THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING THE APPENDIX AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR
RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY
OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH
RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE
UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES
NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM ANY PART OF AN OFFER
TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE
FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE ANY SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES,
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THE
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN
WHICH SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR TO ANY PERSON
TO WHOM IT IS UNLAWFUL TO MAKE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION. NO
PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE NEW SHARES IS BEING MADE IN ANY SUCH
JURISDICTION. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS MAY
CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH
JURISDICTIONS. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN
THE APPENDIX TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF
ARTICLE 7 OF EU REGULATION 596/2014 (AS AMENDED) (WHICH FORMS PART
OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT
2018 (AS AMENDED)). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
8 October 2024
Rosslyn Data Technologies
plc
("Rosslyn", the "Group" or the "Company")
Proposed
Fundraising
Proposed Conversion of the
2023 Convertible Loan Notes
Proposed Capital
Reorganisation
Rosslyn (AIM: RDT), the provider of
a leading cloud-based enterprise data analytics
platform, is
pleased to announce a proposed fundraising to raise a minimum of
£2.5 million (before expenses) via a conditional placing and
intended subscription of new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price of
5 pence per new Ordinary Share and the issue of the 2024
Convertible Loan Notes.
The Placing, which is being
conducted by way of an accelerated bookbuild, will commence
immediately following this Announcement and is expected to close
later today.
The Company has also been notified by the 2023
CLN Holders of their intention to convert the principal amount and
the interest accrued at the conversion date of 25 October 2024 into
13,328,150 Conversion Shares at the Issue Price.
Furthermore, as the Company is not
permitted by law to issue Ordinary Shares at an issue price which
is below their nominal value, currently 25 pence per Existing
Ordinary Share, the Company further announces that it is carrying
out a capital reorganisation of the Ordinary Share capital of the
Company to subdivide each Existing Ordinary Share into one new
Ordinary Share of 0.1 pence each and one Deferred Share of 24.9
pence each.
Transaction Highlights
·
Proposed Placing to raise a minimum of £1.04
million via a conditional issue of Placing Shares at the Issue
Price;
·
Term sheets agreed for the issue of £1.20 million
of 2024 Convertible Loan Notes;
·
James Appleby, Non-Executive Chairman has
indicated an intention to subscribe for up to £264,000 at the Issue
Price via the issue of Subscription Shares following the release of
the Company's FY24 Results. The Company is currently in a close
period under MAR and therefore James Appleby is not permitted to
deal in the Company's Ordinary Shares until after publication of
the FY24 Results (and subject to him not being in possession of any
other unpublished price sensitive information at such time).
Assuming the Director's Intended Subscription proceeds, the Company
will apply for admission of the Subscription Shares to trading on
AIM separately and to take effect following publication of the FY24
Results and the admission of the New Ordinary Shares;
·
Retail Offer to raise up to an additional £0.25
million at the Issue Price. A separate announcement will be
made shortly by the Company regarding the Retail Offer and its
terms;
· The
Issue Price represents a discount of approximately 55.2% to the
closing mid market price on 7 October 2024 (being the latest
practicable date prior to the date of this
Announcement);
·
The net proceeds from the Fundraising will be used
primarly to drive the execution of the Company's
business strategy as well as to provide working capital support to
extend the cash runway to a point of profitability and strengthen
the Company's balance sheet;
·
Intention to convert the 2023 Convertible Loan Notes into
13,328,150 Conversion Shares at the Issue Price.
·
Proposed Capital Reorganisation to subdivide each
Existing Ordinary Share into one new Ordinary Share of 0.1 pence
each and one Deferred Share of 24.9 pence each.
Completion of the Fundraising, Conversion and
Capital Reorganisation is conditional upon, inter alia, the
Shareholder approval at the General Meeting to be held on or around
25 October 2024. A circular containing
further details of the Fundraising, Conversion, Capital
Reorganisation and Notice of General Meeting to be held at the
office of Gracechurch Group, 4th Floor, 48 Gracechurch St, London,
EC3V 0EJ is expected to be despatched to Shareholders on or around
9 October 2024.
Following its publication, the
Circular will be available on the Company's website at
https://www.rosslyn.ai/investors. Defined terms in this
announcement are set out at the end of the announcement.
Paul Watts,
Chief Executive Officer of Rosslyn, commented:
"Over the past 24 months, we have fundamentally transformed
our business and we believe we are now at an inflection point. We
have reset our strategy, validated its effectiveness and laid the
groundwork for sustainable growth. We now have a clear path to
profitability and are well-positioned to capitalise on the
significant opportunities that the market is presenting,
particularly with our artificial intelligence solution, AiCE. We
believe this fundraising will enable us to achieve positive
adjusted EBITDA and cash generation on a monthly basis later this
financial year and annualised from FY 2026, which will facilitate
accelerated growth. Accordingly, the Board strongly recommends that
all shareholders vote in favour of the
Resolutions."
Further details of the Fundraising,
Conversion and Capital Reorganisation are set out below.
The
person responsible for arranging the release of this Announcement
on behalf of the Company is Paul Watts, a Director of the
Company.
For further information please
contact:
Rosslyn
|
|
Paul Watts, Chief Executive
Officer
James Appleby, Chairman
|
+44 (0)20 3285 8008
|
|
|
Cavendish
Capital Markets Limited (Nominated adviser and
Broker)
|
|
Stephen Keys/Camilla Hume/George
Lawson
|
+44 (0)20 7220 0500
|
|
|
Gracechurch Group (Financial PR)
|
|
Claire Norbury/Anysia
Virdi
|
+44 (0)20 4582 3500
|
EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL
EVENTS
|
2024
|
Announcement of the Fundraising, the Conversion
and the Capital Reorganisation
|
8 October
|
Announcement of the results of the
Placing
|
9 October
|
Posting and publication of the Circular and
Form of Proxy
|
9 October
|
Announcement of the result of the Retail
Offer
|
11 October
|
Latest time and date for receipt of completed
Forms of Proxy or electronic proxy appointments for use at the
General Meeting
|
11.00 a.m. on 23
October
|
General
Meeting
|
11.00 a.m. on 25
October
|
Announcement of the result of the General
Meeting
|
25 October
|
Capital Reorganisation Record Date
|
6.00 p.m. on 25
October
|
Admission effective and commencement of
dealings in the New Ordinary Shares on AIM
|
8.00 a.m. 28
October
|
New Ordinary Shares credited to CREST stock
accounts
|
28 October
|
Despatch of definitive share certificates in
respect of New Ordinary Shares to be issued in certificated
form
|
by 11
November
|
Notes:
(i)
References to times in this document are to London time (unless
otherwise stated).
(ii)
If any of the above times or dates should change, the revised times
and/or dates will be notified by an announcement to an
RIS.
(iii)
The timing of the events in the above timetable
and in the rest of this document is indicative only.
1. Background to and reasons for the
Fundraise
Following the fundamental transformation of the
business over the last 24 months, the Company's strategy has been
reset with the Group focused on a single SaaS product implemented
through its partner-led-goto-market approach. The Company's brand
has been modernised with customer service and operational
efficiencies significantly improved.
With the foundations of the revised strategy
laid out and following the Group's £3.3 million fundraise in August
2023, the Group has worked hard to improve its operating model and
has focused on sustainable growth through investment in both the
Research & Development and Sales & Marketing teams.
Notably, the Group has appointed a fractional Chief Technology
Officer and commenced re-building of the Sales team including the
appointment of a fractional Chief Revenue Officer. The Directors
believe that fractional
appointments combine a higher level of skillset
with a more efficient use of resources.
These investments have enabled the Company to
make significant progress, and the Group's strategy has been
validated through:
· The
transitioning of the business to spend intelligence following the
successful operational launch of the Company's AI
offering;
· The
winning of a three-year contract with one of the world's 10 largest
technology companies as announced on 21 August 2024; and
· The
embedding of the partnership with ChainIQ.
The pipeline of opportunities in the near-term
is also strong, and the Group is notably in advanced negotiations
to form a major partnership with one of the world's top 5 largest
consulting firms.
The Group is now seeking to continue to take
advantage of a growing market to execute its business strategy
through the Rosslyn Artificial Intelligence Classification Engine
("AiCE"), which utilises AI to automate procurement data
categorisation and classification.
The foundation for all spend intelligence is
the quality of the underlying procurement data. By harnessing the
power of AI, Rosslyn can automatically generate the categorisations
and classifications of extracted procurement data, which is a
process that must be undertaken before the data can be analysed.
The Directors believe that automating this process significantly
increases accuracy, expands the volume and complexity of data that
can be incorporated and therefore shortens the time to insight -
which is particularly important for meeting the increasing demand
for real-time procurement insight. It also reduces the need for
time-consuming ongoing manual maintenance of classification rules
and frameworks.
As previously announced, a successful
proof-of-concept of AiCE was conducted with four key clients during
FY 2024 and following further development and refinement, the new
AiCE solution became operational with the first customer in April
2024, as planned, and is currently live with six clients. Rosslyn
expects to make AiCE commercially available by the end of the first
half of the current financial year, when it will be sold as an
additional classification-as-a-service module.
