Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM: HZM, TSX:HZM)
("
Horizonte", the "
Company" or
the "
Group"), the nickel development company
focused on Brazil is pleased to announce a proposed fundraising
(the “
Fundraise”) to raise gross proceeds of
approximately US$25.0 million (approximately £18.0 million / C$31.7
million) at a price of 7.5 pence per Placing Share (C$0.133) (the
“
Placing Price”). The Fundraise comprises: (i) a
placing to new and existing institutional investors (the
“
Placing”), and (ii) a concurrent underwritten
bought deal private placement (the “
Canadian
Offering”) to be led by Paradigm Capital
Inc.(“
Paradigm”).
Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation
("Cantor"), Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel
Hunt") and BMO Capital Markets Limited
(“BMO”) (Cantor, together with Peel Hunt and BMO,
being the "Joint Bookrunners") are acting as joint
bookrunners in relation to the Placing. Paradigm is acting as the
sole bookrunner in relation to the Canadian Offering.
Highlights
- The net proceeds
of the Fundraise will be used to initiate specific early works and
advance long-lead time items linked to the start of construction of
the Company’s Araguaia ferro-nickel project in Brazil
(“Araguaia” or the “Project”), as
well as for general working capital purposes.
- The Araguaia
FeNi project is a high grade, low cost, long life asset located
south of the Carajàs Mining District, north east Brazil. The
feasibility study demonstrates robust economics with the Stage 1
process plant producing 14,500 tonnes of nickel per year, Post-tax
IRR: 27.0%, Post-tax NPV(8%): US$691m, Payback Period: 3 years, Net
Cashflow: US$2.4bn based on a nickel price of US$16,400 per
tonne.
- The Company has
a second 100% owned project, the Vermelho Nickel Cobalt project
which is being advanced towards feasibility stage with aim of
producing nickel and cobalt sulphate for the EV battery
market.
- Strong long-term
outlook for the nickel market driven by acceleration in the EV
battery sector and steady growth in stainless steel demand. 43.7%
increase in the Nickel price in the last 12 months to 18 February
2021 reflects increased demand from China. Global demand of 2.29 Mt
in 2020 expected to grow between 2 and 5 per cent. annually to
reach 4.16 Mt in 2040. The spot nickel price is currently US$18,720
per tonne.
- Good progress
continues to be made on the Project Finance process for Araguaia
with a syndicate of lending banks (being BNP Paribas, ING Capital
LLC, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Natixis, New York Branch and Société
Générale) to arrange a senior secured project finance facility of
up to US$325 million (the "Project Finance
Facility") to part-fund the construction and development
of the Project.
- The Company
anticipates the full project financing package will be completed in
H1 2021, with construction commencing shortly thereafter.
The Placing is being conducted through an
accelerated bookbuild process (the "Bookbuild")
which will be launched immediately following release of this
Announcement (as defined below). The timing of the closing of the
Bookbuild and the allocations are at the absolute discretion of the
Joint Bookrunners and the Company. The results of the Placing will
be announced as soon as practicable after the close of the
Bookbuild. The Company has also today entered into an agreement
(the “Bought Deal Letter”), with Paradigm, on its
own behalf and on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, pursuant
to which the underwriters have agreed to purchase 76,574,000 of
special warrants (the “Special Warrants”) at the
Placing Price, which entitle the holder thereof to receive, without
payment of additional consideration, one ordinary share of £0.01
each, to be exercised pursuant to the terms described below under
the heading “The Canadian Offering”. The new ordinary shares of
£0.01 (the “Ordinary Shares”) each issued pursuant
to the Placing (the “Placing Shares”) and the
Ordinary Shares to be issued upon conversion of the Special
Warrants, when issued, will be issued as fully paid and will rank
pari passu in all respects with each other and with the existing
Ordinary Shares from their admission to trading on AIM.
The Placing is subject to the terms and
conditions set out in the Appendix to this announcement (which
forms part of this announcement, such announcement and the Appendix
together being this "Announcement").
(* calculated using the Bloomberg spot rate
on 18 February 2021 for pounds sterling of £1.00 =
US$ 1.393, £1.00 = C$1.767)
The announcement should be read in its entirety.
In particular, you should read and understand the information
provided in the "Important Notice" section and the detailed terms
and conditions described in the Appendix.
Enquiries:
Horizonte Minerals plcJeremy Martin (CEO)Simon
Retter (CFO)Anna Legge (Corporate Communications) |
+44 (0) 203 356 2901 |
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Bookrunner, Nominated Adviser
and Corporate Broker)Ross Allister / David McKeownJock
Maxwell Macdonald / Sohail Akbar |
+44 (0)20 7418 8900 |
Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation (Joint
Bookrunner)Graham Moylan / James Mazur / Craig
Warren |
+1 (0)416 849 5003 |
BMO Capital Markets Limited (Joint
Bookrunner)Tom Rider / Pascal Lussier Duquette / Andrew
Cameron |
+44 (0)20 7236 1010 |
For the purposes of MAR, the person responsible
for arranging for the release of this Announcement on behalf of the
Company is Simon Retter, Chief Financial Officer.
Background to and reasons for the
Fundraise
Horizonte has continued to make good progress
with regards to debt and strategic financing as well as in respect
of offtake discussions for the Araguaia Project. The nickel market
has shown its strength, driven by a recovery in the Chinese economy
leading to increased demand for stainless steel as well as
anticipated demand from the burgeoning EV battery market. In turn,
the Company has seen an increased interest from investors due to
Araguaia’s robust economics, low capital intensity and location in
a world class mining district. The Fundraise will inter alia
strengthen the Company’s balance sheet as it enters a critical
phase of financing discussions, enable the Company to commence
certain pre-construction expenditures and provide working capital
to the group.
Horizonte wholly owns both the advanced Araguaia
nickel project and the Vermelho nickel-cobalt project, located in
the south of the Carajàs mineral district in northern Brazil. A
feasibility study for Araguaia was published in October 2018. The
study demonstrated the robust economics of Araguaia.
Ore will be sourced from eight open pits, with a
targeted 0.9mt per annum of ore to a central processing and
smelting facility. A 28-year production schedule is envisaged with
a 31 month construction period followed by initial ramp up to full
scale commercial production. Key economic highlights of the Project
are as follows:
- Highly cash generative:
approximately US$2.4 billion net cash flow
- Post-tax NPV(8%) of
US$691million
- Post-tax IRR of 27.0%
- Payback of approx. 3.0 years
- Low Capital Intensity – US$443
million capital cost
- Lowest quartile
cash cost (years 1-10) of US$6,794 /t Ni
Vermelho was acquired from Vale SA and is a
nickel cobalt project, located approximately 80 kilometres north
west of the Company's Araguaia North ferronickel project. A
pre-feasibility study representing the economics of developing
Vermelho was released in October 2019. These two projects located
within close proximity of each other create a large, high-grade
flexible resource base with the combined potential to produce
50,000 tonnes of nickel per year.
On 12 August 2020 the Company announced it had
mandated a syndicate of banks (being BNP Paribas, ING Capital LLC,
Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Natixis, New York Branch and Société Générale)
to arrange the US$325 million Project Finance Facility to part-fund
the construction and development of Araguaia. In addition, the
Company recently negotiated a non-binding term sheet with a major
cornerstone equity investor while discussions with potential
offtakers have progressed. The Company anticipates the full project
financing package for Araguaia will be completed in H1 2021, with
construction commencing shortly thereafter.
The proceeds of the Placing will, in addition to
the Company’s cash balance of £10.9 million as at 31 December 2020,
enable the Company to commence initial plans for construction of
Araguaia, improve the Company’s balance sheet ensuring that it
enters the next, critical phase of financing from a strong position
and creates the opportunity to broaden the Company's shareholder
base through the introduction of new investors. The proceeds of the
Canadian Offering, if and when received, will also be used for this
purpose.
Details of the Placing
The Joint Bookrunners will commence the
Bookbuild immediately following the release of this Announcement in
respect of the Placing. The book will open with immediate effect
following this Announcement. The timing of the closing of the book
and allocations are at the absolute discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners, in consultation with the Company.
