Directors' Interest in Shares and Share Options

RNS Number : 2880M

ReNeuron Group plc

14 September 2012

 



For Immediate Release

14 September 2012

ReNeuron Group plc

("ReNeuron" or "the Company")

Directors' Interest in Shares and Share Options

Guildford, UK, 14 September 2012: ReNeuron Group plc (LSE: RENE.L) today announces that on 12 September 2012, the following awards were made under the Company's share-based incentive plans:

1. Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) 

	LTIP: number of shares awarded	Total shares over which options are held	Percentage of issued shares under option
Michael Hunt	3,181,818	17,846,179	2.30%
John Sinden	2,450,758	16,438,662	2.12%

The total shares over which options are held include the awards described above and those set out in note 3 below (share options were granted to directors up to August 2007 and awards under the LTIP have been made to executive directors and selected senior management since August 2009).

The share price on which the LTIP awards were calculated was 3.3p (being the closing mid-market price on 11 September 2012). The LTIP awards are options granted at nominal value and are subject to a three-year holding period, exercisable from the third anniversary of the award.  The options are exercisable subject to the achievement of the following performance conditions:

i)         The first patient is administered with a ReNeuron cell therapy in a fourth clinical trial.

ii)        The Total Shareholder Return (TSR) of the Company must exceed that of the FTSE AIM Healthcare Index in any given three year period from date of grant. Where the TSR ranks between median and upper quartile of the index over the three-year period, the options will vest pro-rata between 25% and 100%.  Where the TSR ranks below the median in the performance period, no options will vest.

iii)       The business must have operated within its internal financial budgets throughout the period to vesting.

iv)       The business must be a going concern (under the accepted accounting definition) at the time of any exercise of an option.

2. ReNeuron Group plc Non-Executive Share Option Scheme

The options listed below have been granted under the Rules of the Scheme at an exercise price of 3.3p, being the closing mid-market price of the Company's shares on the 11 September 2012.  The options are exercisable subject to achievement of the following performance condition:

i)         The first patient is administered with a ReNeuron cell therapy in a fourth clinical trial.

Director	No. options	Exercise	Exercise period
		Price
Bryan Morton	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022
John Berriman	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022
Simon Cartmell	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022
Tim Corn	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022
Mark Docherty	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022
Paul Harper	500,000	3.3p	Sep 2015 - Sep 2022

Allowing for the grants listed above and adjustments set out in note 3 below, the Non-executive Directors hold cumulative total options under the Scheme as follows:

Bryan Morton	1,421,752
John Berriman	917,274
Simon Cartmell	917,274
Tim Corn	500,000
Mark Docherty	1,679,850
Paul Harper	1,877,299

3. Adjustments to prior share option grants

The options listed below, granted under the ReNeuron Group plc 2009 Share Option Scheme, are not new grants but represent the additional number of options attaching to respective prior option grants when those prior grants are adjusted under the Rules of the Scheme (and using the appropriate HMRC approved formula) to account for the effect of recent share issuances by the Company. This adjustment has the effect of increasing the number of options relating to each grant, and lowering the exercise price for those grants.  The grants at 5.06p, 12.65p, 5.07p and 7.60p are now exercisable (where the relevant performance condition has been satisfied), with the remaining options exercisable subject to achievement of performance conditions pertaining to the clinical development of the Company's therapeutic programmes.

Director	No. options		Exercise		Exercise period
			Price
Michael Hunt	73,605		5.06p		Aug 2005 - Jul 2014
	81,784		12.65p		Aug 2008 - Aug 2015
	20,422		5.07p		Aug 2009 - Aug 2016
	20,422		7.60p		Aug 2009 - Aug 2016
	35,615		12.20p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
	35,615		21.79p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
John Sinden	73,605		5.06p		Aug 2005 - Jul 2014
	81,784		12.65p		Aug 2008 - Aug 2015
	20,422		5.07p		Aug 2009 - Aug 2016
	20,422		7.60p		Aug 2009 - Aug 2016
	35,615		12.20p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
	35,615		21.79p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
Bryan Morton	9,384		4.85p		Aug 2012 - Aug 2019
	11,500		4.43p		Aug 2013 - Aug 2020
	17,274		4.31p		Aug 2014 - Aug 2021
John Berriman	17,274		4.31p		Aug 2014 - Aug 2021
Simon Cartmell	17,274		4.31p		Aug 2014 - Aug 2021
Mark Docherty	10,684		12.20p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
	9,384		4.85p		Aug 2012 - Aug 2019
	11,500		4.43p		Aug 2013 - Aug 2020
	17,274		4.31p		Aug 2014 - Aug 2021
Paul Harper	4,089		12.65p		Aug 2008 - Aug 2015
	4,084		5.07p		Aug 2009 - Aug 2016
	10,684		12.20p		Aug 2010 - Aug 2017
	9,384		4.85p		Aug 2012 - Aug 2019
	11,500		4.43p		Aug 2013 - Aug 2020
	17,274		4.31p		Aug 2014 - Aug 2021

Enquiries:

ReNeuron	[phone]
Pat Huggins, Company Secretary
Buchanan	[phone]
Mark Court, Fiona Henson, Sophie Cowles
Cenkos Securities	[phone]
Stephen Keys, Adrian Hargrave (NOMAD and Broker) Andy Roberts (Sales)

About ReNeuron

ReNeuron is a leading, clinical-stage stem cell business.  Its primary objective is the development of novel stem cell therapies targeting areas of significant unmet or poorly met medical need.  

ReNeuron has used its unique stem cell technologies to develop cell-based therapies for significant disease conditions where the cells can be readily administered "off-the-shelf" to any eligible patient without the need for additional immunosuppressive drug treatments.  ReNeuron's lead candidate is its ReN001 stem cell therapy for the treatment of patients left disabled by the effects of a stroke. This therapy is currently in clinical development.  The Company is also developing stem cell therapies for other conditions such as critical limb ischaemia, a serious and common side-effect of diabetes, and blindness-causing diseases of the retina such as retinitis pigmentosa.

ReNeuron has also developed a range of stem cell lines for non-therapeutic applications - its ReNcell^® products for use in academic and commercial research.  The Company's ReNcell^®CX and ReNcell^®VM neural cell lines are marketed worldwide under license by USA-based Merck Millipore.

ReNeuron's shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L.  Further information on ReNeuron and its products can be found at www.reneuron.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business achievements/performance of ReNeuron and certain of the plans and objectives of management of ReNeuron with respect thereto. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as "should", "expects", "estimates", "believes" or similar expressions. This announcement also contains forward-looking statements attributed to certain third parties relating to their estimates regarding the growth of markets and demand for products. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect ReNeuron's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate.  A number of factors could cause ReNeuron's actual financial condition, results of operations and business achievements/performance to differ materially from the estimates made or implied in such forward-looking statements and, accordingly, reliance should not be placed on such statements.

 

END

 

 

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