Catena Group PLC Extension of Insight Option & Suspension of Shares (8725X)
September 03 2020 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMCTNA
RNS Number : 8725X
Catena Group PLC
03 September 2020
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
3 September 2020
Catena Group PLC
("Catena" or the "Company")
Extension of Option exercise period to acquire up to 30.2% of
Insight Capital Partners Ltd ("Insight")
Discussions to acquire in aggregate 100% of Insight
Suspension of trading in the Company's shares
Catena Group Plc (AIM:CTNA) is pleased to announce it has agreed
an extension of the exercise period for the option it holds to
increase its shareholding in Insight, the data science and machine
learning solutions company, to 30.2 per cent of Insight's fully
diluted ordinary share capital (the "Option"). In addition, Catena
and Insight have begun discussions with respect to Catena
potentially acquiring the balance of the issued share capital of
Insight.
Background and Rationale for the Option Extension
The Option, previously announced on 3 March 2020 as part of the
Company's initial investment in Insight, was due to expire on 9
September 2020 but will now be exercisable until 31 January 2021.
All other terms of the Option are unchanged.
Since Catena acquired its initial 9.1 per cent. interest in
Insight, Insight has continued to accelerate its growth, generating
unaudited revenue (per UK GAAP) of GBP2.8 million and profit before
tax of GBP0.47 million for the year ended 31 March 2020. Insight
has continued its profitable growth in the quarter ended 30 June
2020.
In addition to extending the exercise period of the Option, and
in recognition of Insight's continuing growth and wider
opportunities, the board of directors of Catena (the "Board") and
the CEO of Insight have begun discussions with respect to Catena
potentially acquiring the balance of the issued share capital of
Insight. The extension of the Option exercise period mitigates the
risk to Catena of any other potential suitor making an offer for
Insight as discussions continue. Any potential acquisition of the
balance of the issued share capital of Insight by Catena would
constitute a reverse takeover under the AIM Rules and, as such,
would be conditional on, amongst other things, the approval of
Catena shareholders at a general meeting, and subsequent
re-admission of the Company's enlarged share capital to trading on
AIM entailing the publication of a combined admission document and
circular convening a general meeting (the "Admission
Document").
Suspension of trading in Catena's shares
Catena has therefore requested the suspension of trading of its
shares on AIM effective 7:30 a.m. today until such time that: it
has published the Admission Document; or any discussions relating
to the potential purchase of the balance of the issued share
capital of Insight have ceased.
Catena will make further announcements in due course. There can
be no certainty that a transaction will complete. At the present
time, there is no agreement or understanding between Catena and
Insight in relation to a potential acquisition of the balance of
the share capital of Insight by Catena.
Matthew Farnum-Schneider, Chief Executive of Catena, said:
"We are delighted to announce today the progress we have made to
refocus Catena toward the fast-growing and transformative
opportunities in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The
adoption of these technologies by asset managers and the broader
financial services sector is likely to accelerate even further in
the current market and we are excited with the steps we are taking
to build a successful and experienced provider of machine learning
solutions to meet this demand."
Steve Cracknell, Chief Executive of Insight, commented:
"To take advantage of the massive potential AI has to offer,
companies will have to become more data centric and machine
learning enabled. We are very well positioned to help investment
professionals accelerate their adoption of these capabilities with
our analytical product offering and bespoke data solutions and are
excited by the potential this transaction brings to fast-track our
strategy and growth."
For enquiries, please contact:
Catena Group PLC
Matthew Farnum-Schneider, Chief Executive +44 (0) 20 3744 0900
Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser
& Broker)
David Foreman / Daniel Harris / Benjamin
Robertson +44 (0) 203 829 5000
Newgate (Financial PR) +44 (0) 7540 106 366
Giles Croot / Robin Tozer catena@newgatecomms.com
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