The Company is also in the process of
developing a procurement data lake which, through machine learning,
can lead to predictive intelligence. Optimal performance requires
continuous refining and enriching of the data within the
procurement data lake, which is most effectively achieved through
an automated engine, particularly for organisations with large and
complex data sets. Accordingly, the Directors believe that AiCE
represents a transformational opportunity for Rosslyn and looks
forward to updating the market on its progress.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of
the Fundraising to invest in growth to drive the execution of its
business strategy, namely continuing the development of AiCE and
providing working capital support to extend the cash runway for a
minimum of 18 months.
The Board believe that the Group now has a
clear pathway set out to achieve profitability and that it is well
positioned to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities
that the market is presenting. The Board believes that Rosslyn is
at an inflection point and that the Fundraising will enable the
Company to reach positive adjusted EBITDA and cash generation on a
monthly basis from later this financial year and for the full year
from FY 2026 onwards, allow for revenue growth at c.40 per cent.
year-on-year, and improve all KPIs in order to increase its market
valuation.
Current trading and
prospects
The Board of Rosslyn confirmed in its trading
update dated 21 August 2024 (the "Trading Update") that it expects
to report revenue for FY 2024 in line with management's previously
stated expectations of £2.9m (FY 2023: £3.0m) and annual recurring
revenue ("ARR") of £2.3m (FY 2023: £2.4m), with the reduction
reflecting the protracted timelines associated with contract
negotiations for sizable new opportunities.
The Company expects to report gross margin for
FY 2024 of approximately 39 per cent. (2023: 34.7 per cent.), with
the improvement being driven by the aforementioned actions. The
Board expects this momentum to continue as the new higher-margin
contracts are signed and the benefits of the platform enhancements
are fully recognised.
The Company expects to report an adjusted1
EBITDA loss for FY 2024 of £2.5m (FY 2023: £2.0m loss)
and
EBITDA loss of £3.3m (FY 2023: £2.4m loss),
which is ahead of management's previously stated expectations and
reflects the Board's strategic decision to prioritise sustainable
growth and focus on the quality of revenues. The increase in EBITDA
loss (on a reported and adjusted basis) for FY 2024
compared
with the prior year is due to the lower revenue
and greater costs as the Company increased its level of activity as
it began to rebuild its business following a period of significant
restructuring. In addition, the Company generated profit in FY 2023
from the sale of discontinued operations.
As at 30 April 2024, the Company had cash and
cash equivalents of c. £807k (30 April 2023: £767k).
Cash
burn was c. £218k per month (FY 2023: £205k),
reflecting the rebuilding of the business.
The Company announced on 21 August 2024 that it
had been awarded a three-year contract (the "Contract"), worth a
minimum revenue value of £2m, by one of the world's largest
technology companies (the "Customer") after a nine month tender
process. The Contract also brings further possible growth
opportunities through expansion into the Customer's other divisions
and operations, and the Customer and Rosslyn are also engagement in
a co-innovation partnership for enhanced technology
development.
The Company also announced in the Trading
Update that it had signed a two-year contract renewal with one of
its largest customers, with the contract value increasing by over
20 per cent. This increase partly reflects Rosslyn introducing its
strengthened customer success function as an additional chargeable
service. This function generates additional value for customers by
enabling them to maximise their use of the Rosslyn platform and
more effectively identify risk in their supply chains.
The Company's near-term pipeline remains strong
with the Company in the advanced stages of concluding a number of
new contracts. This includes being in advanced negotiations to form
a major partnership with one of the world's largest consulting
firms (the "Consulting Partner"), which would result in the
Consulting Partner replacing its own internal spend intelligence
tool with the Rosslyn platform. The partnership would provide a
significant new channel to market and an initial three-month
internal spend visibility project has been proposed for the
Consulting Firm's US operations which will establish its internal
skillsets to use the Rosslyn platform. Rosslyn's spend cubes are to
be used in the initial proposals and then the Directors believe
that the Company will then be recommended as a preferred supplier
to customers as part of wider engagement. More than ten prospective
new business opportunities have already been introduced to the
Company, with one in advanced negotiation, and discussions are
already underway to establish partnerships with other geographies.
The Directors believe that this is a further validation of the
Company's partner-led go-to-market approach.
As significant new contracts are signed and the
Group begins to benefit from the increased platform efficiency, the
Company expects that it will be cash-generative in FY26. The Board
is focused on achieving positive adjusted EBITDA and cash
generation on a monthly basis by the end of the current financial
year and on an annual basis from FY 2026 and has mapped out actions
that they consider will form the pathway to this profitability.
These actions include:
· The
Group's new technology architecture being expected to reduce
breakeven to £3.5m ARR;
· New
business wins;
· New
contracts/amendments with existing customers improving
profitability and decreasing risk;
· A
fully utilised professional services team;
·
Continued tight cost control; and
·
Further actions to drive margin improvement.
The
Market
The Board believes that the Group is now well
positioned in a market which continues to expand at high pace and
remains poised for disruption. The Board further believes that,
given the lack of visibility within complex and poor quality data
sets and the increased demand to manage ever increasing supply
chain data, there is a market requirement for a spend intelligence
solution. Rosslyn's platform is capable of addressing these issues
by incorporating a real-time procurement data lake that fuses
internal and external data providing customers with enhance insight
and intelligence into their data.
Importance of Shareholder Approval of
the Fundraising
As noted above the Company's cash burn is c.
£218k per month. With cash and cash equivalents at 30 April 2024 of
£807k, without the additional funding proposed to be raised in
connection with the Fundraising, the Board anticipates that the
Group will face more acute liquidity pressures.
In the absence of alternative funding
proposals, the Board firmly believes that the Fundraising is in the
best interests of the Company. If the Fundraising is not approved
by Shareholders, and absent material financial support from the
Company's creditors or shareholders, which the Board considers
unlikely, the Group will not have the sufficient funds required to
meet its immediate working capital requirements.
The Board therefore strongly recommends that
Shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions required
to
approve the Fundraising.
2. The Capital
Reorganisation
The Company is not permitted by law to issue
Ordinary Shares at an issue price which is below their nominal
value, currently 25 pence per Existing Ordinary Share. In order to
enable the Company to issue shares at n issue price which exceeds
their nominal value, the Company is proposing to complete a Capital
Reorganisation of the Ordinary Share capital of the Company. Each
of the Existing Ordinary Shares will be subdivided into one New
Ordinary Share of 0.1 pence each and one Deferred Share of 24.9
pence each.
The Capital
Reorganisation will not of itself affect the value of the shares
held by Shareholders. After the Capital Reorganisation there will
be the same number of New Ordinary Shares in issue as there are
Existing Ordinary Shares in issue (prior to completion of the
Fundraising) and therefore current shareholdings will not be
diluted by the Capital Reorganisation alone, unless the Fundraising
(or any other further equity fundraising) is completed by the
Company.
The New Ordinary Shares will have the same
rights as those currently accruing to the Existing Ordinary Shares
in issue, including those relating to voting and entitlement to
dividends.
The Deferred Shares will have no significant
rights attached to them and carry no right to vote or participate
in distribution of surplus assets and will not be admitted to
trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc.
Therefore, the Deferred Shares will effectively carry no
value.
Holders of options over Existing Ordinary
Shares will maintain the same rights as currently accruing to them
and will not be issued with new option certificates.
Resolution 4 in the Notice of General Meeting
contained in this Circular is proposed to amend the existing
articles of association of the Company to, inter alia, create the new Deferred
Shares and to set out rights pertaining thereto relative to the New
Ordinary Shares. Resolution 4 is conditional upon the passing of
Resolution 1. A copy of the amended articles of association will be
available for inspection throughout the General Meeting.
3. The
Conversion
On 30 August 2023, the Company announced, inter
alia, that it had raised a total of £600,000 through the issue of
the 2023 Convertible Loan Notes to Hargreave Hale AIM VCT plc
(£300,000), Octopus AIM VCT plc (£180,000) and Octopus AIM VCT 2
plc (£120,000). The 2023 Convertible Loan Notes carry interest at
10 per cent. which has and continues to be rolled up.
The Company has been notified by each of the
2023 CLN Holders, being Hargreave Hale AIM VCT plc, Octopus AIM VCT
plc, and Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc, of their intention to convert both
the principal and the interest accrued of the 2023 Convertible Loan
Notes into new Ordinary Shares in the Company at the Issue Price.
The total number of Conversion Shares is 13,328,150,
comprising:
·
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT plc: 6,664,075 Conversion
Shares
·
Octopus AIM VCT plc: 3,998,445 Conversion Shares
·
Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc: 2,665,630 Conversion Shares
The Conversion is conditional on the
Resolutions being passed which will provide shareholder authority
for the allotment and issue by the Company of the Conversion Shares
for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis and completion of the
Placing.
4. Details of the
Fundraising
Details of the Placing
The Company is conditionally raising gross
proceeds of a minimum £1.04 million through the Placing at the
Issue Price. The Placing comprises a placing of a minimum of
4,070,000 EIS/VCT Placing Shares and a placing of a minimum of
16,650,000 General Placing Shares with new and existing
institutional investors and other investors. The Issue Price
represents a 55.2 per cent. discount to the closing mid-market
price of 11.15 pence on 7 October 2024, being the latest
practicable date prior to publication of the
Announcement.
Pursuant to the Placing Agreement, Cavendish
has conditionally agreed to use its reasonable endeavours to
procure subscribers for the Placing Shares at the Issue
Price.
