uk public m&a update - ashurstcde.azureedge.netmarket targets (a 33% increase on the 24 main...

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UK Public M&A Update2015 Review

ContentsIntroduction 1

Overview 2

News digest for Q4 8

Practice & Panel Statements 12

Ashurst contacts 13

Appendix 1: Announced UK takeover bids 14 (1 January to 31 December 2015)

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IntroductionHappy New Year and welcome to Ashurst’s annual Public M&A Update - 2015 Review.As with our previous Updates, the Overview provides an analysis of trends in the public M&A market in the UK during the year. Appendix 1 contains a summary of the key features of the firm offer announcements we have reviewed in 2015.

The Q4 2015 Digest summarises recent news and developments from the UK Takeover Panel (the Panel) including, among other things, the key changes to the Takeover Code (the Code)following consultation in relation to matters described in PCP 2015/1 (Dividends), PCP 2015/2 (Restrictions and suspensions of voting rights) and PCP 2015/3 (Additional presumptions to the definition of acting in concert) which took effect on 23 November 2015.

We hope you enjoy reading this Update and, as always, we would welcome your feedback.

Best wishes

The Ashurst Public M&A Team

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Overview2015 2014 2013

Announced bids 55 48 41

Recommended 51 41 34

Schemes of arrangement 36 31 20

Average of bid premia (% unweighted) 43.6 32.1 54.5

Deal volume2015 saw a year-on-year increase in UK bid activity levels when compared to 2014 with 55 firm offers (in excess of £1m) having been announced (2014 - 47). There were 32 firm offers for Main Market targets (a 33% increase on the 24 Main Market bids in 2014), 19 firm bids for AIM targets (a 21% reduction compared to 24 in 2014), one bid for a PLUS Market target and three unlisted target companies.

A summary of the key features of each announced offer that we reviewed in 2015 is set out in the table in the Appendix.

Deal valuesIn a year when global M&A activity hit its highest value since the credit crunch, it will come as no surprise that UK deal values were considerably higher in 2015 compared to levels in 2014 with 33 (25) firm offers having a deal value in excess of £100m of which 14 (9) offers exceeded £1bn. Among other mandates, Ashurst LLP advised Domino Printing Services on its £1.03bn acquisition by Brother Industries and advised Merrill Lynch, as financial adviser to Royal Dutch Shell, in connection with Shell’s £47bn offer for BG Group.

Main Market

AIM

PLUS Market

Unlisted

Trading status of target company

3219

1 3

3

Bid considerationDuring 2015, cash was the principal type of consideration offered to target shareholders, with 37 of the 55 offers (67%) being financed solely in this way. Of the six bids offering a combination of cash and shares, four included a mix and match facility. No contingent value rights were offered in 2015. The table below sets out the composition of bid consideration:

Board recommendationOf the 55 offers reviewed, 51 were recommended by the target board at the time of the Rule 2.7 announcement, although on one of these deals (Capita’s £412m offer for Xchanging in connection with which Ashurst is advising the target) the board’s recommendation was withdrawn following the announcement of a higher competing offer (Computer Sciences Corporation’s £480m offer for Xchanging). There were three hostile bids (Kerimov’s US$9bn offer for Polyus Gold International, the £70.8m offer by Cathexis Holdings for ISG and Bentley Park’s £43.8m offer for Inspired Capital) and one unilateral bid which became recommended following an increased offer (Asia Coal Energy Ventures £134.9m bid for Asia Resource Minerals). No recommendation was given by the target board in connection with Philex Petroleum Corporation’s £7.11m offer for Forum Energy (note that this deal does not appear in the Appendix as it involved a consolidation of majority control). A summary is set out below:

Cash

Cash and shares

Cash and loan notes

Cash with partial share alternatives

Shares

Shares with partial cash alternative

Bid consideration

376

3

3

15

Board recommendation

Board recommendation following increased offer

Hostile

Hostile - initially recommended

No recommendation

Recommendation status3

50

1 11

4

Bid premiaBid premia (on an unweighted basis) on all announced deals was up in 2015 to 43.6% from 32.1% in 2014, however, the unweighted premia in 2015 for bids in excess of £250m was down from 37.4% in 2014 to 32.6% in 2015.

Bid structureAs anticipated, schemes of arrangement have remained the structure of choice for recommended bids in 2015. 36 of the firms offers announced in 2015 were structured as a scheme and 19 as a contractual takeover offer. This confirms our prediction that the prohibition on the use of cancellation schemes to implement takeovers (with the associated loss of the stamp duty saving, where relevant) which the Government brought into effect in March 2015 would not impact on the number of bids structured as schemes.

There remain a number of significant benefits to using a scheme, including:

• the lower voting thresholds applicable on schemes of arrangement (a majority in number representing 75% in value), lowering deal execution risk;

• the certainty of outcome - once the court has sanctioned the scheme, all shareholders are bound whether they voted for or against the scheme;

• potentially greater flexibility around the timetable - the strict Code timetable does not apply on a scheme thereby accommodating waiting times for obtaining regulatory clearances;

• the potential for shareholders to receive a fixed number shares in the bidder without the need for a prospectus in the UK; and

• the ability of US shareholders to receive shares in the bidder without the difficulties associated with US securities laws, by relying on the exemption in section 3(a)(10) of the US Securities Act of 1933.