The results of the Placing will be announced as
soon as practicable after the close of the Bookbuild. The Placing
is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the appendix (the
"Appendix") to this announcement (which forms part
of this announcement, such announcement and the Appendix together
being this "Announcement").
The Placing is not conditional upon completion
of the Canadian Offering or the issue of Ordinary Shares upon
conversion of the Special Warrants. The Joint Bookrunners may (but
are not obliged to) terminate the Placing Agreement, if prior to
admission of the Placing Shares the Canadian Offering terminates.
The Placing is not being underwritten by the Joint Bookrunners and
is subject to the conditions and termination rights set out in the
Placing Agreement between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners.
The completion of the Placing is conditional upon, inter alia,
admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM and receipt of
conditional approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Placing
Shares, if issued, will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in
all respects with each other and with the existing Ordinary Shares,
including the right to receive all dividends and other
distributions declared, made or paid on or in respect of the
Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.
The Company acknowledges that it is seeking to
issue Placing Shares on a non pre-emptive basis and has therefore
consulted, where possible, with the Company's major shareholders
ahead of this Announcement. The Fundraise structure has been chosen
as it minimises cost, time to completion and use of management
time. The consultation has confirmed the Board's view that the
Fundraise is in the best interests of shareholders, as well as
wider stakeholders in the Company.
The Canadian Offering
The Company has also today entered into the
Bought Deal Letter, with Paradigm, on its own behalf and on behalf
of a syndicate of underwriters, pursuant to which the underwriters
have agreed to purchase 76,574,000 of Special Warrants at the
Placing Price. In addition, the Company has granted Paradigm an
option (the “Underwriters’ Option”) to purchase an
additional 11,486,100 Special Warrants at the Placing Price,
exercisable up to 48 hours prior to the Closing Date (as defined
herein) for additional gross proceeds to the Company of C$1.5
million. The terms “Canadian Offering” and “Special Warrants”
include the additional Special Warrants that may be issued on the
exercise of the Underwriters’ Option, if any. Each Special Warrant
will be issued under a special warrant indenture and will entitle
the holder thereof to receive, without payment of additional
consideration, one Ordinary Share. The Special Warrants shall be
deemed exercised on behalf of, and without any required action on
the part of, the holders (including payment of additional
consideration) on the earlier of:
(i) the third
business day following the date on which a final receipt (the
“Prospectus Receipt”) is obtained from the Ontario
Securities Commission, as principal regulator on behalf of the
securities regulatory authorities in each of the territories and
provinces of Canada (other than Quebec), for a (final) short form
prospectus qualifying the Ordinary Shares for distribution (the
"Qualification Date"); and
(ii) 4:59 p.m.
(Toronto time) on the date which is four months and a day following
the Closing Date (as defined herein).
In the event the Qualification Date has not
occurred on or before the date that is 50 days following the
Closing Date, each Special Warrant shall thereafter entitle the
holder to receive, upon the exercise or deemed exercise of each
Special Warrant, for no additional consideration, 1.1 Ordinary
Shares. The Canadian Offering is scheduled to close on or about
March 9, 2021 (the "Closing Date") and is subject
to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of
all necessary approvals including the approval of the Toronto Stock
Exchange. It is expected that admission of the 76,574,000
Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM upon automatic conversion of the
Special Warrants will occur four business days after the earlier to
occur of: (i) the issuance of the Prospectus Receipt; and (ii) four
months and a day following the Closing Date.
The Canadian Offering is not conditional upon
the Placing. The obligation for Paradigm to purchase, or arrange
for substituted purchasers for, the Special Warrants is subject to
customary conditions and termination provisions including entering
into a Underwriting Agreement in customary form, “material adverse
change out”, “disaster out”, “regulatory out” and “breach of
agreement out” clauses. The Company has made certain
representations, warranties and covenants in the Bought Deal Letter
relating to the Company. In the event of a material breach of any
of the representations, warranties and covenants included in the
Bought Deal Letter, Paradigm will have the right to terminate the
Bought Deal Letter. As part of the Canadian Offering, the Directors
and executive officers have agreed not to sell any Ordinary Shares
held by them for a period of four months and one day, without the
consent of Paradigm.
The Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of
the Special Warrants will, when issued, be credited as fully
paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing
issued Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company from their
date of issue, including the right to receive all dividends and
other distributions (if any) declared, made or paid on or in
respect of the Ordinary Shares, including the Placing Shares, after
the date of issue of those Ordinary Shares.
Settlement and dealings
Settlement for the Placing Shares is expected to
take place on or before 8.00am on 23 February 2021.
The Placing is conditional upon, among other
things, admission of the Placing Shares becoming effective and the
Placing Agreement (as defined in the Appendix to this Announcement)
between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners not being terminated
in accordance with its terms.
The Appendix to this Announcement sets out
further information relating to the terms and conditions of the
Placing.
Settlement of the Ordinary Shares issued on
conversion of the Special Warrants will occur pursuant to the terms
described above under the heading “The Canadian Offering”. An
application will be made for admission of those shares to trading
on AIM and to the TSX in due course. Further announcements
regarding the subscription of the Special Warrants, publication of
the Canadian short form Prospectus and admission of those shares
will be made in due course as required by market rules.
This announcement, including its
Appendix (together, this
"Announcement"), should be read in its entirety.
In particular, you should read and understand the information
provided in the "Important Notices"
section of this Announcement. Unless otherwise stated,
capitalised terms in this Announcement have the meanings ascribed
to the Appendix.
Qualified Person(s)
David J. Hall, the Chairman of the Company and a
qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has
reviewed, approved and verified the technical and scientific
disclosure contained in this press release.
For additional information, including with
respect to the economic parameters discussed herein on the Araguaia
and the Vermelho projects, and the key assumptions and risks
associated thereto, please refer to the Company’s technical reports
entitled Feasibility Study for the Araguaia Nickel Project
Federative Republic of Brazil NI 43-101 Technical Report’, dated
November 2018 and Pre-Feasibility Study (‘FS’) for the Vermelho
Nickel-Cobalt Project Federative Republic of Brazil NI 43-101
Technical Report, dated October 2019 available at
www.sedar.com.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE
APPENDIX) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER,
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 (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND
POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA (COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES")), AUSTRALIA, THE
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR 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 PLACING 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.
This Announcement is not for public release,
publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or
indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, the Republic
of South Africa, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such
release, publication or distribution would be unlawful.
The securities referred to herein have not been
and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may
not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an
applicable exemption from 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. No
public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in the United
States or elsewhere.
No action has been taken by the Company, Cantor,
Peel Hunt or BMO or any of their respective affiliates, or any of
its or their respective directors, officers, partners, employees,
advisers and/or agents
(collectively, "Representatives") that would
permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution
of this Announcement or any other publicity material relating to
such Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that
purpose is required. Persons receiving this Announcement are
required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions
contained in this Announcement. Persons (including, without
limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual or other
legal obligation to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek
appropriate advice before taking any action. Persons distributing
any part of this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is
lawful to do so.
This Announcement is directed at and is only
being distributed to: (a) persons in member states of the European
Economic Area who are "qualified investors", as defined in Article
2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129)
(the "Prospectus Regulation")
("Qualified Investors"), (b) persons in the United
Kingdom, who are qualified investors, being persons falling within
the meaning of Article 2(e) of Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129
as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the " UK Prospectus
Regulation"), and who (i) have professional experience in
matters relating to investments who fall within the definition of
"investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as
amended (the "Order") or are high net worth
companies, unincorporated associations or partnerships or trustees
of high value trusts as described in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the
Order and (ii) are Qualified Investors, or (c) otherwise, persons
to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (each such person
in (a), (b) and (c), a "Relevant Person"). No
other person should act on or rely on this Announcement and persons
distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is
lawful to do so. By accepting the terms of this Announcement, you
represent and agree that you are a Relevant Person. This
Announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are
not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to
which this Announcement or the Placing relates is available only to
Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant
Persons.
No offering document or prospectus will be made
available in any jurisdiction in connection with the matters
contained or referred to in this Announcement or the Placing and no
such prospectus is required (in accordance with either the
Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation) to be
published.
