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Proposed Secondary Placing

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By LSE RNS

RNS Number : 0004U
Gocompare.com Group plc
18 October 2017
 

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION.

 

Gocompare.com Group plc

18 October 2017

 

Proposed Placing of c. 21.3 million ordinary shares in Gocompare.com Group plc by Sir Peter Wood

Gocompare.com Group plc ("GoCompare" or the "Company") today announces that it has been informed that Sir Peter Wood is proposing to sell approximately 21.3 million ordinary shares in the Company (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 5.1 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.

The Placing Shares are being offered by way of an accelerated bookbuild which will be launched immediately following this announcement through Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch ("Deutsche Bank") and Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt") (the "Placing") (together the "Joint Bookrunners").

The Company has been informed that the Placing is being undertaken to diversify Sir Peter Wood's investment portfolio, enabling him further to finance his significant residential property investments in London and the United States.  Sir Peter Wood currently holds 30.7 per cent. of the voting rights of the Company and following the Placing will hold just over 25 per cent. of the voting rights of the Company.  The Company has also been informed that Sir Peter Wood has agreed not to dispose of any further GoCompare shares for a period of at least 90 days (subject to waiver by the Joint Bookrunners and other customary exceptions).  Sir Peter Wood will remain as Chairman of the Company and has informed the Company that he intends to seek re-election at the 2018 AGM.

The final number of Placing Shares to be placed and the placing price will be agreed by Sir Peter Wood and the Joint Bookrunners at the close of the bookbuild process, and the results of the Placing will be announced as soon as practicable thereafter.  The timings for the close of the bookbuild process, placing price and allocations are at the discretion of Sir Peter Wood and the Joint Bookrunners.

The Company is not party to the Placing and, as a result, the Company will not receive any proceeds from the Placing.

Sir Peter Wood commented:

"I am extremely pleased with the performance of GoCompare since the demerger in November 2016.  The new management team is performing exceptionally well and delivering against expectations.  I am also excited about the investments that we have made into MortgageGym and Souqalmal.com and the potential for further investments continuing to grow.

GoCompare has an extremely bright future and I very much look forward to continuing as Chairman and major shareholder".

The Board of GoCompare is also pleased to reaffirm that the Company continues to trade in line with its prior expectations for full year 2017.

GoCompare

Nick Wrighton, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 016 3365 5051

Anders Nilsson, Head of PR and outreach

Tel: 016 3365 4054

Deutsche Bank

Claire Brooksby / Mark Hankinson

Tel: 020 7545 8000

Peel Hunt

Edward Knight / Alastair Rae

Tel: 020 7418 8900

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Chris Barrie / Jos Bieneman

Tel: 020 7638 9571

 

The securities referred to herein may only be sold outside the US pursuant to Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and in the US to a limited number of Qualified Institutional Buyers (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act) and in certain other countries only to authorised professional institutional investors.

The material set forth herein is for information purposes only and is not an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful and, in particular, is not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan.

This announcement is not an offer for sale of securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction.  Any such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  There will be no registration or public offer of securities in the United States and there will be no offering of securities in or into any country, territory or possession where to do so may contravene local securities laws or regulations.

This announcement and any subsequent offer of securities may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons receiving this announcement or any subsequent offer should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction and must not under any circumstances forward this announcement to any other person.  Failure to comply with such restrictions may violate securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement is only addressed to and directed at persons in Member States of the European Economic Area who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.  In addition, in the United Kingdom, this announcement is being distributed to, and is directed only at, qualified investors who (i) are investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Financial Promotion Order"), (ii) persons falling within any of the categories of persons described in Article 49 of the Financial Promotion Order and (iii) any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons").  Any investment or investment activity to which these materials relate are available only to relevant persons in the United Kingdom and qualified investors in any member state of the European Economic Area other than the United Kingdom, and will only be engaged with such persons.

Deutsche Bank AG is authorised under German Banking Law (competent authority: European Central Bank) and, in the United Kingdom, by the Prudential Regulation Authority.  It is subject to supervision by the European Central Bank and by BaFin, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, and is subject to limited regulation in the United Kingdom by the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority.

Deutsche Bank AG is a joint stock corporation with limited liability incorporated in the Federal Republic of Germany, Local Court of Frankfurt am Main, HRB No. 30 000; Branch Registration in England and Wales BR000005 and Registered Address: Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, London EC2N 2DB.  Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch is a member of the London Stock Exchange.  Details about the extent of our authorisation and regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available on request or from www.db.com/en/content/eu_disclosures.htm

Peel Hunt LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.

Any investment decision to buy shares must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information.  Such information is not the responsibility of Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch or Peel Hunt LLP and has not been independently verified by Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch or Peel Hunt LLP.  Deutsche Bank AG and Peel Hunt LLP are acting for Sir Peter Wood and no one else in connection with the transaction and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sir Peter Wood for providing advice or protections afforded to clients in relation to any transaction or any matters referred to this announcement.

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Gocompare.com Group plc to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014.  Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Nick Edwards, Chief of Staff, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

Gocompare.com Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (GOCO)
Registered Office: Imperial House, Imperial Way, Newport, Gwent, NP10 8UH
Registered in England and Wales with registered number: 06062003
LEI: 213800DUUN4C47JEL561
ISIN: GB00BZ02Q916

 


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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