TIDMEPO
RNS Number : 7212F
Earthport PLC
29 May 2013
29 May 2013
Earthport plc
("Earthport", the "Company" or the "Group")
$10m Investment by IFC, a member of World Bank Group
Investment by the world's largest private sector development
institution to expand Earthport's global cross-border payments
service infrastructure and drive financial inclusion in developing
nations
Earthport (AIM: EPO), the cross-border payments service
provider, is pleased to today announce that IFC, a member of the
World Bank Group, has agreed to subscribe for $10 million in new
ordinary shares ("Subscription"). These funds will be used to
expand Earthport's presence and payments service infrastructure,
particularly in developing countries. Through this investment,
Earthport also becomes part of IFC's extensive network which
includes over 900 financial institutions, providing Earthport with
access to potential partners and clients in key geographies.
Earthport's innovative, entirely electronic, account-to-account
cross border payments service facilitates a more transparent, lower
cost payments infrastructure, suitable both for remittance and low
value trade payments. Earthport's service is supported by strong
compliance processes, controls and a risk based analysis of
clients. Through integration with Earthport's services, banking and
money transfer organisations are able to offer an increased range
of international payment products to their customers.
The more widespread expansion of Earthport's payments service
into developing countries is expected to have three key benefits:
it will greatly streamline and simplify making cross-border
remittances, making them more efficient and cost effective; it will
improve international trading opportunities for SMEs in developing
nations by removing the barriers that high costs and delays for
traditional international payments create; and increase financial
inclusion in developing nations.
In many developing nations, the annual level of international
remittance from citizens working abroad can be between 7% and 35%
of the nation's Gross Domestic Product. Much of this continues to
be carried out via traditional methods, which can be both costly
and cumbersome.
"Earthport's technology cuts the costs and delays of
international money transfers, facilitating trade for SMEs and
remittances for migrant workers - key priorities for IFC in helping
people in developing countries improve their lives" said Vincent
Gouarne, IFC Director for Infrastructure. "We look forward to
partnering with Earthport in this next stage of growth to further
spread their reach in emerging markets."
Hank Uberoi, Executive Director of Earthport plc, commented,
"This significant investment by the IFC represents a strong
endorsement of our leading and innovative cross-border payments
service. In addition to expanding our presence in emerging markets,
Earthport will also become part of the IFC's extensive network of
financial institutions globally.
"We are very proud to be affiliated with the IFC through this
investment, and are committed to building our scalability and
network in such a way as to provide a tangible improvement to the
daily lives of millions of people and businesses in the developing
nations, for whom cross-border remittances are a major source of
income. Earthport's technology provides the ideal solution to
improve efficiency of remittances and other global payments."
Information on the Subscription
IFC has agreed, subject to certain closing conditions, to
subscribe for up to 35,349,742 new ordinary shares ("Subscription
Shares") at a price of 18.55 pence per ordinary share, which
represents a discount of 4.9% to the closing offer price of an
ordinary share in Earthport at 28 May 2013 and a 27.9% premium to
the placing in October 2012. If the total purchase price for the
Subscription Shares at the exchange rate prevailing two business
days prior to the completion of the subscription exceeds US$10m,
the number of shares IFC will subscribe for will be reduced and IFC
will subscribe for such number of Ordinary Shares whose total
purchase price if converted using such exchange rate does not
exceed US$10m. The Subscription Shares represent approximately 10%
of the current issued share capital. Earthport has served a
subscription request on IFC in respect of the completion of its
subscription and, subject to the satisfaction of the closing
conditions, it is expected that the subscription will be completed
on or around 6 June 2013.
Earthport will apply to the London Stock Exchange for the
Subscription Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM on closing.
Each Subscription Share will be issued credited as fully paid and
free from all liens, equities, charges, encumbrances and other
interests and will upon their issue rank in full for all dividends
and distributions thereafter declared, made or paid after Admission
and shall otherwise rank pari passu in all respects with, and carry
the same voting and dividend rights as, the existing ordinary
shares.
The maximum number of Subscription Shares to be allotted and
issued under the Subscription is within the number of ordinary
shares which the directors of Earthport have authority to allot
free from statutory rights of pre-emption, pursuant to existing
authorities granted by shareholders of Earthport at the last annual
general meeting of the Company held on 14 December 2012.
For further information, please contact:
Earthport plc
Hank Uberoi / Paul Thomas/ Chris Cowlard 020 7220 9700
IFC
Josef Skoldeberg +1 202 473 6978
Panmure Gordon
Fred Walsh / Victoria Boxall 020 7886 2500
Charles Stanley Securities
Mark Taylor / Paul Brotherhood 020 7149 6000
Newgate Threadneedle
Fiona Conroy / Caroline Evans-Jones
/ Josh Royston 020 7653 9850
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global
development institution focused exclusively on the private sector.
IFC helps developing countries achieve sustainable growth by
financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial
markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and
governments. In FY12, IFC's investments reached an all-time high of
more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector
to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world's most
pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org.
About Earthport
Earthport plc, a regulated global financial services
organisation, specialises in the provision of a white label
cross-border payments service.
Through its innovative payments framework, specifically designed
for high volumes of low value cross-border payments, Earthport
provides a cost-effective and transparent service for secure
international payments. Earthport's clients include banks, foreign
exchange businesses, money transfer organisations, payment
aggregators and e-commerce businesses. Through Earthport's
well-established payments infrastructure, clients can clear and
settle payments directly to banked beneficiaries in over 50
countries.
The company is headquartered in London and is listed on the
Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on the London Stock Exchange.
It operates globally with additional regional offices in Dubai and
New York. Earthport plc is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority under the Payment Service Regulations
2009 for the provision of payment services. To learn more, please
visit www.earthport.com and follow us on Twitter @Earthport.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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