Certain statements in this Announcement are
forward-looking statements with respect to the Company's
expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future
performance, strategic initiatives, anticipated events or trends
and other matters that are not historical facts and which are, by
their nature, inherently predictive, speculative and involve risks
and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. All
statements that address expectations or projections about the
future, including statements about expected growth in nickel global
demand, production potential, the results of the feasibility and
pre-feasibility studies, including, without limitation, expected
NPV, IRR, construction period, pay back period, mine life, expected
costs, cash generation and operating performance and other metrics,
the Company’s expectations with respect to its financing package
and the timing of commencement of construction for Araguaia, the
intended use of proceeds from the proposed Fundraise, strategic
initiatives, objectives, market position, industry trends, general
economic conditions, expected expenditures, expected cost savings
and financial results, are forward ‐ looking statements.
Any statements contained in this Announcement that are not
statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be,
forward ‐ looking statements. These forward-looking
statements, which may use words such as "aim", "anticipate",
"believe", "could", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "plan",
"project" or words or terms of similar meaning or the negative
thereof, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject
to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There are a number of
factors including, but not limited to, commercial, operational,
economic and financial factors, that could cause actual results,
financial condition, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward looking statements. Many of these risks and
uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's
ability to control or estimate precisely, such as changes in
taxation or fiscal policy, future market conditions, currency
fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the
actions of governments or governmental regulators, or other risk
factors, such as changes in the political, social and regulatory
framework in which the Company operates or in economic or
technological trends or conditions, including inflation, recession
and consumer confidence, on a global, regional or national basis.
Given those risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this Announcement. Each of
the Company, Peel Hunt, BMO and/or Cantor expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise unless required to do so by applicable law or
regulation.
Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation which is
regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of
Canada (IIROC) and Peel Hunt and BMO, each which is authorised and
regulated by the FCA, are acting exclusively for the Company and
for no one else in connection with the Placing and will not regard
any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement)
as a client in relation to the Placing or any other matter referred
to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other
than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their
respective clients or for giving advice in relation to the Placing
or any other matter referred to in this Announcement.
This Announcement is being issued by and is the
sole responsibility of the Company. No representation or warranty,
express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to,
and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by or on
behalf of Cantors (to the fullest extent permitted by law) or Peel
Hunt or BMO (apart from the responsibilities or liabilities that
may be imposed by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as
amended ("FSMA") or the regulatory regime
established thereunder) and/or by any of their respective
affiliates and/or any of their respective Representatives as to, or
in relation to, the accuracy, adequacy, fairness or completeness of
this Announcement or any other written or oral information made
available to or publicly available to any interested party or their
respective advisers or any other statement made or purported to be
made by or on behalf of Cantor and/or Peel Hunt and/or BMO and/or
any of their respective affiliates and/or by any of their
respective Representatives in connection with the Company, the
Placing Shares or the Placing and any responsibility and liability
whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise therefor is
expressly disclaimed. No representation or warranty, express or
implied, is made by Cantor or Peel Hunt or BMO, and/or any of their
respective affiliates and/or any of their respective
Representatives as to the accuracy, fairness, verification,
completeness or sufficiency of the information or opinions
contained in this Announcement or any other written or oral
information made available to or publicly available to any
interested party or their respective advisers, and any liability
therefor is expressly disclaimed.
The information in this Announcement may not be
forwarded or distributed to any other person and may not be
reproduced in any manner whatsoever. Any forwarding, distribution,
reproduction or disclosure of this Announcement, in whole or in
part, is unauthorised. Failure to comply with this directive may
result in a violation of the Securities Act or the applicable laws
of other jurisdictions.
This Announcement does not constitute a
recommendation concerning any investor's options with respect to
the Placing. Recipients of this Announcement should conduct their
own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business, data
and other information described in this Announcement. This
Announcement does not identify or suggest, or purport to identify
or suggest, the risks (direct or indirect) that may be associated
with an investment in the Placing Shares. The price and value of
securities can go down as well as up and investors may not get back
the full amount invested upon the disposal of the shares. Past
performance is not a guide to future performance. The contents of
this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business,
financial or tax advice. Each investor or prospective investor
should consult his or her or its own legal adviser, business
adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, business,
financial or tax advice.
Any indication in this Announcement of the price
at which the Company's shares have been bought or sold in the past
cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Persons
needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. No
statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast
or profit estimate for any period and no statement in this
Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings, earnings
per share or income, cash flow from operations or free cash flow
for the Company for the current or future financial periods would
necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings,
earnings per share or income, cash flow from operations or free
cash flow for the Company.
All offers of the Placing Shares will be made
pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation and the UK
Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus.
This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons
in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1)
of FSMA does not apply.
The Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the
Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other
than the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and the TSX. Peel
Hunt's responsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser under
the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to the London
Stock Exchange and are not owed to the Company or to any Director
or to any other person
The Appendix to this Announcement sets out the
terms and conditions of the Placing. By participating in the
Placing, each Placee will be deemed to have read and understood
this Announcement (including the Appendix) in its entirety, to be
participating in the Placing and making an offer to acquire and
acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and subject to the conditions
set out in the Appendix to this Announcement and to be providing
the representations, warranties, undertakings and acknowledgements
contained in the Appendix to this Announcement.
Members of the public are not eligible to take
part in the Placing and no public offering of Placing Shares is
being or will be made.
Neither the content of the Company's website (or
any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from
hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this Announcement.
This Announcement has been prepared for the
purposes of complying with applicable law and regulation in the
United Kingdom and Canada 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 and
regulations of any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom and
Canada.
Solely for the purposes of the product
governance requirements of Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Product
Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the “UK
MiFIR Product Governance Requirements”), and disclaiming
all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or
otherwise, which any “manufacturer” (for the purposes of the UK
MiFIR Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with
respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product
approval process, which has determined that the Placing Shares are:
(i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and
investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and
eligible counterparties, as respectively defined in paragraphs 3.5
and 3.6 of COBS; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all
permitted distribution channels (the “Target Market
Assessment”). Notwithstanding the Target Market
Assessment, Distributors should note that: the price of the Placing
Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their
investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no
capital protection; and an investment in the Placing Shares is
compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income
or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an
appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating
the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient
resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom.
The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to any
contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation
to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the
Target Market Assessment, Peel Hunt, BMO and Cantor will only
procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and
eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market
Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or
appropriateness for the purposes of Chapters 9A or 10A respectively
of COBS; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of
investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action
whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares. Each distributor is
responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in
respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate
distribution channels.
In connection with the Placing, the Joint
Bookrunners and any of their respective affiliates, acting as
investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the
shares in the Placing as a principal position and in that capacity
may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for the own accounts or
otherwise deal for their own account in such shares and other
securities of the Company or related investments in connection with
the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares
being offered, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be
read as including any issue or offer to, or acquisition, placing or
dealing by, the relevant Bookrunner and its affiliates acting in
such capacity. In addition, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their
respective affiliates may enter into financing arrangements
(including swaps) with investors in connection with which the
Bookrunner and any of its affiliates may from time to time acquire,
hold or dispose of shares. The Joint Bookrunners do not intend to
disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions
otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory
obligations to do so.
APPENDIX
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE
PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INVITED PLACEES ONLY
REGARDING THE PLACING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE
PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THIS APPENDIX)
AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS
“ANNOUNCEMENT”) ARE FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY
AND ARE DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE
THEM IN ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS
(AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO
HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND
ARE: (A) IF IN A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA
(“EEA”), PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS
(“EEA QUALIFIED INVESTORS”), BEING PERSONS FALLING
WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(e) OF REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129
(THE “PROSPECTUS REGULATION”); OR (B) IF IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM, PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS ("UK
QUALIFIED INVESTORS"), BEING PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE
MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(e) OF PROSPECTUS REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129 AS
IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
(WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (THE "UK PROSPECTUS
REGULATION"), AND WHO ARE (I) PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE
DEFINITION OF “INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL” IN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER
2005, AS AMENDED (THE “ORDER”) OR (II) PERSONS WHO
FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES,
UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC) OF THE ORDER, OR (C) PERSONS TO
WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE BE LAWFULLY COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS
REFERRED TO IN (A), (B) AND (C) 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.
THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE
REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS
AMENDED (THE “US 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 THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE
US SECURITIES ACT AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE SECURITIES
LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES. THE
PLACING SHARES ARE BEING OFFERED AND SOLD ONLY (I) OUTSIDE OF THE
UNITED STATES IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATION S UNDER THE US
SECURITIES ACT AND OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND
(II) IN THE UNITED STATES TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF “QUALIFIED
INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS” (AS DEFINED IN RULE 144A UNDER THE US
SECURITIES ACT) IN TRANSACTIONS EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE
US SECURITIES ACT. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE PLACING SHARES IS
BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ELSEWHERE.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THIS APPENDIX) AND
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN 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,
JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN
WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE
UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR
DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR
SALE INTO THE UNITED STATES. THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE
NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT AND
MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT PURSUANT TO
AN APPLICABLE EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION. NO PUBLIC OFFERING IS
BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE
QUALIFIED FOR DISTRIBUTION OR DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC UNDER
APPLICABLE CANADIAN SECURITIES LAWS. CANADIANS MAY ONLY PARTICIPATE
IN THE CANADIAN OFFERING OF SPECIAL WARRANTS, PROVIDED THAT THEY
ARE QUALIFIED TO PURCHASE SUBJECT TO EXEMPTIONS FROM THE PROSPECTUS
REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE IN CANADA.
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,
the Joint Bookrunners 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 the Joint
Bookrunners to inform themselves about and to observe any such
restrictions.
This Announcement or any part of it 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 or the Republic of South Africa
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 from the requirement to produce a
prospectus under either the Prospectus Regulation or the UK
Prospectus Regulation Rules, as applicable. In the United Kingdom,
this Announcement is being directed solely at persons in
circumstances in which section 21(1) of the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 (as amended) (the “FSMA”) does
not apply.
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
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 South Africa
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 or the Republic of South Africa.
Accordingly, the Placing Shares may not be offered, sold, resold or
delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into Canada , and 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 or the Republic of
South Africa 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 the “Important Notices” section of this
Announcement.
By participating in the Bookbuild and
the Placing, each Placee (including individuals, funds or
otherwise) by whom or on whose behalf a commitment
to subscribe for Placing Shares has been given will (i) be deemed
to have read and understood this Appendix in its entirety and (ii)
be participating, making an offer and subscribing for Placing
Shares on the terms and conditions contained in this Appendix,
including being deemed to be providing (and shall only be permitted
to participate in the Placing on the basis that they have provided)
the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and
undertakings contained in the Appendix. Upon being notified of its
allocation of Placing Shares, a Placee who chooses to participate
in the Placing by making an oral and legally binding offer shall be
contractually committed to acquire the number of Placing Shares
allocated to it and to the fullest extent permitted by law, will be
deemed to have agreed not to exercise any rights to rescind or
terminate or otherwise withdraw from such
commitment.
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
member state of the EEA or in the UK (each, a "Relevant Member
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 or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as applicable; and
(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 or
the UK Prospectus Regulation, as applicable:
(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
member state of the EEA other than EEA Qualified Investors or
persons in the United Kingdom other than Relevant Persons, or in
circumstances in which the prior consent of the Joint Bookrunners
have been given to the offer or resale; or(ii) where Placing Shares
have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in a member state of
the EEA other than EEA Qualified Investors, the offer of those
Placing Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation
as having been made to such persons;(iii) where Placing Shares have
been acquired by it on behalf of persons in the United Kingdom
other than Relevant Persons, the offer of those Placing Shares to
it is not treated under the UK Prospectus Regulation as having been
made to such persons; and
3 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; and
4 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
5 it (and any account referred to in
paragraph 4 above) is either:
(a) outside the
United States acquiring the Placing Shares in offshore transactions
as defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S under the US
Securities Act; or
(b) a
“qualified institutional buyer” as defined in Rule 144A under the
US Securities Act (a “QIB”).
No prospectus
The Placing Shares are being offered to a
limited number of specifically invited persons only and will not be
offered in such a way as to require any prospectus or other
offering document to be published. No prospectus or other offering
document has been or will be submitted to be approved by the FCA or
any Canadian Securities Commission in relation to the Placing or
the Placing Shares, or the Canadian Offering of Special Warrants,
and Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of the
information contained in this Announcement and any information
publicly announced through a Regulatory Information Service by or
on behalf of the Company on or prior to the date of this
Announcement (the “Publicly Available
Information”) and subject to any further terms set forth
in the contract note 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 Joint Bookrunners or the Company or any
other person and none of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company nor 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 Placee 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
The Joint Bookrunners are acting as placement
agents in connection with the Placing. The Joint Bookrunners have
entered into a placing agreement (the “Placing
Agreement”) with the Company under which, on the terms and
subject to the conditions set out in the Placing Agreement, the
Joint Bookrunners, as agents for and on behalf of the Company, have
severally (and not jointly or jointly and severally) agreed to use
their respective reasonable endeavours to procure Placees for the
Placing Shares at a price of 7.5 pence per Placing Share (the
"Placing Price"). The number of Placing Shares in
the Placing will be determined following completion of the
Bookbuild and set out in a term sheet to be entered into between
Joint Bookrunners and the Company (the "Term
Sheet"). The final number of Placing Shares will be
decided at the close of the Bookbuild. The timing of the closing of
the book and allocations will be at the discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners. Details of the number of Placing Shares will be
announced as soon as practicable after the close of the
Bookbuild.
In accordance with the terms and subject to the
conditions in the Placing Agreement, the Placing is not
underwritten and in the event that subscribers are not obtained for
all or any of the Placing Shares (being the “Unplaced
Shares”) or in the event of a default to make payment by
any subscribers procured by the Joint Bookrunners, there will be no
obligation on any Joint Bookrunner to subscribe for any Unplaced
Shares or defaulted Placing Shares.
The Placing Shares will, when issued, be subject
to the articles of association of the Company and credited as fully
paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing
issued ordinary shares of £0.01 (“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.
The Placing is not conditional upon completion
of the Canadian Offering (described further below) or the issue of
Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Special Warrants.
Details of the Bought Deal Letter and
the Canadian Offering
The Company has entered into the Bought Deal
Letter pursuant to which Paradigm has conditionally agreed to
purchase 76,574,000 Special Warrants at the Placing Price (the
“Canadian Offering”). The Company has granted
Paradigm an option to increase the size of the Canadian Offering by
up to 11,486,100 Special Warrants at the Placing Price. Each
Special Warrant will automatically convert into one Ordinary Share
following the Prospectus Receipt by the Company. It is expected
that admission of the Ordinary Shares upon automatic conversion of
the Special Warrants will be admitted to trading on AIM and listing
on the TSX which will occur four business days after the earlier to
occur of: (i) receipt of the Prospectus Receipt and; (ii) the date
that is four months and a day following the Closing Date. The
Company has undertaken to use all commercially reasonable efforts
to publish the Canadian Prospectus as soon as possible following
AIM Admission and to take all actions reasonably required in order
to give effect to the Bought Deal Letter and to procure
satisfaction of the conditions contained therein.
The new Ordinary Shares to be issued upon
conversion of the Special Warrants will, when issued, be credited
as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing issued Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company from
their date of issue, including the right to receive all dividends
and other distributions (if any) declared, made or paid or in
respect of the Ordinary Shares, after the date of issue of those
Ordinary Shares.
The Canadian Offering is being entered into by
Paradigm as principal and is underwritten by Paradigm. The Canadian
Offering is not conditional upon the Placing. The obligation for
Paradigm to subscribe for the Special Warrants is subject to
customary conditions including the execution of an Underwriting
Agreement in customary form, the publication of the Canadian
Prospectus and, amongst other things, “material adverse change
out”, “disaster out”, “regulatory out” and “breach of agreement
out” provisions. The Company has given certain warranties and
undertakings in the Bought Deal Letter relating to the Company and
its operations. In the event of a material breach of any of the
undertakings included in the Bought Deal Letter, Paradigm will have
the right to terminate.