The Placing has not been underwritten by
Cavendish or any other party and the Placing is conditional,
inter alia, on:
· the
Placing Agreement not having been terminated in accordance with its
terms prior to Admission;
· the
Resolutions being passed which will provide shareholder authority
for the allotment and issue by the Company of the Fundraising
Shares for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis;
· the
issue of the 2024 Convertible Loan Notes; and
· the
admission of the Placing Shares becoming effective by no later than
8.00 a.m. on 28 October 2024 or such later time and/or date as the
Company and Cavendish may agree (being no later than 8.00 a.m. on
18 November 2024).
The Placing is not conditional upon the
completion of the Retail Offer, but is conditional upon the Capital
Reorganisation, the Conversion and the issue of the 2024
Convertible Loan Notes. Completion of the Retail Offer, the Capital
Reorganisation, the Conversion and the issue of the 2024
Convertible Loan Notes are conditional, inter alia, upon completion of the
Placing.
The Placing Agreement contains customary
warranties from the Company in favour of Cavendish in relation to,
inter alia, the accuracy
of the information in this Announcement and other matters relating
to the Company and its business. In addition, the Company has
agreed to indemnify Cavendish in relation to certain liabilities
that they may incur in respect of the Fundraising.
The Fundraising comprises the Placing, the
Director's Intended Subscription, the issue of the 2024 Convertible
Loan Notes and the Retail Offer. The Fundraising and the Conversion
are each conditional, among other matters, on the passing of a
resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting, granting
authority to the Directors to allot the Fundraising Shares,
Conversion Shares and the 2024 Convertible Loan Notes on a
non-pre-emptive basis, and on Admission.
Cavendish (acting in good faith) has the right
to terminate the Placing Agreement in certain circumstances prior
to Admission in respect of the Placing Shares and Retail Offer
Shares, including (but not limited to): in the event that there
has, in the opinion of Cavendish (acting in good faith) been a
breach, or an alleged breach, of any of the warranties in the
Placing Agreement or there has occurred in the opinion of Cavendish
(acting in good faith) a material adverse change. Cavendish may
also terminate the Placing Agreement if there has been a
significant change in certain international financial markets, a
suspension or material limitation in trading on certain stock
exchanges or a material disruption in commercial banking or
securities settlement or clearance which Cavendish considers
(acting in good faith) makes it impractical or inadvisable to
proceed with the Placing or Admission.
Details of the Director's Intended
Subscription
James Appleby, Non-Executive Chairman, intends
to subscribe for the Subscription Shares at the Issue Price for a
subscription of up to £264,000. As the Company is currently in a
closed period under MAR until the publication of its final results
for the period ended 30 April 2024 ("FY24 Results"), James Appleby
is not permitted to deal in the Company's Ordinary Shares
(including subscribing) until after publication of the FY24 Results
(and subject to each not being in possession of any other
unpublished price sensitive information at such time).
Assuming the Director's Intended Subscriptions
proceeds, the Company will apply for admission of the Subscription
Shares to trading on AIM separately and to take effect following
the admission of the Placing Shares, the Retail Offer Shares and
the Conversion Shares.
Details of the Retail
Offer
The Company values its retail Shareholder base
and believes that it is appropriate to provide the retail community
resident in the United Kingdom the opportunity to participate in
the Retail Offer at the Issue Price.
On the terms set out in a separate announcement
made following the issue of the Announcement, the Company is using
the PrimaryBid platform to conduct an offer for subscription of up
to 5,000,000 Retail Offer Shares. Members of the public in the UK
can access the Retail Offer through PrimaryBid's extensive partner
network of investment platforms, retail brokers and wealth
managers, subject to such partners' participation.
For further information on the Retail Offer,
please refer to the relevant announcement on 8 October
2024.
Details of the 2024 Convertible Loan
Notes
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT plc and Amati AIM VCT
plc have signed a non-binding term sheet for £400,000 and for
£800,000 respectively of 10 per cent. convertible loan notes. The
terms of the 2024 Convertible Loan Notes are that they are
repayable after 5 years and carry an interest rate of 10 per cent.
per annum which will be rolled up. The Fundraise is conditional on
binding agreements being entered into for the issue of these
convertible loan notes.
The principal and rolled up interest are
convertible into Ordinary Shares of the Company at the repayment
date at the noteholders option. The 2024 Convertible Loan Notes
convert into ordinary shares of the Company at a price of the lower
of (1) 6p, (2) the subscription price of the last funding round
prior to a conversion event, (3) in respect of an early redemption
only, the closing bid price per Ordinary Share on the business day
immediately preceding the date of the conversion, or (4) a 25 per
cent. discount on the offer price per ordinary share on a change of
control. Such conversion price can never be lower than the nominal
value of the ordinary shares.
5. EIS/VCT
Schemes
Although the Directors believe that the EIS/VCT
Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing will be
'eligible shares' and will be capable of being a qualifying holding
for the purposes of investment by VCTs and will also satisfy the
conditions of section 173 of ITA for the purposes of the EIS and
the Directors are not aware of any subsequent change in the
qualifying conditions or the Company's circumstances that would
prevent the EIS/VCT Placing Shares from being eligible for EIS and
VCT investments on this occasion, neither the Directors nor the
Company nor Cavendish, nor any of their respective directors,
officers, employees, affiliates or advisers give any warranty or
undertaking or other assurance that relief will be available in
respect of any investment in the EIS/ VCT Placing Shares, nor do
they warrant or undertake or otherwise give any assurance that the
Company will conduct its activities in a way that qualifies for or
preserves its status.
6. Admission,
Settlement, Dealings and Total Voting Rights
Application will be made to the London Stock
Exchange for admission of the New Ordinary Shares of 0.1 pence each
(assuming the Capital Reorganisation is approved at the General
Meeting) to trading on AIM. Admission is expected to occur at 8.00
a.m. on 28 October 2024 (or such later times(s) and/or date(s) as
Cavendish and the Company may agree).
Following Admission, the total number of New
Ordinary Shares in issue (assuming full take up of the Retail
Offer) is expected to be 56,707,425 with each New Ordinary Share
carrying the right to one vote. There are, and following Admission
will be, no New Ordinary Shares held in treasury and therefore the
total number of voting rights in the Company is expected to be
56,707,425. Assuming full take up of the Retail Offer, the above
figure may be used by Shareholders in the Company 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.
7. General
Meeting
Set out at the end of the Circular is a notice
convening a general meeting of the Company to be held at
Gracechurch Group, 4th Floor, 48 Gracechurch St, London, EC3V 0EJ
at 11.00 a.m. on 25 October 2024. The Notice of General Meeting
sets out the proposed Resolutions upon which Shareholders will be
asked to vote. The Resolutions are ordinary resolutions to issue
and allot the Fundraising Shares and the 2024 Convertible Loan
Notes pursuant to the Fundraising and the Conversion Shares, and to
subdivide each of the Existing Ordinary Shars of 25 pence each into
one Existing Ordinary Share of 0.1 pence each and one Deferred
Share of 24.9 pence each, and special resolutions to disapply
pre-emption rights for the issue of the Fundraising Shares, the
issue of the 2024 Convertible Loan Notes pursuant to the
Fundraising and the Conversion Shares, and amend the Articles to
create the share rights for the Deferred Shares. The ordinary
resolutions will require a majority of those Shareholders present
in person or by proxy and the special resolution will require a
majority of 75 per cent. of those Shareholders voting to vote in
favour in order to be passed.
Action to be taken in respect of the
General Meeting
A copy of the Circular will be published on the
Company's website and posted to those Shareholders that have
elected to receive communications in hard copy. Those Shareholders
will find accompanying the Circular a Form of Proxy for use in
connection with the General Meeting. The Form of Proxy should be
completed and returned in accordance with the instructions thereon
so as to be received by Link Group at PXS 1, Central Square, 29
Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL as soon as possible and in any
event not later than 48 hours before the time of the General
Meeting. Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not
prevent a Shareholder from attending and voting at the General
Meeting should he/she/it so wish. Alternatively, Shareholders may
appoint a proxy via Signal Shares or via CREST and should see the
notes to the Notice of General Meeting at the end of the Circular
for further guidance.
8.
Recommendation
The Directors believe the Transaction to be in
the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole.
Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend Shareholders to
vote in favour of the Resolutions required to implement them, as
they intend to do in respect of their beneficial shareholdings
amounting to 2.24 per cent. of the Existing Ordinary
Shares.
APPENDIX
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE
PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR
INVITED PLACEES ONLY REGARDING THE PLACING
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING THIS APPENDIX AND THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN (TOGETHER THE "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS RESTRICTED AND IS
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES,
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THE
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN
WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE LONDON STOCK
EXCHANGE, NOR IS IT INTENDED THAT IT WILL BE SO
APPROVED.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE
PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS
DIRECTED ONLY AT: (A) PERSONS IN MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC AREA ("EEA") WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS WITHIN THE
MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(e) OF THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION ("QUALIFIED
INVESTORS"); AND (B) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, PERSONS WHO ARE
"QUALIFIED INVESTORS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE UK PROSPECTUS
REGULATION AND WHO ALSO: (I) HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN
MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5)
(INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS)
OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL
PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER"); (II) ARE PERSONS
FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED
ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER; OR (III) ARE PERSONS TO
WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE BE LAWFULLY COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS
TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT
PERSONS").
