PCGH ZDP PLC (the "Company")
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT ARE NOT
FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, ANY MEMBER STATE OF
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE
RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD BE
UNLAWFUL. PLEASE SEE THE SECTION ENTITLED "IMPORTANT INFORMATION"
AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
LEI: 5493004C3YRF9HEVQI09
29
May 2024
Publication of circular in
connection with the recommended proposals for the voluntary
winding-up of PCGH ZDP PLC (the "Company")
Introduction and Background
The Board of Directors announces
that it has today published a shareholder circular (the
"Circular") setting out the
proposals for the voluntary winding up of the Company.
The Company is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust plc
("PCGH") and was created as
part of PCGH's restructure in 2017 for the sole purpose of issuing
ZDP Shares and providing a loan of the proceeds of that share issue
to PCGH. PCGH gave the Undertaking to repay that Loan and to
subscribe for further Ordinary Shares so as to provide the Company
with sufficient funds to repay the Final Capital Entitlement (as
defined below) of the ZDP Shareholders.
The Company was incorporated with a
limited life of seven years and, in accordance with the Articles of
Association, the Board is required to convene a general meeting of
the Company on 19 June 2024 (the "ZDP Repayment Date") for the purposes
of proposing a resolution to wind up the Company. Each ZDP
Shareholder is entitled to 122.99 pence per ZDP Share as at the ZDP
Repayment Date, which is equivalent to a redemption yield of 3.0
per cent. per annum. (compounded annually) on the initial placing
price of 100 pence per ZDP Share (the "Final Capital Entitlement"). Payment of
the Final Capital Entitlement will be made on 20 June
2024.
In accordance with the above, the
purpose of the Circular is to:
(a) convene
a General Meeting seeking the approval of the Ordinary Shareholder
to place the Company into members' voluntary winding up and appoint
the Liquidators (the "Resolution"); and
(b) provide
details to ZDP Shareholders regarding the payment of the Final
Capital Entitlement,
together, the "Proposals".
PCGH is the sole holder of the
Ordinary Shares and, in accordance with the terms of the
Undertaking, is required to vote them at the General Meeting in
favour of the Resolution. ZDP Shareholders have no right to attend
or vote at the General Meeting.
Further details of the Proposals and
the relevant Resolution which will be approved by PCGH, as the
Ordinary Shareholder, at the General Meeting are set out
below.
Winding up of the Company and appointment of
Liquidators
Subject to approval of the
Resolution at the General Meeting, it is proposed that Gareth Rutt
Morris and Jonathan Dunn of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, Kings
Orchard, 1 Queen Street, Bristol BS2 0HQ, be appointed as joint
liquidators of the Company and their remuneration shall be
determined in accordance with the letter of engagement between the
Liquidators and the Company. The winding up of the Company will be
a voluntary winding up pursuant to section 84(1)(b) of the
Insolvency Act 1986 in which it is intended that all creditors of
the Company will be paid in full.
The appointment of the Liquidators
will become effective immediately upon the passing of the
Resolution at the General Meeting. At this point, the powers of the
Board will cease, and the Liquidators will assume responsibility
for the affairs of the Company until it is wound up.
Settlement of Final Capital Entitlement
The record date for a ZDP
Shareholder to be entitled to the Final Capital Entitlement is 6.00
p.m. on 13 June 2024.
It is expected that an amount equal
to the Final Capital Entitlement payable in relation to the ZDP
Shares held in uncertificated form will be paid through CREST on 20
June 2024 by the creation of a payment obligation in favour of each
relevant ZDP Shareholder's payment bank in accordance with the
CREST payment arrangements. It is expected that a cheque drawn on a
branch of a UK clearing bank for an amount equal to the Final
Capital Entitlement payable to all of the other ZDP Shareholders
will be sent by first class mail, on 20 June 2024, to the last
postal address for those ZDP Shareholders recorded in the Company's
register of members. No fraction of a penny will be paid in respect
of the aggregate Final Capital Entitlement of any ZDP Shareholder.
Any such fractions will be rounded down to the nearest penny and
retained by the Company.
After payment of the Final Capital
Entitlement, any existing credit of ZDP Shares in any stock account
in CREST will be redundant and any existing certificates in respect
of ZDP Shares will cease to be of value.
The Board of PCGH has confirmed to
the Company that PCGH has sufficient cash available to it to
provide the Company with the funds required to pay the Final
Capital Entitlement to all ZDP Shareholders on the ZDP Repayment
Date and that it will do so in accordance with the terms of the
Loan Agreement and the Undertaking, and the Company is satisfied
with those confirmations.
Suspension and cancellation of listing and trading of the ZDP
Shares
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange to suspend trading of the ZDP Shares on the
Main Market of the London Stock Exchange with effect from 7:30 a.m.
on 14 June 2024.
Application will be made to the FCA
to suspend the listing of the ZDP Shares on the standard segment of
the Official List with effect from 8:00 a.m. on 19 June
2024.
Following the passing of the
Resolution, the Company will apply to the FCA to cancel the listing
of the ZDP Shares on the standard segment of the Official List and
to the London Stock Exchange to cancel trading of the ZDP Shares on
the Main Market, with the cancellations expected to take effect at
8.00 a.m. on 20 June 2024.