Settlement of the Ordinary Shares issued on
conversion of the Special Warrants in connection with the Canadian
Offering will occur as described above following the earlier to
occur of: (i) receipt of the Prospectus Receipt and; (ii) the date
that is four months and a day following the Closing Date and an
application will be made for admission of those shares to trading
on AIM and to the TSX in due course. Further announcements
regarding publication of the Canadian Prospectus, conversion of the
Special Warrants and admission of the new Ordinary Shares issued
following such conversion will be made in due course as required by
Market Rules.
Applications for admission to listing
and trading
Application has been made to the London Stock
Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM.
Application will be made to the Toronto Stock Exchange for the
Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on the TSX.
It is expected that AIM Admission will take
place on or before 8.00 a.m. (London time) on 23 February 2021 and
that dealings in the Placing Shares on AIM will commence at the
same time.
It is expected that TSX Admission will take
place on or before 5.00 p.m. (Toronto time) on 23 February 2021 and
that dealings in the Placing Shares on the TSX will commence at the
same time.
Bookbuild process
Following the release of this Announcement, the
Joint Bookrunners will today commence the Bookbuild to determine
demand for participation in the Placing by Placees. This Appendix
gives details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of
participation in, the Placing. No commissions will be paid to
Placees or by Placees in respect of any Placing Shares.
The Joint Bookrunners and the Company shall be
entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative method to the
Bookbuild as they may, in their sole discretion, determine.
Principal terms of the Bookbuild and
Placing
1 Cantor is acting as US bookrunner and
joint UK bookrunner, Peel Hunt and BMO are acting as joint UK
bookrunners, each as agent for and on behalf of the Company. The
Joint Bookrunners are arranging the Placing severally, and not
jointly, nor jointly and severally, as agents of the Company.
2 Participation in the Placing will only
be available to persons who may lawfully be, and are, invited by
the Joint Bookrunners to participate. The Joint Bookrunners and any
of their respective affiliates are entitled to enter bids in the
Bookbuild.
3 The number of the Placing Shares will be
established in the Bookbuild and announced by the Company through a
Regulatory Information Service (the “Placing Results
Announcement”) following the completion of the Bookbuild
and the entry into the Placing Term Sheet by the Company and the
Joint Bookrunners. The Joint Bookrunners and the Company reserve
the right to increase the amount to be raised and the number of
Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing in their
absolute discretion.
4 To bid in the Bookbuild, Placees should
communicate their bid by telephone to their usual sales contact at
the relevant Joint Bookrunner. Each bid should state the number of
Placing Shares which a Placee wishes to acquire at the Placing
Price. Bids may be scaled down by the Joint Bookrunners on the
basis referred to in paragraph 9 below. The Joint Bookrunners are
arranging the Placing as agents of the Company.
5 The Bookbuild is expected to close no
later than 7.00 a.m. on 19 February 2021 but may be closed earlier
or later subject to the agreement of the Joint Bookrunners and the
Company. The Joint Bookrunners may, in agreement with the Company,
accept bids that are received after the Bookbuild has closed. The
Company reserves the right (upon agreement of the Joint
Bookrunners) to reduce or seek to increase the amount to be raised
pursuant to the Placing, in its discretion.
6 Each Placee's allocation will be
determined by the Joint Bookrunners following consultation with the
Company and will be confirmed orally by the relevant Joint
Bookrunner to Placees.
7 Each Placee's allocation and commitment
will be evidenced by a contract note or electronic confirmation
issued to such Placee by the relevant Joint Bookrunner. A bid in
the Bookbuild will be made on the terms and subject to the
conditions in this Appendix and the terms of this Appendix will be
deemed incorporated into the contract note, the form of which will
be dispatched to each Placee as soon as possible after its
allocation of Placing Shares has been confirmed orally to it by the
Joint Bookrunners.
8 Subject to paragraphs 4, 5 and 6
above, the Joint Bookrunners may choose to accept bids, either in
whole or in part, on the basis of allocations determined at its
discretion and may scale down any bids for this purpose on such
basis as it may determine or be directed. The Joint Bookrunners may
also, notwithstanding paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 above, subject to
the prior consent of the Company:
(a) allocate
Placing Shares after the time of any initial allocation to any
person submitting a bid after that time; and
(b) allocate
Placing Shares after the Bookbuild has closed to any person
submitting a bid after that time.
9 Each Placee will have an immediate,
separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to the relevant
Joint Bookrunner and the Company, to pay to it (or as it may
direct) in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the
Placing 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.
10 Except as required by law or
regulation, no press release or other announcement will be made by
the Joint Bookrunners or the Company using the name of any Placee
(or its agent), in its capacity as Placee (or agent), other than
with such Placee's prior written consent.
11 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 on the basis explained below
under “Registration and Settlement”.
12 All obligations under the Bookbuild and
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”.
13 By participating in the Bookbuild, 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.
14 To the fullest extent permissible by
law, none of:
(a) the Joint Bookrunners;
(b) any of their respective affiliates,
agents, directors, officers, consultants or employees; nor
(c) to the extent not contained within (a)
or (b), any person connected with the Joint Bookrunners as defined
in the FSMA ((b) and (c) being together “affiliates” and
individually an “affiliate” of the Joint Bookrunners);
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, none of the Joint Bookrunners nor any of their
respective affiliates nor any of its or their agents, directors,
officers or employees shall have any liability (including, to the
extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) in respect of the
Joint Bookrunners’ conduct of the Bookbuild or of such alternative
method of effecting the Placing as the Joint Bookrunners and the
Company may agree.
Registration and settlement
If Placees are allocated any Placing Shares in
the Placing they will be sent a contract note or electronic
confirmation which will confirm the number of Placing Shares
allocated to them.
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 the relevant Joint Bookrunner in
accordance with either the standing CREST or certificated
settlement instructions which they have in place with the relevant
Joint Bookrunner.
Settlement of transactions in the Placing Shares
placed by the Joint Bookrunners following Admission will take place
within the system administered by Euroclear UK & Ireland
Limited (“CREST”), subject to certain exceptions.
Settlement of the Placing Shares through CREST will be on a T+2
basis unless otherwise notified by any Joint Bookrunner and is
expected to occur on 23 February 2021 in accordance with the
contract notes.
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 the Joint Bookrunners may
agree that the Placing Shares should be issued in certificated
form. Each of the Joint Bookrunners reserves the right to require
settlement for the Placing Shares, and to deliver the Placing
Shares to Placees, by such other means as they deem 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.
General
Interest is chargeable daily on payments not
received from Placees on the due date in accordance with the
arrangements set out above at the rate of two percentage points
above LIBOR as determined by the Joint Bookrunners.
Each Placee is deemed to agree that if it does
not comply with these obligations, the Joint Bookrunners (or any of
them) may sell any or all of their Placing Shares on their behalf
and retain from the proceeds, for the Company's own account and
benefit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee
plus any interest due. The relevant Placee will, however, remain
liable for any shortfall below the Placing Price and for any stamp
duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or
penalties) which may arise upon the sale of its Placing Shares on
its behalf.
If Placing Shares are to be delivered to a
custodian or settlement agent, Placees must ensure that, upon
receipt, the conditional contract note 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 obligations of the Joint Bookrunners under
the Placing Agreement are, and the Placing is, conditional upon,
inter alia:
(a) AIM Admission taking place not later than
8.00 a.m. on 23 Feburary 2021 or such later date as is agreed in
writing between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners, but in any
event not later than 8.00 a.m. on the Long Stop Date;
(b) the TSX conditionally approving the listing
of all the Placing Shares subject to the Company fulfilling the
requirements of such exchange set forth in the letter from the TSX
conditionally approving the listing of such Placing Shares, on or
before the dates stipulated in such letter;
(c) the warranties on the part of the Company in
the Placing Agreement being true, accurate and not misleading on
and as of the date of the Placing Agreement, the date of the
Placing Term Sheet and at all times up to and immediately prior to
AIM Admission, as though they had been given and made on such dates
by reference to the facts and circumstances then subsisting;
(d) the Company complying with its obligations
under the Placing Agreement to the extent the same fall to be
performed prior to AIM Admission; and
(e) the Bought Deal Letter having been entered
into on or before the date of this Agreement and remaining in full
force and effect,
(all conditions to the obligations of the Joint
Bookrunners included in the Placing Agreement being together, the
"conditions").