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED
ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS
DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS
LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND
WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY
SECURITIES IN ROSSLYN DATA TECHNOLOGIES PLC.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE INTO
THE UNITED STATES. THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE
REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR WITH ANY SECURITIES
REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED
STATES, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION
FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION
REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH ANY
APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF
THE UNITED STATES. SUBJECT TO CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS AND AT THE SOLE
DISCRETION OF THE COMPANY, THE PLACING SHARES ARE BEING OFFERED AND
SOLD ONLY OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES IN "OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS"
WITHIN THE MEANING OF, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH, REGULATION S UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT AND OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE
LAWS. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN THE
UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ELSEWHERE. NO MONEY,
SECURITIES OR OTHER CONSIDERATION FROM ANY PERSON INSIDE THE UNITED
STATES IS BEING SOLICITED AND, IF SENT IN RESPONSE TO THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED.
EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, TAX,
BUSINESS AND RELATED ASPECTS OF AN INVESTMENT IN PLACING SHARES.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, ANY PART OF IT OR ANY
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT MAY BE RESTRICTED BY LAW IN CERTAIN
JURISDICTIONS, AND ANY PERSON INTO WHOSE POSSESSION THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT, ANY PART OF IT OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT
COMES SHOULD INFORM THEMSELVES ABOUT, AND OBSERVE, SUCH
RESTRICTIONS.
THE
COMPANY'S BROKERS, CAVENDISH CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED, WHO ARE
REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY, ARE ACTING FOR THE
COMPANY AND NO ONE ELSE IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSALS SET OUT IN
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. CAVENDISH DOES NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORITY TO MAKE
ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY OR ANY
OTHER PERSON IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPANY.
ANY
PERSON WHO IS IN ANY DOUBT ABOUT THE INVESTMENT TO WHICH THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES SHOULD CONSULT A PERSON DULY AUTHORISED FOR
THE PURPOSES OF FSMA WHO SPECIALISES IN THE ACQUISITION OF SHARES
AND OTHER SECURITIES.
The distribution of this
Announcement and/or the Placing and/or issue of the Placing Shares
in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has
been taken by the Company, Cavendish or any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees that would
permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution
of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material
relating to such Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action
for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this
Announcement comes are required by the Company and Cavendish to
inform themselves about and to observe any such
restrictions.
This Announcement or any part of it
is for information purposes only and does not constitute or form
part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer
to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United
States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the
United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the Republic of South
Africa, Hong Kong or any other jurisdiction in which the same would
be unlawful. No public offering of the Placing Shares is being made
in any such jurisdiction.
All offers of the Placing Shares
will be made pursuant to an exemption under the UK Prospectus
Regulation, from the requirement to produce a prospectus. In the
United Kingdom, this Announcement is being directed solely at
persons in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not
apply.
The Placing Shares have not been
approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, any state securities commission or other regulatory
authority in the United States, nor have any of the foregoing
authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placing or
the accuracy or adequacy of this Announcement. Any representation
to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. The
relevant clearances have not been, nor will they be, obtained from
the securities commission of any province or territory of Canada,
no prospectus has been lodged with, or registered by, the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Financial
Markets Authority of New Zealand or the Japanese Ministry of
Finance; the relevant clearances have not been, and will not be,
obtained for the South Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable
body in the Republic of Ireland, the Republic of South Africa or
Hong Kong in relation to the Placing Shares and the Placing Shares
have not been, nor will they be, registered under or offering in
compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or
territory of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of
Ireland, the Republic of South Africa or Hong Kong. Accordingly,
the Placing Shares may not (unless an exemption under the relevant
securities laws is applicable) be offered, sold, resold or
delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the Republic of South
Africa or Hong Kong or any other jurisdiction outside the United
Kingdom.
Persons (including, without
limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or
other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement
should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.
This Announcement should be read in
its entirety. In particular, you should read and understand the
information provided in this "Important Information" section of
this Announcement.
The Company proposes to raise
capital by way of, inter
alia, a Placing. By participating in the Placing, each
Placee will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement
in its entirety, to be participating, making an offer and acquiring
Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained herein and to
be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities,
acknowledgements and undertakings contained in this
Appendix.
In particular, each such Placee
represents, warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges (amongst
other things) that:
1
it is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it will acquire, hold,
manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to it
for the purposes of its business;
2
in the case of a Relevant Person in a Relevant State who acquires
any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
(a) it
is a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the
Prospectus Regulation;
(b) in
the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial
intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the
Prospectus Regulation:
(i) the Placing
Shares acquired by it in the Placing have not been acquired on
behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer
or resale to, persons in a Relevant State other than Qualified
Investors or in circumstances in which the prior consent of
Cavendish has been given to the offer or resale; or
(ii) where Placing
Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in a Relevant
State other than Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing
Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation as
having been made to such persons;
3
in the case of a Relevant Person in the United Kingdom who acquires
any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing:
(a) it
is a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the
UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b) in
the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a financial
intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the UK
Prospectus Regulation:
(i) the Placing
Shares acquired by it in the Placing have not been acquired on
behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer
or resale to, persons in the United Kingdom other than Qualified
Investors or in circumstances in which the prior consent of
Cavendish has been given to the offer or resale; or
(ii) where Placing
Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in the United
Kingdom other than Qualified Investors, the offer of those Placing
Shares to it is not treated under the UK Prospectus Regulation as
having been made to such persons;
4
it is acquiring the Placing Shares for its own account or is
acquiring the Placing Shares for an account with respect to which
it exercises sole investment discretion and has the authority to
make and does make the representations, warranties, indemnities,
acknowledgements, undertakings and agreements contained in this
Announcement;
5
it understands (or if acting for the account of another person,
such person has confirmed that such person understands) the resale
and transfer restrictions set out in this Appendix; and
6
except as otherwise permitted by the Company and subject to any
available exemptions from applicable securities laws, it (and any
account referred to above) is outside the United States acquiring
the Placing Shares in offshore transactions as defined in and in
accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.
No
prospectus
No prospectus or other offering
document has been or will be submitted to be approved by the FCA in
relation to the Placing or the Placing Shares and Placees'
commitments will be made solely on the basis of the information
contained in this Announcement and any Publicly Available
Information and subject to any further terms set forth in the form
of confirmation to be sent to individual Placees.
Each Placee, by participating in the
Placing, agrees that the content of this Announcement is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and confirms that it
has neither received nor relied on any information (other than the
Publicly Available Information), representation, warranty or
statement made by or on behalf of the Company, Cavendish or any
other person and none of the Company, Cavendish or any other person
acting on such person's behalf nor any of their respective
affiliates has or shall have any liability for any Placee's
decision to participate in the Placing based on any other
information, representation, warranty or statement. Each Placee
acknowledges and agrees that it has relied on its own investigation
of the business, financial or other position of the Company in
accepting a participation in the Placing. No Placees should
consider any information in this Announcement to be legal, tax or
business advice. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the
liability of any person for fraudulent
misrepresentation.
Details of the Placing Agreement and the Placing
Shares
Cavendish has today entered into a
Placing Agreement with the Company under which, on the terms and
subject to the conditions set out in the Placing Agreement,
Cavendish, as agent for and on behalf of the Company, has agreed to
use its reasonable endeavours to procure placees for the Placing
Shares at the issue price of 5 pence per Placing Share.
The Placing Shares will, when
issued, be subject to the Articles and credited as fully paid and
will rank pari
passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares
in the capital of the Company, including the right to receive all
dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect
of such Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing
Shares.
Application for admission to trading
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares to
trading on AIM.
It is expected that Admission will
take place no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 October 2024 and that
dealings in the Placing Shares on AIM will commence at the same
time.
Principal terms of the Placing
1
Cavendish is acting as broker to the Company in
respect of the Placing, as agent for and on behalf of the Company.
Cavendish is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the
FCA and is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in
connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and
will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to each of Cavendish' customers
or for providing advice in relation to the matters described in
this Announcement.
2
Participation in the Placing will only be available to persons who
may lawfully be and are invited by Cavendish to participate.
Cavendish and any of its affiliates are entitled to participate in
the Placing as principal.
3
The price per Placing Share is 5 pence and is payable to Cavendish
as agent of the Company by all Placees.
4
Subject to the Company's final approval, each Placee's allocation
is determined by Cavendish following consultation with the Company
and has been or will be confirmed orally by Cavendish, as
applicable, and a form of confirmation will be dispatched as soon
as possible thereafter. That oral confirmation will give rise to an
irrevocable, legally binding commitment by that person (who at that
point becomes a Placee), in favour of Cavendish and the Company,
under which it agrees to acquire the number of Placing Shares
allocated to the Placee at the Issue Price and otherwise on the
terms and subject to the conditions set out in this Appendix and in
accordance with the Articles. Except with the prior written consent
of Cavendish, such commitment will not be capable of variation or
revocation at the time at which it is submitted.
5
Each Placee's allocation and commitment will be evidenced by a form
of confirmation issued to such Placee by Cavendish. The terms of
this Appendix will be deemed incorporated in that form of
confirmation.
6
Each Placee will have an immediate, separate, irrevocable and
binding obligation, owed to Cavendish as agent for the Company, to
pay to it (or as they may direct) in cleared funds an amount equal
to the product of the Issue Price and the number of Placing Shares
such Placee has agreed to acquire and the Company has agreed to
allot and issue to that Placee.
7
Irrespective of the time at which a Placee's allocation(s) pursuant
to the Placing is/are confirmed, settlement for all Placing Shares
to be acquired pursuant to the Placing will be required to be made
at the same time, on the basis explained below under "Registration
and Settlement".