General Meeting
The Resolution to be put to the
General Meeting is a special resolution to approve the voluntary
winding up of the Company, appoint the Liquidators, agree the basis
of their remuneration and instruct the Company Secretary to hold
the Company's books to the Liquidators' order. A special resolution
requires at least 75 per cent. of the votes cast to be in favour in
order for the resolution to be passed. The Notice of General
Meeting, set out in Part III of the Circular, contains the full
text of the Resolution.
In accordance with the terms of the
Undertaking, PCGH (as the sole holder of the Company's Ordinary
Shares) is required to vote in favour of the Resolution. ZDP
Shareholders have no right to attend or vote on the Resolution at
the General Meeting.
Effect of the Proposals
If the Resolution is approved at the
General Meeting, this will result in the Company being placed into
members' voluntary winding up on the ZDP Repayment Date. All ZDP
Shareholders will thereafter receive the Final Capital Entitlement
in respect of their ZDP Shares on the date of payment as
above.
Expected timetable
The anticipated dates and sequence
of events relating to the implementation of the Proposals are set
out below.
Date of the Circular
|
29 May
2024
|
ZDP Shares disabled in
CREST
|
6.00 p.m.
on 13 June 2024
|
Record date for Final Capital
Entitlement
|
6.00 p.m.
on 13 June 2024
|
Suspension of trading in ZDP
Shares
|
7.30 a.m.
on 14 June 2024
|
Record date for participation and
voting at the General Meeting
|
6.30
p.m. on 17 June 2024
|
Suspension of listing of the ZDP
Shares
|
8.00
a.m. on 19 June 2024
|
General Meeting
|
9.30 a.m.
on 19 June 2024
|
Liquidation of the Company commences
and Liquidators appointed
|
19 June
2024
|
CREST accounts for ZDP Shares held in
uncertificated form credited with the Final Capital
Entitlement
|
20 June
2024
|
Cheques for Final Capital Entitlement
despatched to ZDP Shareholders holding ZDP Shares in certificated
form
|
20 June
2024
|
Cancellation of listing and trading
of the ZDP Shares
|
8.00
a.m. on 20 June 2024
|
Each of the times and dates in the expected timetable of
events may be extended or brought forward without notice. If any of
the above times and/or dates change materially, the revised time(s)
and/or date(s) will be notified to Shareholders by an announcement
through an RIS provider. All references are to London time unless
otherwise stated.
Defined terms used in this
announcement have the meanings ascribed to them in the Circular
unless the context otherwise requires.
A copy of the Circular has been
submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be
available for inspection at
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism and on
PCGH's website at
https://www.polarcapitalglobalhealthcaretrust.co.uk/.
For
further information please contact:
|
Lisa Arnold - Chair
Polar Capital Global Healthcare
Trust PLC and PCGH ZDP PLC
|
Tel. 020 7227 2700
|
|
Iain Evans
Polar Capital Head of Global
Distribution
|
Tel. 020 7227 2740
|
|
Tracey Lago
Company Secretary
|
Tel. 020 4548 2842
|
|
|
|
Important information
If you are in any doubt as to the
contents of this announcement or the action you should take, you
should seek your own personal financial advice immediately from
your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other
independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000 or, if you are in a territory outside
the UK, from an appropriately authorised independent financial
adviser.
This announcement may not be taken
or transmitted into or distributed in any of following territories:
the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Japan or any
other jurisdiction where such release, publication or distribution
may result in the contravention of any registration or other legal
requirement of such jurisdiction. Any failure to comply with these
restrictions may constitute a violation of the laws of any such
jurisdiction.
This announcement does not
constitute or form a part of any offer to sell or issue, or any
solicitation of an offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise
acquire, any securities by any US Persons (as defined below) or in
the United States or any jurisdiction. Neither this announcement
nor any part of it shall form the basis of or be relied on in
connection with or act as an inducement to enter into any contract
or commitment whatsoever. The information contained in this
announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport
to be full or complete and may not be used in making any investment
decision. This announcement does not contain sufficient information
to support an investment decision and investors should ensure that
they obtain all available relevant information before making any
investment. This announcement does not constitute and may not be
construed as any offer to sell or issue, or any solicitation of an
offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, investments
of any description, nor as a recommendation regarding the possible
offering or the provision of investment advice by any party. No
reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained
in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness. No
representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by the
directors of the Company or any other person as to the accuracy of
information or opinions contained in this announcement and no
responsibility is accepted for any such information or opinions. No
information in this announcement should be construed as providing
financial, investment or other professional advice and each
prospective investor should consult its own legal, business, tax
and other advisers in evaluating the investment opportunity. No
reliance may be placed by any person for any purposes whatsoever on
this announcement, or its accuracy, fairness or
completeness.
The material contained in this
announcement is given as at the date of its publication (unless
otherwise marked) and is subject to updating, revision and
amendment. In particular, any proposals referred to herein are
subject to revision and amendment.
The Company has not been and will
not be registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "US Investment Company Act"). The Shares have not been
and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "US Securities Act"), or under the securities laws
of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may
not be offered, sold, pledged or otherwise transferred, directly or
indirectly, into or within the United States, or to or for the
account or benefit of U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S under
the US Securities Act ("US Persons") except pursuant to an
exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the
registration requirements of the US Securities Act and in
compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or
other jurisdiction of the United States and in a manner which would
not require the Company to register under the US Investment Company
Act.