If (i) any of the conditions are not fulfilled
or waived by the Joint Bookrunners (acting jointly) by the
respective time or date where specified (or such later time or date
as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree, save that such
time shall not be extended beyond 8.00 a.m. on the Long Stop Date);
(ii) any of such conditions becomes incapable of being fulfilled;
or (iii) the Placing Agreement is terminated in the circumstances
specified below, the Placing in relation to the Placing Shares will
lapse and the Placee's rights and obligations hereunder in relation
to the Placing Shares shall cease and terminate at such time and
each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by the Placee against
either the Company or any of the Joint Bookrunners in respect
thereof.
The Placing is not conditional upon completion
of the Canadian Offering (described further below) or the issue of
Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Special Warrants.
By participating in the Bookbuild, 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.
The Joint Bookrunners may, in their absolute
discretion and upon such terms as each of them thinks fit, waive
fulfilment of all or any of the conditions in the Placing Agreement
in whole or in part, or extend the time provided for fulfilment of
one or more conditions, save that certain conditions including the
condition relating to AIM Admission may not be waived. Any such
extension or waiver will not affect Placees' commitments as set out
in this Appendix. The Joint Bookrunners may each terminate the
Placing Agreement in certain circumstances, details of which are
set out below.
None of the Joint Bookrunners nor any of their
respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees nor
the Company 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, the number of Placing
Shares to be placed or in respect of the Placing generally and by
participating in the Placing each Placee agrees that any such
decision is within the absolute discretion of each Joint
Bookrunner.
Termination of the Placing
Each Joint Bookrunner is entitled at any time
before AIM Admission, to terminate the Placing Agreement in
accordance with its terms in certain circumstances, including,
inter alia, if:
1 if the Company has failed to comply with
any of its obligations contained in the Placing Agreement; or
2 any of the representations or warranties
of the Company contained in the Placing Agreement was, when given,
untrue, inaccurate or misleading or is not, or has ceased to be,
true, accurate or not misleading (or would not be true, accurate or
not misleading if then repeated) by reference to the facts
subsisting at the time; or
3 there has occurred, in the Joint
Bookrunner’s opinion, acting in good faith, a Material Adverse
Change (as defined in the Placing Agreement) whether or not
foreseeable at the date of the Placing Agreement;
4 the occurrence of a market disruption
event, each, as specified in the Placing Agreement; or
5 the Bought Deal Letter has been
terminated or is otherwise no longer in full force or effect.
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.
Any termination by one Joint Bookrunner of its
rights under the Placing Agreement shall be without prejudice to
the obligations and rights of the other Joint Bookrunners and the
Placing Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. No
consents or approvals in respect of the Placing shall be required
of any Joint Bookrunner who has terminated its rights under the
Placing Agreement.
By participating in the Bookbuild, each Placee
agrees with the Company and the Joint Bookrunners that the exercise
by the Company or the Joint Bookrunners 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 or the Joint
Bookrunners or for agreement between the Company and the Joint
Bookrunners (as the case may be) and that neither the Company nor
the Joint Bookrunners need make any reference to such Placee and
that none of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners, 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 oral confirmation by the Joint Bookrunners
following the close of the Bookbuild.
Representations, warranties and further
terms
By submitting a bid and/or participating in the
Bookbuild, each prospective Placee (and any person acting on such
Placee's behalf) represents, warrants, acknowledges and agrees (for
itself and for any such prospective Placee) in favour of the Joint
Bookrunners and the Company that (save where the Joint Bookrunners
expressly agree in writing to the contrary):
1 it has read and understood this Announcement
in its entirety and that its acquisition of and subscription for
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 acknowledges no offering document or
prospectus or admission document has been or will be prepared in
connection with the Placing or is required under the Prospectus
Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation and it has not received
and will not receive a prospectus, admission document or other
offering document in connection with Admission, the Bookbuild, the
Company, the Placing or the Placing Shares;
3 it acknowledges that the Ordinary Shares
are traded on AIM and the TSX and that the Company is therefore
required to publish certain business and financial information in
accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies, MAR, the TSX Listing
Rules or applicable law (collectively, the "Exchange Information"),
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 similar statements for preceding financial years
and that it has reviewed such Exchange Information and that it is
able to obtain or access such Exchange Information;
4 acknowledges that its obligations are
irrevocable and legally binding and shall not be capable of
rescission or termination by it in any circumstances;
5 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 the Joint Bookrunners nor
the Company nor any of their respective affiliates, agents,
directors, officers or employees nor 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 the
Joint Bookrunners, the Company, any of their respective affiliates,
agents, directors, employees or officers or any person acting on
behalf of any of them to provide it with any such information;
6 none of the Joint Bookrunners nor any
person acting on behalf of them nor 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;
7
(a) 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;
(b) none of the Joint Bookrunners, nor the
Company (nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers and employees) have 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;
(c) none of the Joint Bookrunners, (nor
any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and
employees) accepts any responsibility for any acts or omissions of
the Company or any of the directors of the Company or any other
person (other than the relevant Joint Bookrunner) in connection
with the Placing;
(d) 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; and
(e) it has not relied on any investigation
that the Joint Bookrunners or any person acting on their behalf may
have conducted with respect to the Company, the Placing or the
Placing Shares;
8 the content of this Announcement and the
Publicly Available Information has been prepared by and is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and that none of the
Joint Bookrunners nor any persons acting on their behalf is
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;
9 it is not, and at the time the Placing
Shares are acquired will not be, a resident of Australia, Japan or
the Republic of South Africa;
10 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, Canada, 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 Canada and
may not be offered, sold, or acquired, directly or indirectly,
within that jurisdiction, and the Placee may only participate in
the offering of Special Warrants pursuant to the Canadian
Offering;
11 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, Japan or the Republic
of South Africa 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, Japan
or the Republic of South Africa or in any country or jurisdiction
where any such action for that purpose is required;
12 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 pay the total subscription
amount in accordance with the terms of this Announcement on the due
time and date set out herein, failing which the relevant Placing
Shares may be placed with other Placees or sold at such price as
the Joint Bookrunners determine;
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 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, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South
Africa, 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 Australia, Japan or the Republic of
South Africa and may not be offered, sold, or acquired, directly or
indirectly, within those jurisdictions;
15 it understands that the Placing Shares
are expected to be issued to it through CREST but may be issued to
it in certificated, definitive form and acknowledges and agrees
that the Placing Shares may, to the extent they are delivered in
certificated form, bear a legend to the following effect unless
agreed otherwise with the Company:“THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN
AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT
OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “US SECURITIES ACT”), OR UNDER THE
APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES,
AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED
EXCEPT (A) PURSUANT TO A REGISTRATION STATEMENT WHICH HAS BEEN
DECLARED EFFECTIVE UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT, (B) IN AN OFFSHORE
TRANSACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULE 903 OR RULE 904 OF REGULATION S
UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OR (C) PURSUANT TO ANY OTHER AVAILABLE
EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE US SECURITIES
ACT AND, IN EACH CASE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE SECURITIES
LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN THE FOREGOING, THE
SHARES MAY NOT BE DEPOSITED INTO ANY UNRESTRICTED DEPOSITARY
RECEIPT FACILITY IN RESPECT OF SHARES ESTABLISHED OR MAINTAINED BY
A DEPOSITARY BANK. EACH HOLDER, BY ITS ACCEPTANCE OF THESE SHARES,
REPRESENTS THAT IT UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES TO THE FOREGOING
RESTRICTIONS.”;
16 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;
17 it understands that there may be
certain consequences under United States and other tax laws
resulting from an investment in the Placing and it has made such
investigation and has consulted its own independent advisers or
otherwise has satisfied itself concerning, without limitation, the
effects of United States federal, state and local income tax laws
and foreign tax laws generally;
18 it understands that the Company has not
undertaken to determine whether it will be treated as a passive
foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for US federal
income tax purposes for the current year, or whether it is likely
to be so treated for future years and none of the Company nor any
of the Joint Bookrunners makes any representation or warranty with
respect to the same. Accordingly, neither the Company nor any of
the Joint Bookrunners can provide any advice to US investors as to
whether the Company is or is not a PFIC for the current tax year,
or whether it will be in future tax years. Accordingly, neither the
Company nor any of the Joint Bookrunners undertakes to provide to
US investors or shareholders any information necessary or desirable
to facilitate their filing of annual information returns, and US
investors and shareholders should not assume that this information
will be made available to them;
19 none of the Joint Bookrunners, their
respective affiliates and any person acting on behalf of any of
them is making any recommendations to it or 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 any Joint
Bookrunner and that no Joint Bookrunner has 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 that it and any person acting on its
behalf is entitled to acquire the Placing Shares under the laws of
all relevant jurisdictions which apply to it and that it has fully
observed such laws and obtained all such governmental and other
guarantees, permits, authorisations, approvals and consents which
may be required thereunder and complied with all necessary
formalities and that it has not taken any action or omitted to take
any action which will or may result in the Joint Bookrunners, the
Company or any of their respective directors, officers, agents,
employees or advisers acting in breach of the legal or regulatory
requirements of any jurisdiction in connection with the
Placing;
21 it will make payment to the relevant
Joint Bookrunner 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 the relevant Joint Bookrunner determines in its absolute
discretion 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;
22 its allocation (if any) of Placing
Shares will represent a maximum number of Placing Shares which it
will be entitled, and required, to subscribe for, and that the
Company may call upon it to subscribe for a lower number of Placing
Shares (if any), but in no event in aggregate more than the
aforementioned maximum;
23 no action has been or will be taken by
any of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners or any person acting on
behalf of the Company or the Joint Bookrunners 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;
24 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.