8
All obligations of Cavendish under the Placing will be subject to
fulfilment of the conditions referred to below under "Conditions of
the Placing" and to the Placing not being terminated on the basis
referred to below under "Termination of the Placing".
9
By participating in the Placing, each Placee will agree that its
rights and obligations in respect of the Placing will terminate
only in the circumstances described below and will not be capable
of rescission or termination by the Placee.
10
To the fullest extent permissible by law and applicable FCA rules,
none of (a) Cavendish, (b) any of its affiliates, agents,
directors, officers, consultants, (c) to the extent not contained
within (a) or (b), any person connected with Cavendish as defined
in the FSMA ((b) and (c) being together "affiliates" and
individually an "affiliate" of Cavendish), (d) any person acting on
behalf of Cavendish, shall have any liability (including to the
extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) to Placees or to
any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise.
In particular, Cavendish nor any of its affiliates shall have any
liability (including, to the extent permissible by law, any
fiduciary duties) in respect of their conduct in relation to the
Placing or of such alternative method of effecting the Placing as
Cavendish and the Company may agree.
Registration and Settlement
If Placees are allocated any Placing
Shares in the Placing they will be sent a form of confirmation or
electronic confirmation by Cavendish, as soon as it is able which
will confirm the number of Placing Shares allocated to them, the
Issue Price and the aggregate amount owed by them to
Cavendish.
Each Placee will be deemed to agree
that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and
payment is completed as directed by Cavendish in accordance with
either the standing CREST or certificated settlement instructions
which they have in place with Cavendish.
Settlement of transactions in the
Placing Shares (ISIN: GB00BMV2DB09) following Admission will take
place within the CREST system, subject to certain exceptions.
Settlement through CREST is expected to take place on 28 October
2024 unless otherwise notified by Cavendish and Admission is
expected to occur no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 October 2024 unless
otherwise notified by Cavendish. The deadline for Placees to input
instructions into CREST is 12.00 pm on 25 October 2024. Admission
and settlement may occur at an earlier date, which if achievable,
will be set out in the Circular. Settlement will be on a delivery
versus payment basis. However, in the event of any
difficulties or delays in the admission of the Placing Shares to
CREST or the use of CREST in relation to the Placing, the Company
and Cavendish may agree that the Placing Shares should be issued in
certificated form. Cavendish reserves the right to require
settlement of the Placing Shares, and to deliver the Placing Shares
to Placees, by such other means as it deems necessary if delivery
or settlement to Placees is not practicable within the CREST system
or would not be consistent with regulatory requirements in a
Placee's jurisdiction.
Interest is chargeable daily on
payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance
with the arrangements set out above, in respect of either CREST or
certificated deliveries, at the rate of 2 percentage points above
prevailing Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) as determined
by Cavendish.
Each Placee agrees that if it does
not comply with these obligations, Cavendish may sell, charge by
way of security (to any funder of Cavendish) or otherwise deal with
any or all of their Placing Shares on their behalf and retain from
the proceeds, for Cavendish' own account and benefit, an amount
equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee plus any interest
due and any costs and expenses properly incurred by Cavendish as a
result of the Placee's failure to comply with its obligations. The
relevant Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall
below the amount owed by it and for any stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties) which may
arise upon the sale of their Placing Shares on their
behalf. Legal and/or beneficial title in and to any Placing
Shares shall not pass to the relevant Placee until such time as it
has fully complied with its obligations hereunder.
If Placing Shares are to be
delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees must ensure
that, upon receipt, the conditional form of confirmation is copied
and delivered immediately to the relevant person within that
organisation. Insofar as Placing Shares are registered in a
Placee's name or that of its nominee or in the name of any person
for whom a Placee is contracting as agent or that of a nominee for
such person, such Placing Shares should, subject as provided below,
be so registered free from any liability to United Kingdom stamp
duty or stamp duty reserve tax. Placees will not be entitled to
receive any fee or commission in connection with the
Placing.
Conditions of the Placing
The Placing is conditional upon the
Placing Agreement becoming unconditional and not having been
terminated in accordance with its terms.
Cavendish' obligations under the
Placing Agreement are, and the Placing is, conditional
upon, inter
alia:
1
Admission taking place not later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 October 2024
or such later date as is agreed in writing between the Company and
Cavendish, but in any event not later than the Long Stop
Date;
2
each of the Hargreave Subscription Letter, the Amati Subscription
Letter and the 2024 Convertible Loan Note Instrument having been
duly entered into by the parties thereto;
3
the Company complying with its obligations under the Placing
Agreement to the extent that the same fall to be performed prior to
Admission;
4
there not occurring, in Cavendish' opinion (acting in good faith),
a Material Adverse Change;
5
the General Meeting having taken place, no adjournment of the
General Meeting having occurred without the prior written consent
of Cavendish and the Resolutions having been passed at the General
Meeting by the requisite majority without amendment;
6
satisfaction or, where appropriate, the waiver of certain other
conditions set out in the Placing Agreement,
(all conditions to the obligations
of Cavendish included in the Placing Agreement being together, the
"conditions").
For the avoidance of doubt, the
Placing is not conditional on the Retail Offer (or any take up of
the Retail Offer Shares) or the Subscription.
If any of the conditions set out in
the Placing Agreement are not fulfilled or, where permitted, waived
in accordance with the Placing Agreement within the stated time
periods (or such later time and/or date as the Company and
Cavendish may agree), or the Placing Agreement is terminated in
accordance with its terms, the Placing will lapse and the Placee's
rights and obligations shall cease and terminate at such time and
each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by or on behalf of the
Placee (or any person on whose behalf the Placee is acting) in
respect thereof.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations cease and
terminate only in the circumstances described above and under
"Termination of the Placing" below and will not be capable of
rescission or termination by it.
Certain conditions may be waived in
whole or in part by Cavendish, in its absolute discretion, by
notice in writing to the Company and Cavendish may also agree in
writing with the Company to extend the time for satisfaction of any
condition. Any such extension or waiver will not affect Placees'
commitments as set out in this Announcement.
Cavendish may terminate the Placing
Agreement in certain circumstances, details of which are set out
below.
Neither Cavendish, the Company nor
any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or
employees shall have any liability to any Placee (or to any other
person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in
respect of any decision any of them may make as to whether or not
to waive or to extend the time and/or date for the satisfaction of
any condition to the Placing nor for any decision any of them may
make as to the satisfaction of any condition or in respect of the
Placing generally and by participating in the Placing each Placee
agrees that any such decision is within Cavendish' absolute
discretion.
Termination of the Placing
Cavendish may terminate the Placing
Agreement, in accordance with its terms, at any time prior to
Admission if, inter
alia:
1
any of the warranties in the Placing Agreement were, when given,
untrue, inaccurate, or misleading; or
2
the Company fails or is unable to comply with its obligations
under the Placing Agreement; or
3
any statement contained in the Placing Documents (as defined in the
Placing Agreement) has become or been discovered to be untrue,
inaccurate or misleading or there has been a material omission
therefrom; or
4
a matter, fact, circumstance or event has arisen such that in the
opinion of Cavendish (acting in good faith) a supplementary
circular and/or supplementary press announcement is required to be
published or released; or
5
a Material Adverse Change has occurred.
If the Placing Agreement is
terminated in accordance with its terms, the rights and obligations
of each Placee in respect of the Placing as described in this
Announcement shall cease and terminate at such time and no claim
can be made by any Placee in respect thereof.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees with the Company and Cavendish that the exercise
by the Company or Cavendish of any right of termination or any
other right or other discretion under the Placing Agreement shall
be within the absolute discretion of the Company and / or Cavendish
and that neither the Company nor Cavendish need make any reference
to such Placee and that none of the Company, Cavendish nor any of
their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or
employees shall have any liability to such Placee (or to any other
person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise)
whatsoever in connection with any such
exercise.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations terminate only
in the circumstances described above and under the "Conditions of
the Placing" section above and will not be capable of rescission or
termination by it after the issue by Cavendish of a form of
confirmation confirming each Placee's allocation and commitment in
the Placing.
Restrictions on issues of shares and other securities by the
Company
The Company has undertaken to
Cavendish that, during the period ending on the later of (i) 180
days after the date of Admission, and (ii) publication of the
audited results of the Company for financial period ending 30 April
2024, it will not without the prior consent of Cavendish allot or
issue, or enter into any agreement or arrangement which would give
rise to an obligation or an increased obligation (in each case
whether contingent or otherwise) to allot or issue, any share or
any instrument or security convertible into a share in the capital
of the Company (save for the allotment and issue of New Ordinary
Shares in the capital of the Company pursuant to the Conversion,
the Placing and the separate Subscription and Retail Offer being
made by the Company or the issue of shares or the grant and
exercise of options pursuant to the option schemes, agreements and
arrangements disclosed in the Circular).
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees that the exercise by Cavendish of any power to
grant consent to the undertaking by the Company of a transaction
which would otherwise be subject to these restrictions under the
Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of
Cavendish and that it need not make any reference to, or consult
with, any Placee and that it shall have no liability to any Placee
whatsoever in connection with any such exercise of the power to
grant consent.
