Completion of acquisition of bwin.party
1 February 2016
GVC Holdings PLC
("GVC" or the "Company")
Completion of acquisition of bwin.party
Further to the announcement made by bwin.party earlier today, the Company is pleased to confirm that the Scheme to effect the recommended acquisition of bwin.party by GVC has now become effective in accordance with its terms and the entire issued ordinary share capital of bwin.party is now owned by GVC.
In addition, and further to the announcement made by GVC on 15 December 2015, Admission of GVC's entire issued share capital to the Standard Segment of the Official List and commencement of dealings in GVC Shares on the Main Market is expected to take place on or around 8.00 a.m. tomorrow, 2 February 2016. In accordance with Rule 41 of the AIM Rules for Companies, notice has been given to the London Stock Exchange to cancel the admission of the Company's entire issued share capital on AIM, with such cancellation expected to take effect from 8.00 am on 2 February 2016.
Defined terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings set out in the prospectus issued by the Company on 13 November 2015.
For further information:
|
GVC Holdings PLC |
|
|
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive |
Tel: +44 (0) 1624 652 559 |
|
Richard Cooper, Group Finance Director |
|
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad & Broker) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397 8900 |
|
Mark Connelly, Stephen Keys, Camilla Hume |
|
Media enquiries:
|
Bell Pottinger |
|
|
David Rydell, James Newman, Anna Legge, Laura Jacques |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3772 2500 |
About GVC Holdings PLC
GVC Holdings PLC is a leading e-gaming operator in both b2c and b2b markets. Its core brands are CasinoClub, Betboo and Sportingbet. The Group is headquartered in the Isle of Man and has licenses in Malta, Denmark, UK, South Africa, and the Dutch Caribbean. Further information on the Group is available at www.gvc-plc.com.
Important Notices
Houlihan Lokey (Europe) Limited which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for GVC and no-one else in connection with the subject matter of this announcement, and will not be responsible to anyone other than GVC for providing the protections afforded to clients of Houlihan Lokey (Europe) Limited, nor for giving advice in relation to the subject matter of this announcement.
Cenkos Securities plc, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as nominated adviser and corporate broker to GVC and no-one else in connection with the subject matter of this announcement, and will not be responsible to anyone other than GVC for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in connection with the Offer and Admission, contents of this announcement or any other matters referred to herein.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or solicitation of any offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Offer or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.
The Offer has been made solely by means of the Scheme Document which contains the full terms and Conditions of the Offer. The GVC Prospectus contains information about the Enlarged Group and the New GVC Shares and a notice convening the GVC General Meeting.
This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus equivalent document.
This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.
Overseas Shareholders
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar or who are subject to other jurisdictions should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements. Any failure to comply with these requirements may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Offer disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such requirements by any person.
US bwin.party Shareholders should note that the Offer relates to the securities of a Gibraltar company which are admitted to trading on a UK regulated market, is subject to Gibraltar and UK procedural and disclosure requirements (which are different from those of the US) and is proposed to be implemented under a scheme of arrangement provided for under the company law of Gibraltar. A transaction effected by means of a scheme of arrangement is not subject to the tender offer rules under the US Exchange Act. Accordingly, the Scheme will be subject to Gibraltar procedural and disclosure requirements and practices, which are different from the procedural and disclosure requirements of the US tender offer rules. The financial information with respect to bwin.party included in the Prospectus or the Scheme Document has been or will have been prepared in accordance with IFRS and thus may not be comparable to financial information of US companies or companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the US. If GVC exercises its right to implement the acquisition of the bwin.party Shares by way of a Takeover Offer, such offer will be made in compliance with applicable US tender offer and securities laws and regulations.
The New GVC Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. Accordingly, the New GVC Shares may not be offered, sold, resold, delivered, distributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act or an exemption therefrom. The New GVC Shares are expected to be issued in reliance upon the exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act provided by Section 3(a)(10) thereof. bwin.party Shareholders who will be affiliates of GVC after the Effective Date will be subject to certain US transfer restrictions relating to the New GVC Shares received pursuant to the Scheme.
The receipt of New GVC Shares and cash pursuant to the Offer by a US bwin.party Shareholder may be a taxable transaction for US federal income tax purposes and under applicable state and local, as well as foreign and other tax laws. Each bwin.party Shareholder is urged to consult his independent professional advisor immediately regarding the tax consequences of acceptance of the Offer.
It may be difficult for US bwin.party Shareholders to enforce their rights and claims arising out of the US federal securities laws, since GVC and bwin.party are located in countries other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of countries other than the United States. US bwin.party Shareholders may not be able to sue a non-US company or its officers or directors in a non-US court for violations of the US securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel a non-US company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a US court's judgement.
None of the securities referred to in this announcement have been approved or disapproved by the SEC, any state securities commission in the United States or any other US regulatory authority, nor have such authorities passed upon or determined the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained in this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. Unless otherwise determined by GVC and permitted by applicable law and regulation, the Offer will not be made available, directly or indirectly, in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction and no person may vote in favour of the Offer by any such use, means, instrumentality or form within a Restricted Jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction if to do so would constitute a violation of the laws of that jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this announcement and all documents relating to the Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction, and persons receiving this announcement and all documents relating to the Offer (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send them in, into or from such jurisdictions where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction.
The availability of the Offer to bwin.party Shareholders who are not resident in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are resident. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements.
Austria
Neither this announcement, the Prospectus, the Scheme Document or any other document relating to the Offer have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Austrian Financial Markets Authority (Österreichische Finanzmarktaufsicht - FMA). The Offer will be made to bwin.party Shareholders in Austria in reliance on (a) § 3 (1) 8 of the Austrian Capital Market Act (Kapitalmarktgesetz - KMG). In addition, the Offer will be made to bwin.party Shareholders in Austria who are "qualified investors" (qualifizierte Anleger) in the sense of § 1 (1) 5a of the Austrian Capital Market Act. Insofar as Austria is concerned, this announcement, the Prospectus, the Scheme Document and any other documents relating to the Offer are being issued only for the personal use of qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offer. The information contained in this announcement, the Prospectus, the Scheme Document and any documents relating to the Offer may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Austria.
Publication on Website and Availability of Hard Copies
A copy of this announcement will be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on GVC's and bwin.party's websites at www.gvc-plc.com and www.bwinparty.com respectively by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following this announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of those websites are not incorporated and do not form part of this announcement.
You may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting the Company Secretary of bwin.party during business hours on +350 200 47191 or by submitting a request in writing to the Company Secretary of bwin.party at Suite 6, Atlantic Suites, Europort Avenue, Gibraltar. You may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to you in relation to the Offer should be in hard copy form.
This information is provided by RNS
Latest directors dealings
- 19 minutes ago ASOS
- 46 minutes ago MJ Gleeson
- 48 minutes ago Rolls-Royce Holdings
- 1 hour ago Crest Nicholson Holdings
- 1 hour ago Naked Wines