The Joint Bookrunners and the Company will not
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
indemnify the Company and the Joint Bookrunners in respect of the
same on the basis that the Placing Shares will be allotted to a
CREST stock account of a Joint Bookrunner or transferred to a CREST
stock account of a Joint Bookrunner who will hold them as nominee
on behalf of the Placee until settlement in accordance with its
standing settlement instructions with it.
25 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;
26 if in the United Kingdom, that it is a
Relevant Person and 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 if it is acting as a financial
intermediary, as that term is used in Article 2(d) of the
Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as the case
may be, that 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 a member state of the EEA other than EEA Qualified Investors or
persons in the United Kingdom other than Relevant Persons, or in
circumstances in which the prior consent of the Joint Bookrunners
and the Company has been given to the proposed offer or resale;
28 that it has not offered or sold and,
prior to the expiry of a period of six months from Admission, will
not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in the EEA, except
to EEA Qualified Investors or otherwise in circumstances which have
not resulted and which will not result in an offer to the public in
any member state in the EEA within the meaning of Article 2(d) of
the Prospectus Regulation;
29 that it has not offered or sold and,
prior to the expiry of a period of six months from Admission, will
not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in the United
Kingdom, except to Relevant Persons 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 Article 2(d)
of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
30 that any offer of Placing Shares may
only be directed at persons in member states of the EEA who are EEA
Qualified Investors and represents, warrants and undertakes that it
has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing
Shares to persons in the EEA prior to Admission except to EEA
Qualified Investors or otherwise in circumstances which have not
resulted in and which will not result in an offer to the public in
any member state of the EEA within the meaning of the Prospectus
Regulation;
31 if in a member state of the EEA and
except as disclosed in this Announcement under "Details of the
Placing", that it is (i) an EEA Qualified Investor and (ii) a
“professional client” or an “eligible counterparty” within the
meaning set out in EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial
instruments (MIFID II), as implemented into national law of the
relevant EEA state;
32 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 and agrees that this Announcement has
not been approved by any of the Joint Bookrunners in their capacity
as an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA and it may not
therefore be subject to the controls which would apply if it was
made or approved as financial promotion by an authorised
person;
33 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);
34 if it has received any confidential
price sensitive information about the Company in advance of the
Placing, it has not:
(a) dealt
in the securities of the Company;
(b) encouraged
or required another person to deal in the securities of the
Company; or
(c) disclosed
such information to any person, prior to the information being made
publicly available;
35 none of the Joint Bookrunners, the
Company nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees nor any person acting on behalf of the Joint
Bookrunners 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 any of the Joint Bookrunners’ rights and obligations thereunder
including any rights to waive or vary any conditions or exercise
any termination right;
36 each Joint Bookrunner and its
affiliates, 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,
the Joint Bookrunners and/or any of their respective affiliates
acting as an investor for its or their own account(s). None of the
Joint Bookrunners nor the Company intend to disclose the extent of
any such investment or transaction otherwise than in accordance
with any legal or regulatory obligation to do so;
37 it has complied with its obligations
under the Criminal Justice Act 1993, MAR and in connection with
money laundering and terrorist financing under the Proceeds of
Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti-Terrorism Crime
and Security Act 2001, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Money
Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information
on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and the Money Laundering Sourcebook
of the FCA and any related or similar rules, regulations or
guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any government
agency having jurisdiction in respect thereof (together, the
“Regulations”) and, if making payment on behalf of
a third party, that satisfactory evidence has been obtained and
recorded by it to verify the identity of the third party as
required by the Regulations;
38 in order to ensure compliance with the
Regulations, each Joint Bookrunner (for itself and as agent on
behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars may, in their
absolute discretion, require verification of its identity. Pending
the provision to the relevant Joint Bookrunner or the Company's
registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity, definitive
certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be retained at
the relevant Joint Bookrunner’s absolute discretion or, where
appropriate, delivery of the Placing Shares to it in uncertificated
form may be delayed at the relevant Joint Bookrunner’s or the
Company's registrars', as the case may be, absolute discretion. If
within a reasonable time after a request for verification of
identity the relevant Joint Bookrunner (for itself and as agent on
behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars have not
received evidence satisfactory to them, the relevant Joint
Bookrunner and/or the Company may, at its absolute discretion,
terminate its 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;
39 it acknowledges that its commitment to
acquire Placing Shares on the terms set out in this Announcement
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 the Joint Bookrunners’
conduct of the Placing;
40 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, and not upon any
view expressed or information provided by or on behalf of the Joint
Bookrunners;
41 it irrevocably appoints any duly
authorised officer of each Joint Bookrunner 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 for upon the terms of this Announcement;
42 the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and
others (including each of their respective affiliates, agents,
directors, officers and employees) will rely upon the truth and
accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties,
acknowledgements and agreements, which are given to each Joint
Bookrunner on its own behalf and on behalf of the Company and are
irrevocable;
43 it is acting as principal only in
respect of the Placing or, if it is acquiring the Placing Shares as
a fiduciary or agent for one or more investor accounts, it is duly
authorised to do so and 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;
44 time is of the essence as regards its
obligations under this Appendix;
45 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 the Joint
Bookrunners;
46 acknowledges that its commitment to
subscribe for Placing Shares on the terms set out in this
Announcement will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may
in future be made to the terms 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 conduct of the Placing;
47 the Placing Shares will be issued
subject to the terms and conditions of this Appendix; and
48 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 Placing Shares pursuant to the Bookbuild
and/or 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 such contract except that enforcement proceedings in
respect of the obligation to make payment for the Placing Shares
(together with interest chargeable thereon) may be taken by the
Company or the Joint Bookrunners 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, the Joint Bookrunners 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 Joint Bookrunners, the Company 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 the Company nor the Joint Bookrunners
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 the Joint Bookrunners 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 the Joint Bookrunners in the event that any of the Company
and/or the Joint Bookrunners have incurred any such liability to
such taxes or duties.
The representations, warranties,
acknowledgements and undertakings contained in this Appendix are
given to each Joint Bookrunner for itself and on behalf of the
Company and are irrevocable.
Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of
the Placee acknowledges that the Joint Bookrunners do 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 each Joint Bookrunner 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 the Joint Bookrunners, any money held in
an account with the relevant Joint Bookrunner 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 the 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 the relevant Joint Bookrunner’s money
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. Placees will be notified of any changes.
No statement in this Announcement is intended to
be a profit forecast or estimate, 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 pursuant to the
Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other
than the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto
Stock Exchange.
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
In this Announcement:
"Admission" means AIM Admission
and TSX Admission (or one of them as the context may require);
"AIM" means AIM, a market
operated by the London Stock Exchange;
“AIM Admission” means admission
of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM becoming effective in
accordance with Rule 6 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
"AIM Rules" means the AIM Rules
for Companies and the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers;
“AIM Rules for Companies” means
the AIM Rules for Companies as issued by the London Stock Exchange,
from time to time;
“AIM Rules for Nominated
Advisers” means the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers as
issued by the London Stock Exchange, from time to time;
"Announcement" means this
announcement (including the Appendix);
"Appendix" means the appendix
to this Announcement;
"Applications" means the
applications made by the Company (i) to the London Stock Exchange
for AIM Admission and (ii) to the TSX for TSX Admission and
references to “Application” shall be to any of
such applications as the context may require;
“BMO” means BMO Capital Markets
Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales with
registered number 02928824 whose registered office is at 95 Queen
Victoria Street London EC4V 4HG, United Kingdom;
"Bookbuild" means the
accelerated bookbuild process in relation to the Placing, on the
terms described in the Placing Agreement and the other documents
relating to the Placing, which will establish the number of Placing
Shares to be issued and allotted pursuant to the Placing;
“Bought Deal Letter” means the
agreement dated 18 February 2021 between the Company and Paradigm
Capital Inc.;
"Business Day" means any day,
other than a Saturday or Sunday, when clearing banks are open for
business in London, United Kingdom, Toronto, Canada and New York,
United States of America;
“Canadian Offering” means the
issue and sale of Special Warrants which will convert into Ordinary
Shares of the Company as described in the Bought Deal Letter.
“Canadian Prospectus” means the
(final) short form prospectus of the Company filed with the Ontario
Securities Commission, as principal regulator on behalf of the
securities regulatory authorities in each of the territories and
provinces of Canada (other than Quebec), qualifying the ordinary
shares underlying the Special Warrants for distribution;
“Cantor” means Cantor
Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, a corporation incorporated in Nova
Scotia with registered number 3119896 whose registered office is at
c/o Stewart McKelvey, 1959 Upper Water Street, Purdy’s Wharf Tower
One, Suite 900, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2X2, Canada (together with
any affiliate providing services to the Company);
"CREST" means the relevant
system (as defined in the CREST Regulations) in respect of which
Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited is the Operator (as defined in
the CREST Regulations);
"CREST Regulations" means the
Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3755), as amended from
time to time;
"Directors" means the directors
of the Company for the time being;
“DTRs” means the Disclosure
Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook published by the FCA
from time to time;
“Exchanges” means the LSE and
TSX;
"FCA" means the Financial
Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom;
"FSMA" means the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended;
"Group" means the Company and
all its subsidiary undertakings, and "Group
Company" means any of them;
“Joint Bookrunners” means Peel
Hunt in its role as joint UK bookrunner for the Company, Cantor in
its role as joint UK bookrunner and US bookrunner for the Company
and BMO in its role as joint UK bookrunner for the Company;
“LIBOR” means the London
interbank offered rate;
“London Stock Exchange” or
“LSE” means London Stock Exchange plc;
"Long Stop
Date" means 12 March 2021;
"MAR" means Regulation (EU) No.
596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April
2014 on market abuse, and from 1 January 2021 as it forms part of
domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018;
“Market Rules” means any law,
regulation or stock or financial market rule, or policy statement,
ruling, order or other regulatory instrument of any securities
regulatory authority in the UK, Canada, the US or any such other
jurisdiction in which the Placing Shares are offered or sold,
applicable to the Company as a result of the Placing, the Canadian
Offering or its Ordinary Shares being listed or quoted or admitted
to AIM, the Exchanges, including, without limitation, the AIM
Rules, the rules and regulations of the London Stock Exchange, MAR
and the DTRs;
“Material Adverse Change” means
any material change in, or any event or circumstance that might
reasonably result in such a material adverse change in, or
affecting, the business, management, results of operations, assets,
liabilities, financial position or prospects (financial, trading or
otherwise) or profits of the Company or the Group (taken as a
whole) (as the case may be) whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of business;
"Ordinary
Shares" means the ordinary shares of
£0.01 each in the capital of the Company;
"Peel Hunt"
means Peel Hunt LLP, registered in England and Wales with
number 0C357088, whose registered office is at 7th Floor, 100
Liverpool Street, London EC2Y 5ET, United Kingdom;
"Placee" means any person who
agrees to subscribe for the Placing Shares pursuant to the
Placing;
"Placing" means the placing of
the Placing Shares by the Joint Bookrunners, on behalf of the
Company, with Placees pursuant to the Placing Agreement;
"Placing Agreement" means the
placing agreement dated 18 February 2021 between the Company
and the Joint Bookrunners in respect of the Placing;
"Placing Price" means the price
per Placing Share to be determined in the Bookbuild;
"Placing Results Announcement"
means the announcement of the results of the Bookbuild via a
Regulatory Information Service;
"Placing Shares" means the new
Ordinary Shares proposed to be allotted and issued by the Company
fully paid up and admitted to, quoted or listed (as applicable) on
the Exchanges pursuant to the Placing in accordance with the terms
of this Agreement following the Bookbuild;
“Placing Term
Sheet” means the term sheet in relation to the Placing to
be entered into by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners following
the Bookbuild;
"Prospectus Regulation" means
Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended and supplemented
from time to time);
“Prospectus Regulation Rules”
or “PRR” means the latest edition of the
“Prospectus Regulation Rules” made pursuant to section 73A of
FSMA;
“Publicly Available
Information” means the information contained in this
Announcement and any information publicly announced through a
Regulatory Information Service by or on behalf of the Company on or
prior to the date of this Announcement;
"QIB" means "qualified
institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the US
Securities Act;
"Regulation S" means Regulation
S under the US Securities Act;
"RIS" or “Regulatory
Information Service” means a Regulatory Information
Service that is on the list of approved Regulatory Information
Services maintained by the FCA;
“Rule 144A” means Rule 144A of
the US Securities Act;
“Special Warrant” means the
special warrants of the Company to be issued under a special
warrant indenture and entitle the holder thereof to receive,
without payment of additional consideration, one ordinary share.
The Special Warrants shall be deemed exercised on behalf of, and
without any required action on the part of, the holders (including
payment of additional consideration) on the earlier of:
(a) the third
business day following the date on which a final receipt (the
“Prospectus Receipt”) is obtained from the Ontario
Securities Commission, as principal regulator on behalf of the
securities regulatory authorities in each of the territories and
provinces of Canada (other than Quebec), for the Canadian
Prospectus (the "Qualification Date"); and
(b) 4:59 p.m.
(Toronto time) on the date which is four months and a day following
the Closing Date (as defined herein).
In the event the Qualification Date has not
occurred on or before the date that is 50 days following the
Closing Date, each Special Warrant shall thereafter entitle the
holder to receive, upon the exercise or deemed exercise of each
Special Warrant, for no additional consideration, 1.1 Ordinary
Shares. The Canadian Offering is scheduled to close on or about 9
March 2021 (the "Closing Date");
“Supplementary Placing
Announcement” means any supplementary placing announcement
prepared in accordance with the Placing Agreement;
“Toronto Stock Exchange” or
“TSX” means the Toronto Stock Exchange operated by
TMX Group Limited;
“TSX Admission” means the
listing of the Placing Shares on the TSX in accordance with the TSX
Listing Rules;
“TSX Company Manual” means the
TSX Company Manual as amended from time to time;
“TSX Listing Rules” means the
rules and regulations of the TSX as set out in the TSX Company
Manual;
“UK Prospectus Regulation”
means Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of
domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018;
"United Kingdom" or
"UK" means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland; and
"US Securities Act" means the
US Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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