Representations, warranties and further
terms
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf)
irrevocably represents, warrants, acknowledges, undertakes and
agrees (for itself and for any such prospective Placee) that in
each case as a fundamental term of such Placee's application for
Placing Shares (save where Cavendish expressly agrees in writing to
the contrary) that:
1
it has read and understood this Announcement in
its entirety and that its acquisition of the Placing Shares is
subject to and based upon all the terms, conditions,
representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements,
agreements and undertakings and other information contained herein
and that it has not relied on, and will not rely on, any
information given or any representations, warranties or statements
made at any time by any person in connection with Admission, the
Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares or otherwise, other than
the information contained in this Announcement and the Publicly
Available Information;
2
it has not received a prospectus or other offering document in
connection with the Placing and acknowledges that no prospectus or
other offering document: (a) is required under the Prospectus
Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation; and (b) has been or
will be prepared in connection with the Placing;
3
the Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company are admitted to
trading on AIM, and that, in addition to complying with its
obligations pursuant to MAR, the Company is therefore required to
publish certain business and financial information in accordance
with the AIM Rules, which includes a description of the nature of
the Company's business and the Company's most recent balance sheet
and profit and loss account and that it is able to obtain or access
such information without undue difficulty, and is able to obtain
access to such information or comparable information concerning any
other publicly traded company, without undue difficulty;
4
it has made its own assessment of the Placing Shares and has relied
on its own investigation of the business, financial or other
position of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing
and none of Cavendish, the Company nor any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees or any person
acting on behalf of any of them has provided, and will not provide,
it with any material regarding the Placing Shares or the Company or
any other person other than the information in this Announcement,
or the Publicly Available Information; nor has it requested any of
Cavendish, the Company, any of their respective affiliates, agents,
directors, officers or employees or any person acting on behalf of
any of them to provide it with any such information;
5
neither Cavendish nor any person acting on its behalf or any of
their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or
employees has or shall have any liability for any Publicly
Available Information, or any representation relating to the
Company, provided that nothing in this paragraph excludes the
liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation made by
that person;
6
the only information on which it is entitled to rely on and on
which it has relied in committing to subscribe for the Placing
Shares is contained in the Publicly Available Information, such
information being all that it deems necessary to make an investment
decision in respect of the Placing Shares and it has made its own
assessment of the Company, the Placing Shares and the terms of the
Placing based on Publicly Available Information;
7
neither the Company, Cavendish nor any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees has made any
representation or warranty to it, express or implied, with respect
to the Company, the Placing or the Placing Shares or the accuracy,
completeness or adequacy of the Publicly Available
Information;
8
it has conducted its own investigation of the Company, the Placing
and the Placing Shares, satisfied itself that the information is
still current and relied on that investigation for the purposes of
its decision to participate in the Placing;
9
it has not relied on any investigation that Cavendish or any person
acting on its behalf may have conducted with respect to the
Company, the Placing or the Placing Shares;
10
the content of this Announcement and the Publicly Available
Information has been prepared by and is exclusively the
responsibility of the Company and that neither Cavendish nor any
persons acting on its behalf are responsible for or has or shall
have any liability for any information, representation, warranty or
statement relating to the Company contained in this Announcement or
the Publicly Available Information nor will they be liable for any
Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any
information, representation, warranty or statement contained in
this Announcement, the Publicly Available Information or otherwise.
Nothing in this Appendix shall exclude any liability of any person
for fraudulent misrepresentation;
11
the Placing is conditional on each of the Hargreave Subscription
Letter, the Amati Subscription Letter and the 2024 Convertible Loan
Note Instrument having been duly entered into by the parties
thereto, but is not conditional on the Retail Offer (or any take up
of the Retail Offer Shares) or the Subscription;
12
the Placing Shares have not been registered or otherwise qualified,
and will not be registered or otherwise qualified, for offer and
sale nor will a prospectus be cleared or approved in respect of any
of the Placing Shares under the securities laws of the United
States, or any state or other jurisdiction of the United States,
Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the
Republic of South Africa or Hong Kong and, subject to certain
exceptions, may not be offered, sold, taken up, renounced or
delivered or transferred, directly or indirectly, within the United
States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of
Ireland, the Republic of South Africa or Hong Kong or in any
country or jurisdiction where any such action for that purpose is
required;
13
it and/or each person on whose behalf it is
participating:
(a) is
entitled to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing under
the laws and regulations of all relevant jurisdictions;
(b) has
fully observed such laws and regulations;
(c)
has capacity and authority and is entitled to enter into and
perform its obligations as an acquirer of Placing Shares and will
honour such obligations; and
(d) has
obtained all necessary consents and authorities (including, without
limitation, in the case of a person acting on behalf of a Placee,
all necessary consents and authorities to agree to the terms set
out or referred to in this Appendix) under those laws or otherwise
and complied with all necessary formalities to enable it to enter
into the transactions contemplated hereby and to perform its
obligations in relation thereto and, in particular, if it is a
pension fund or investment company it is aware of and acknowledges
that it is required to comply with all applicable laws and
regulations with respect to its subscription for Placing
Shares;
14
it is not, and any person who it is acting on behalf of is not, and
at the time the Placing Shares are subscribed will not be, a
resident of, or with an address in, or subject to the laws of, the
United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic
of Ireland, the Republic of South Africa or Hong Kong and it
acknowledges and agrees that the Placing Shares have not been and
will not be registered or otherwise qualified under the securities
legislation of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New
Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the Republic of South Africa or
Hong Kong and may not be offered, sold, or acquired, directly or
indirectly, within those jurisdictions;
15
the Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under
the Securities Act and may not be offered, sold or resold in or
into or from the United States except pursuant to an effective
registration under the Securities Act, or pursuant to an exemption
from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration
requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with
applicable state securities laws; and no representation is being
made as to the availability of any exemption under the Securities
Act for the reoffer, resale, pledge or transfer of the Placing
Shares;
16
it and the beneficial owner of the Placing Shares is, and at the
time the Placing Shares are acquired will be, outside the United
States and acquiring the Placing Shares in an "offshore
transaction" as defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S
under the Securities Act;
17
it (and any account for which it is purchasing) is not acquiring
the Placing Shares with a view to any offer, sale or distribution
thereof within the meaning of the Securities Act;
18
it will not distribute, forward, transfer or otherwise transmit
this Announcement or any part of it, or any other presentational or
other materials concerning the Placing in or into or from the
United States (including electronic copies thereof) to any person,
and it has not distributed, forwarded, transferred or otherwise
transmitted any such materials to any person;
19
neither Cavendish, nor its affiliates, agents, directors, officers
or employees nor any person acting on behalf of any of them is
making any recommendations to it, advising it regarding the
suitability of any transactions it may enter into in connection
with the Placing and that participation in the Placing is on the
basis that it is not and will not be a client of Cavendish and that
Cavendish does not have any duties or responsibilities to it for
providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing
advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any
representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities contained
in the Placing Agreement nor for the exercise or performance of any
of its rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to
waive or vary any conditions or exercise any termination
right;
20
it has the funds available to pay for the Placing Shares for which
it has agreed to subscribe and acknowledges and agrees that it will
make payment to Cavendish for the Placing Shares allocated to it in
accordance with the terms and conditions of this Announcement on
the due times and dates set out in this Announcement, failing which
the relevant Placing Shares may be placed with others on such terms
as Cavendish may, in its absolute discretion determine without
liability to the Placee and it will remain liable for any shortfall
below the net proceeds of such sale and the placing proceeds of
such Placing Shares and may be required to bear any stamp duty or
stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties due
pursuant to the terms set out or referred to in this Announcement)
which may arise upon the sale of such Placee's Placing Shares on
its behalf;
21
no action has been or will be taken by any of the Company,
Cavendish or any person acting on their behalf that would, or is
intended to, permit a public offer of the Placing Shares in the
United States or in any country or jurisdiction where any such
action for that purpose is required;
22
the person who it specifies for registration as holder of the
Placing Shares will be: (a) the Placee; or (b) a nominee of the
Placee, as the case may be. Neither the Company nor Cavendish will
be responsible for any liability to stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax resulting from a failure to observe this requirement.
Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of such Placee agrees
to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing and agrees to pay
the Company and Cavendish in respect of the same (including any
interest or penalties) on the basis that the Placing Shares will be
allotted to the CREST stock account of Cavendish or transferred to
the CREST stock account of Cavendish, whereupon Cavendish will hold
them as a nominee on behalf of the Placee until settlement in
accordance with its standing settlement instructions with
it;
23
it is acting as principal only in respect of the Placing or, if it
is acting for any other person, (a) it is duly authorised to do so
and has full power to make the acknowledgments, representations and
agreements herein on behalf of each such person and (b) it is and
will remain liable to the Company and Cavendish for the performance
of all its obligations as a Placee in respect of the Placing
(regardless of the fact that it is acting for another
person);
24
the allocation, allotment, issue and delivery to it, or the person
specified by it for registration as holder, of Placing Shares will
not give rise to a stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax liability
under (or at a rate determined under) any of sections 67, 70, 93 or
96 of the Finance Act 1986 (depository receipts and clearance
services) and that it is not participating in the Placing as
nominee or agent for any person or persons to whom the allocation,
allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares would give rise to
such a liability;
25
it will not make an offer to the public of the Placing Shares and
it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing
Shares to persons in the United Kingdom or in the EEA prior to the
expiry of a period of six months from Admission except to persons
whose ordinary activities involve them in acquiring, holding,
managing or disposing of investments (as principal or agent) for
the purposes of their business or otherwise in circumstances which
have not resulted and which will not result in an offer to the
public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of section 85(1) of
the FSMA or within the meaning of the UK Prospectus Regulation, or
an offer to the public in any member state of the EEA within the
meaning of the Prospectus Regulation;
26
if it is within the United Kingdom, it and any person acting on its
behalf (if within the United Kingdom) is a person of a kind
described in: (a) Article 19(5) (Investment Professionals) and/or
49(2) (High net worth companies etc.) of the FSMA (Financial
Promotion) Order 2005, as amended, and/or an authorised person as
defined in section 31 of FSMA; and (b) a "Qualified Investor" being
a person falling within Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus
Regulation. If it is within a member state of the EEA, it is a
Qualified Investor as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus
Regulation. For such purposes, it undertakes that it will acquire,
hold, manage and (if applicable) dispose of any Placing Shares that
are allocated to it for the purposes of its business
only;
27
it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and it will
only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or
inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of
section 21 of the FSMA) relating to Placing Shares in circumstances
in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not require approval of the
communication by an authorised person and it acknowledges that this
Announcement is not being issued by Cavendish as an authorised
person under Section 21 of FSMA and therefore is not subject to the
same controls applicable to a financial promotion made by an
authorised person;
28
it has complied and it will comply with all applicable laws with
respect to anything done by it or on its behalf in relation to the
Placing Shares (including all relevant provisions of the FSMA in
respect of anything done in, from or otherwise involving the United
Kingdom);
29
if it is a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article
5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation or the Prospectus Regulation,
the Placing Shares acquired by it in the Placing will not be
acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor will they
be acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the
UK or in a Relevant State other than Qualified Investors, or in
circumstances in which the express prior written consent of
Cavendish has been given to the offer or resale;
30
it has neither received nor relied on any confidential price
sensitive information about the Company in accepting this
invitation to participate in the Placing;
31
neither Cavendish nor any of its affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees or any person acting on behalf of any of them
has or shall have any liability for any information, representation
or statement contained in this Announcement or for any information
previously published by or on behalf of the Company or any other
written or oral information made available to or publicly available
or filed information or any representation, warranty or undertaking
relating to the Company, and will not be liable for its decision to
participate in the Placing based on any information,
representation, warranty or statement contained in this
Announcement or elsewhere, provided that nothing in this paragraph
shall exclude any liability of any person for fraud;
32
neither the Company nor Cavendish, nor any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees or any person
acting on behalf of the Company, Cavendish or their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees is making any
recommendations to it, advising it regarding the suitability of any
transactions it may enter into in connection with the Placing nor
providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any
representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements,
undertakings, or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor
the exercise or performance of Cavendish' rights and obligations
thereunder including any rights to waive or vary any conditions or
exercise any termination right;
33
it acknowledges and accepts that Cavendish may, in accordance with
applicable legal and regulatory provisions, engage in transactions
in relation to the Placing Shares and/or related instruments for
its own account for the purpose of hedging its underwriting
exposure or otherwise and, except as required by applicable law or
regulation, Cavendish will not make any public disclosure in
relation to such transactions;
34
Cavendish and each of its affiliates, each acting as an investor
for its or their own account(s), may bid or subscribe for and/or
purchase Placing Shares and, in that capacity, may retain,
purchase, offer to sell or otherwise deal for its or their own
account(s) in the Placing Shares, any other securities of the
Company or other related investments in connection with the Placing
or otherwise. Accordingly, references in this Announcement to the
Placing Shares being offered, subscribed, acquired or otherwise
dealt with should be read as including any offer to, or
subscription, acquisition or dealing by Cavendish and/or any of its
affiliates, acting as an investor for its or their own account(s).
Neither the Company nor Cavendish intend to disclose the extent of
any such investment or transaction otherwise than in accordance
with any legal or regulatory obligation to do so;
35
it is aware of the obligations (i) regarding insider dealing in the
Criminal Justice Act 1993, FSMA, MAR and the Proceeds of Crime Act
2002 and confirms that it has and will continue to comply with
those obligations; and (ii) otherwise arising under the
Regulations;
36
in order to ensure compliance with the Regulations, either
Cavendish (for itself and as agent on behalf of the Company) or the
Registrars may, in their absolute discretion, require verification
of its identity. Pending the provision to Cavendish or the
Registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity, definitive
certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be retained at
Cavendish's absolute discretion or, where appropriate, delivery of
the Placing Shares to it in uncertificated form may be delayed at
either Cavendish's or the Registrars', as the case may be, absolute
discretion. If within a reasonable time after a request for
verification of identity, Cavendish (for itself and as agent on
behalf of the Company) or the Registrars have not received evidence
satisfactory to them, Cavendish and/or the Company may, at their
absolute discretion, terminate their commitment in respect of the
Placing, in which event the monies payable on acceptance of
allotment will, if already paid, be returned without interest to
the account of the drawee's bank from which they were originally
debited;
37
it acknowledges that its commitment to acquire Placing Shares on
the terms set out in this Announcement and in the form of
confirmation will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may
in future be made to the terms and conditions of the Placing and
that Placees will have no right to be consulted or require that
their consent be obtained with respect to the Company's or
Cavendish's conduct of the Placing;
38
it has knowledge and experience in financial, business and
international investment matters as is required to evaluate the
merits and risks of subscribing for the Placing Shares. It further
acknowledges that it is experienced in investing in securities of
this nature and is aware that it may be required to bear, and is
able to bear, the economic risk of, and is able to sustain, a
complete loss in connection with the Placing. It has relied upon
its own examination and due diligence of the Company and its
affiliates taken as a whole, and the terms of the Placing,
including the merits and risks involved;
39
it irrevocably appoints any duly authorised officer of Cavendish as
its agent for the purpose of executing and delivering to the
Company and/or its Registrars any documents on its behalf necessary
to enable it to be registered as the holder of any of the Placing
Shares for which it agrees to subscribe or purchase upon the terms
of this Announcement;
40
the Company, Cavendish and others (including each of their
respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees)
will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing
representations, warranties, acknowledgements and agreements, which
are given to Cavendish, on its behalf and on behalf of the Company
and are irrevocable;
41
if it is acquiring the Placing Shares as a fiduciary or agent for
one or more investor accounts, it has full power and authority to
make, and does make, the foregoing representations, warranties,
acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings on behalf of each
such accounts;
42
time is of the essence as regards its obligations under this
Appendix;
43
any document that is to be sent to it in connection with the
Placing will be sent at its risk and may be sent to it at any
address provided by it to Cavendish;
44
the Placing Shares will be issued subject to the terms and
conditions of this Appendix; and
45
these terms and conditions in this Appendix and all documents into
which this Appendix is incorporated by reference or otherwise
validly forms a part and/or any agreements entered into pursuant to
these terms and conditions and all agreements to acquire Ordinary
Shares pursuant to the Placing will be governed by and construed in
accordance with English law and it submits to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the English courts in relation to any claim,
dispute or matter arising out of any such contract, except that
enforcement proceedings in respect of the obligation to make
payment for the Placing Shares (together with any interest
chargeable thereon) may be taken by the Company or Cavendish in any
jurisdiction in which the relevant Placee is incorporated or in
which any of its securities have a quotation on a recognised stock
exchange.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) agrees
to indemnify and hold the Company, Cavendish and each of their
respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees
harmless from any and all costs, claims, liabilities and expenses
(including legal fees and expenses) arising out of or in connection
with any breach of the representations, warranties,
acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings given by the Placee
(and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) in this Appendix or
incurred by the Company, Cavendish or each of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees arising from
the performance of the Placee's obligations as set out in this
Announcement, and further agrees that the provisions of this
Appendix shall survive after the completion of the
Placing.
The agreement to allot and issue
Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are
contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax
in the United Kingdom relates only to their allotment and issue to
Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents, direct
by the Company. Such agreement assumes that the Placing Shares are
not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue
depositary receipts or to transfer the Placing Shares into a
clearance service. If there are any such arrangements, or the
settlement related to any other dealings in the Placing Shares,
stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax may be payable. In that event,
the Placee agrees that it shall be responsible for such stamp duty
or stamp duty reserve tax and neither of the Company nor Cavendish
shall be responsible for such stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax.
If this is the case, each Placee should seek its own advice and
they should notify Cavendish accordingly. In addition, Placees
should note that they will be liable for any capital duty, stamp
duty and all other stamp, issue, securities, transfer,
registration, documentary or other duties or taxes (including any
interest, fines or penalties relating thereto) payable outside the
United Kingdom by them or any other person on the acquisition by
them of any Placing Shares or the agreement by them to acquire any
Placing Shares and each Placee, or the Placee's nominee, in respect
of whom (or in respect of the person for whom it is participating
in the Placing as an agent or nominee) the allocation, allotment,
issue or delivery of Placing Shares has given rise to such
non-United Kingdom stamp, registration, documentary, transfer or
similar taxes or duties undertakes to pay such taxes and duties,
including any interest and penalties (if applicable), forthwith and
to indemnify on an after-tax basis and to hold harmless the Company
and Cavendish in the event that either the Company and/or Cavendish
has incurred any such liability to such taxes or duties.
The representations, warranties,
acknowledgements and undertakings contained in this Appendix are
given to Cavendish for itself and on behalf of the Company and are
irrevocable.
