TIDMASCL
RNS Number : 3740Y
Ascential PLC
02 January 2024
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PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION
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2 January 2024
ASCENTIAL PLC
UPDATE ON SALE PROCESSES, GOVERNANCE AND FINANCING
COMPLETION OF THE SALE OF DIGITAL COMMERCE AND BOARD CHANGES
AGREEMENT OF REFINANCING
UPDATE ON THE SALE OF WGSN
1. Completion of the sale of Digital Commerce and Board Changes
Ascential plc ("Ascential") is pleased to announce that the sale
of its Digital Commerce business to Omnicom Group Inc. ("Omnicom")
has today completed.
Consequently, Duncan Painter has now stepped down from the Board
of Ascential plc and the position of Chief Executive Officer. He
will now serve as Chief Executive Officer of Flywheel Digital, a
new practice area within Omnicom. In addition, independent
non-executive directors Joanne Harris and Charles Song have also
stepped down from the Board of Ascential today.
Philip Thomas has been appointed as Executive Director and Chief
Executive Officer of Ascential with effect from today's date.
Scott Forbes, Chairman, Ascential said :
"On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Duncan for his
stewardship of Ascential over the past 12 years. Under his tireless
and visionary leadership, each of our portfolio businesses have
been truly transformed to meet the challenges of the modern era. We
wish Duncan continued success in the next chapter of his career
with Omnicom.
I would also like to thank Joanne and Charles for their
significant contributions to Ascential as non-executive directors,
especially with respect to their guidance around the development of
our ecommerce proposition. We wish them well.
We are delighted to welcome Philip Thomas to the Board as CEO of
Ascential and Executive Director. Phil is already a long-serving
and well-respected leader within our business, with an excellent
track record. I look forward to working closely together in this
next phase of Ascential's growth."
2. Agreement of refinancing
Ascential is also pleased to announce that it has agreed a new,
four-year, multi-currency revolving credit facility ("RCF") of
GBP200m with a syndicate of banks. This new facility will become
effective when Ascential's existing GBP450m RCF is fully repaid and
cancelled following the completion of the Digital Commerce
sale.
The new facility includes an accordion to raise additional debt
amounts of up to GBP25m by March 2024 and further amounts of up to
GBP75m over the life of the facility. Borrowings will be subject to
interest at a margin over the relevant currency market interest
rate dependent on leverage, with margins of between 2.25-2.50% at
leverage levels of 1.0-2.0x. The facility covenants include a
maximum net leverage ratio of 3.0x and a minimum interest cover of
3.0x and are tested semi-annually.
3. Update on the sale of WGSN
All required regulatory clearances have been received in respect
of the sale of Ascential's product design business, WGSN, to Wind
UK Bidco 3 Limited (a newly formed company established by funds
advised by Apax Partners). The sale of WGSN is therefore due to
complete at the beginning of February 2024.
Enquiries:
Ascential plc
Philip Thomas, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)20 7516 5000
Mandy Gradden, Chief Financial Officer
Rory Elliott, Investor Relations
Director
FTI Consulting LLP, Media enquiries
Matt Dixon +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Jamie Ricketts
Edward Bridges
IMPORTANT NOTICES
The person responsible for arranging the release of this
announcement on behalf of Ascential is Louise Meads, Company
Secretary.
This announcement contains "forward-looking statements" which
includes all statements other than statements of historical fact,
including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's
financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of
management for future operations, or any statements preceded by,
followed by or that include the words "targets", "believes",
"expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "would,
"could" or similar expressions or negatives thereof. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Company's
control that could cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company to be materially different from future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are
based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and
future business strategies and the environment in which the Company
will operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak
only as at the date of this announcement.
Neither the Company nor its affiliates undertakes or is under
any duty to update this announcement or to correct any inaccuracies
in any such information which may become apparent or to provide you
with any additional information, other than any requirements that
the Company may have under applicable law or the Listing Rules, the
Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules or the Market Abuse Regulation MAR (EU No.
596/2014) as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). To the fullest extent
permissible by law, such persons disclaim all and any
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announcement. The information in this announcement is subject to
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END
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 02, 2024 06:21 ET (11:21 GMT)
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