 on the Business Day (as defined in the Code) 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 Takeover 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.
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