Each Placee and any person acting on
behalf of the Placee acknowledges that Cavendish does not owe any
fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any
representations, warranties, undertakings, acknowledgements,
agreements or indemnities in the Placing Agreement.
Each Placee and any person acting on
behalf of the Placee acknowledges and agrees that Cavendish may (at
its absolute discretion) satisfy its obligations to procure Placees
by itself agreeing to become a Placee in respect of some or all of
the Placing Shares or by nominating any connected or associated
person to do so.
When a Placee or any person acting
on behalf of the Placee is dealing with Cavendish, any money held
in an account with Cavendish on behalf of the Placee and/or any
person acting on behalf of the Placee will not be treated as client
money within the meaning of the relevant rules and regulations of
the FCA made under FSMA. Each Placee acknowledges that the money
will not be subject to the protections conferred by the client
money rules; as a consequence this money will not be segregated
from Cavendish's money (as applicable) in accordance with the
client money rules and will be held by it under a banking
relationship and not as trustee.
References to time in this
Announcement are to London time, unless otherwise
stated.
All times and dates in this
Announcement may be subject to amendment.
No statement in this Announcement is
intended to be a profit forecast, and no statement in this
Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share
of the Company for the current or future financial years would
necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per
share of the Company.
The price of shares and any income
expected from them may go down as well as up and investors may not
get back the full amount invested upon disposal of the shares. Past
performance is no guide to future performance, and persons needing
advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
The Placing Shares to be issued or
sold pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any
stock exchange other than AIM.
Neither the content of the Company's
website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's
website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this
Announcement.
DEFINITIONS
"2023 CLNs" or "2023 Convertible Loan
Notes"
|
the 10 per
cent. convertible loan notes issued to each of the
2023 CLN Holders on 19 September
2023
|
"2023 CLN Holders"
|
Hargreave
Hale AIM VCT plc, Octopus AIM VCT plc and Octopus AIM VCT 2
plc
|
"2024 CLNs" or "2024 Convertible Loan Notes"
|
the 10 per
cent. convertible loan notes to be issued to each of the 2024 CLN
Holders
|
"2024 CLN Holders"
|
Hargreave
Hale AIM VCT plc and Amati AIM VCT plc
|
"Admission"
|
Admission
of the New Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM becoming effective in
accordance with the AIM Rules
|
"AIM"
|
the market
of that name operated by the London Stock Exchange
|
"AIM Rules"
|
the AIM
Rules for Companies published by the London Stock Exchange from
time to time
|
"Announcement"
|
the
announcement of the Fundraising made by the Company on 8 October
2024
|
"Articles"
|
the
articles of association of the Company
|
"Capital Reorganisation"
|
means the
proposed subdivision of each of the Company's 17,659,275 Existing
Ordinary Shares of 25 pence into one ordinary share of 0.1 pence
and one Deferred Share of 24.9 pence in accordance with Resolution
2, contained in the Notice of General Meeting set out within the
Circular
|
"certificated" or "in certifacted form"
|
an Ordinary
Share recorded on the Company's share register as being held
in certificated form (namely, not in CREST)
|
"Circular"
|
the
circular, containing further details of the Fundraising and Notice
of General Meeting, which is expected to be published on 9 October
2024
|
"Company" or "Rosslyn"
|
Rosslyn
Data Technologies plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales
under the Companies Act 2006 with registered number 08882249 and
having its registered office at 6th Floor 60 Gracechurch Street,
London, United Kingdom, EC3V 0HR
|
"Conversion"
|
the
conversion of the original principal amount and the interest
accrued under the 2023 Convertible Loan Notes held by each of
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT plc, Octopus AIM VCT plc and Octopus AIM VCT
2 plc
|
"Conversion Shares"
|
the total
of 13,328,150 New Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the
Conversion
|
"CREST" or "CREST system"
|
the
relevant system (as defined in the CREST Regulations) in respect of
which Euroclear is the operator (as defined in those
regulations)
|
"CREST Regulations"
|
the
Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI2001/3755)
|
"Deferred Shares"
|
deferred
shares of 24.9 pence each in the capital of the Company to be
created pursuant to the Capital Reorganisation
|
"Directors" or "Board"
|
the
directors of the Company or any duly authorised committee
thereof
|
"Director's Intended Subscription"
|
a potential
subscription by James Appleby of up to £264,000 which, if it
occurs, will be made once the Company is out of a closed period
under MAR
|
"EIS"
|
Enterprise
Investment Scheme
|
"EIS/VCT Placing Shares"
|
the New
Ordinary Shares to be allotted and issued pursuant to the Placing
and which either (i) qualify for EIS relief or (ii) constitute a
qualifying holding for VCT purposes
|
"Enlarged Issued Share Capital"
|
the issued
ordinary share capital of the Company immediately following
Admission, as the context requires
|
"Euroclear"
|
Euroclear
UK & International Limited, the operator of CREST
|
"Existing Ordinary Shares
|
the
17,659,275 Ordinary Shares in issue prior to the Capital
Reorganisation
|
"FCA"
|
the
Financial Conduct Authority
|
"FSMA"
|
the
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
|
"Form of Proxy"
|
the form of
proxy for use by Shareholders in connection with the General
Meeting which accompanies the Circular
|
"Fundraise" or "Fundraising"
|
the
proposed Placing, Director's Intended Subscription, issue of the
2024 Convertible Loan Notes and Retail Offer
|
"Fundraising Shares"
|
the up to
31,000,000 new Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the
Fundraising (being the Placing Shares, the Retail Offer Shares and
the Subscription Shares (if any))
|
"FY
2024"
|
the
financial year ended 30 April 2024
|
"General Meeting"
|
the general
meeting of the Company convened for 11.00 a.m. on 25 October
2024 (or any adjournment thereof) notice of which is set out at the
end of the Circular
|
"General Placing Shares"
|
the new
Ordinary Shares to be allotted and issued pursuant to the Placing
which do not constitute EIS/VCT Placing Shares
|
"Group"
|
Rosslyn
Data Technologies plc and its subsidiary undertakings
|
"ISIN"
|
International Securities Identification Number
|
"Issue Price"
|
5 pence per
Fundraising Share
|
"London Stock Exchange"
|
London
Stock Exchange plc
|
"MAR"
|
the UK
version of the Market Abuse Regulation ((EU) No 596/2014) which is
part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time
|
"New Ordinary Shares"
|
the new
Ordinary Shares of 0.1 pence in the capital of the Company
following completion of the Capital Reorganisation (which, at the
date of Admission, will include Placing Shares, Retail Offer Shares
and the Conversion Shares)
|
"Nominated Adviser" or "Cavendish"
|
Cavendish
Capital Markets Limited, as the Company's nominated adviser and
sole broker
|
"Notice of General Meeting"
|
the notice
convening the General Meeting set out at the end of the
Circular
|
"Ordinary Shares"
|
ordinary
shares in the capital of the Company
|
"Placing"
|
the
conditional placing of Placing Shares by Cavendish on behalf of the
Company at the Issue Price pursuant to the Placing
Agreement
|
"Placing Agreement"
|
the
agreement dated 8 October 2024 between the Company and Cavendish
relating to the Placing
|
"Placing Shares"
|
the
20,720,000 new Ordinary Shares to be issued and allotted pursuant
to the Placing comprising the General Placing Shares and the
EIS/VCT Placing Shares
|
"PrimaryBid"
|
PrimaryBid
Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales with
registered number 08092575
|
"Record Date"
|
6.00 p.m.
on 25 October 2024 (or such other time and date as the Directors
may determine)
|
"Registrars"
|
Link Group
of Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL
|
"Regulatory Information Service" or "RIS"
|
a service
approved by the FCA for the distribution to the public of
regulatory announcements and included within the list maintained on
the FCA's website, http://www.fca.org.uk/.
|
"Resolutions"
|
the
resolutions proposed at the General Meeting as set out in the
Notice of General Meeting at the end of the Circular
|
"Retail Investors"
|
a retail
investor resident in the UK who is an existing retail customer of a
financial intermediary authorised by the FCA or the Prudential
Regulatory Authority in the United Kingdom and who has submitted an
application in the Retail Offer
|
"Retail Offer"
|
the
proposed conditional offer of Retail Offer Shares to Retail
Investors at the Issue Price
|
"Retail Offer Shares"
|
the up to
5,000,000 new Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Retail
Offer
|
"Securities Act"
|
the United
States Securities Act of 1933, as amended
|
"Shareholders"
|
the holders
of Ordinary Shares
|
"Subscription Shares"
|
the up to
5,280,000 new Ordinary Shares intended to be subscribed pursuant to
the Director's Intended Subscription
|
"Transaction"
|
the
Placing, Director's Intended Subscription, Retail Offer, issue of
the 2024 Convertible Loan Notes, Conversion and Capital
Reorganisation
|
"uncertificated" or "in uncertificated form"
|
recorded on
the relevant register of Ordinary Shares as being held in
uncertificated form in CREST and title to which, by virtue of the
CREST Regulations, may be transferred by means of CREST
|
"United Kingdom" or "UK"
|
the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
|
"United States" or "US" or "USA"
|
the United
States of America, its territories and possessions, any state of
the United States of America and the District of Columbia and any
other area subject to its jurisdiction
|
"£", "pounds sterling", "pence" or "p"
|
are
references to the lawful currency of the United Kingdom
|