This year has seen some complex merger structures, for example, the Anheuser-Busch InBev/SABMiller three stage merger process involving (i) a UK scheme of arrangement; (ii) a Belgian tender offer; and (iii) a Belgian reverse merger and the Liberty Global/Cable & Wireless Communications two stage process involving (a) a UK scheme of arrangement; and (b) an EU Cross-border merger by formation of a newco (UK/Dutch law).

60

50

40

30

20

10

02013 2014 2015

Unweighted - all deals

Unweighted - deals over £250m

Bid permia

5

Pre-conditional offersSix high value firm offers involving corporate buyers have included pre-conditions to posting reflecting significant antitrust/regulatory hurdles. Where a pre-conditional firm offer announcement is made, the bidder is only required to post the offer/scheme document once the pre-conditions have been satisfied. There were no pre-conditional firm offers in 2014.

The following table summarises the status of these pre-conditional offers as at 31 December 2015:

Deal Date of Rule 2.7 annc't

Status of regulatory clearances

Date of scheme document

Groupe Fnac's £558m bid for Darty

20 Nov 2015 Pending

Anheuser-Busch InBev £71bn bid for SABMiller

11 Nov 2015 Pending

Just Retirement Group plc £668.5m merger with Partnership Assurance Group

11 Aug 2015 CMA approval - 28 Oct 2015

Posted 5 Nov 2015

Equinix's offer £2.35bn bid for Telecity Group

29 May 2015 European Commission clearance given on 13 Nov 2015

Posted 24 Nov 2015

Royal Dutch Shell £47bn offer for BG Group

8 April 2015 Annc't of satisfaction of all antitrust/foreign investment clearances on 21 Dec 2015

Posted 22 Dec 2015

Ball Corporation £4.3bn bid for Rexam PLC

19 Feb 2015 Pending

Private-equity backed bidsThere were 14 (9) private equity-backed firm offers during 2015 (representing a 56%) increase on 2014, including Steel Partners offer for API Group (where Ashurst acted for Steel Partners) and Lone Star’s bid for Quintain Estates and Development (where Ashurst acted for Morgan Stanley, as financial adviser to Lone Star, on the cash confirmation).

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Break feesBreak fees

There were no break fees in favour of a bidder during 2015 (whether formal sale, white knight, financial distress or shareholder).

Reverse break fees

Reflecting the complex regulatory issues faced by many corporate bidders during 2015 (referred to in Pre-conditional offers above), it is no surprise that there has been a significant increase in the use of reverse break fees in favour of target companies to protect them during elongated bid timetables.

Of the 11 bids on which reverse break fees were agreed, eight included failure to obtain necessary antitrust/regulatory clearances as a trigger for the payment of the break fee. This compares with only two reverse break fees in 2014 (both of which included an antitrust/regulatory clearance trigger).

Irrevocable undertakingsIrrevocable commitments were obtained on 48 bids of the 51 recommended firm offers. On 34 (71%) of those deals, the bidder obtained irrevocables from non-director shareholders.

Matching or topping rights: non-director shareholders

Irrevocables sought from non-director shareholders on 12 of the 34 bids (35%) included a matching or topping right. This equates to 22% of all firm offers announced in 2015 (compared to 23% in 2014).

Non-solicitation and notification undertakings: non-director shareholders

Five of the 34 deals (15%) on which non-director shareholder irrevocable commitments were obtained included a non-solicitation undertaking. This equates to 9.1% of all firm offers announced in 2015 (compared to 17% in 2014). On three of those deals the non-director shareholders also gave notification undertakings. The notification undertaking requires the shareholder to notify the bidder if it becomes aware of any approach which may lead to an offer for the target. Shareholders need to be very careful about giving this kind of undertaking and should include a carve-out from the requirement where it has received the information after being wall-crossed by a competing bidder. As part of the wall crossing procedures, the shareholder will have given confidentiality undertakings in connection with the information to be disclosed to it. In such circumstances the shareholder should not disclose information pursuant to the notification right as this would breach the shareholder’s confidentiality undertaking and could constitute improper disclosure under the market abuse regime.

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Formal sale processesCompanies continue to use the formal sale process (introduced by the Panel in September 2011) but with limited success. 12 (9) formal sale announcements were made during 2015, half of which involved companies in the oil & gas and mining sectors respectively. Only one formal sale resulted in a firm offer (Volution Group’s £9.25m bid for Energy Technique).

A summary of the outcome of formal sale processes in 2015 is set out below:

Terminated without an offer

Firm offer announced

Formal sale process ongoing

Outcome of formal sale process - 2015

4

7

1

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News digest (Q4 2015)Q4 2015 saw the release of three Panel response statements following consultation on PCP 2015/1 (Dividends), PCP 2015/2 (Restrictions and suspensions on voting rights) and PCP 2015/3 (Additional presumptions to the definition of acting in concert). The Panel Executive published two Practice Statements - Practice Statement No 29 (Rule 21.2 – Offer-related arrangements) and Practice Statement No 30 (Rule 20.2 – Information required for the purpose of obtaining regulatory consents).

DividendsOn 23 October 2015, the Code Committee published RS 2015/1 following consultation on PCP 2015/1. The amendments proposed in PCP 2015/1 clarified the application of existing provisions of the Code to ensure greater alignment of the Code with the existing practice of the Panel. For more background, see the Ashurst UK Public M&A Update - Q2 2015 Review.

The Code Committee amended its proposals with regard to statements on dividends and instead of giving the bidder the discretion to make a statement regarding the treatment of dividends paid by a target to its shareholders in a possible offer announcement (which includes the terms of the offer), the Rule 2.7 announcement and the offer document, the bidder is obliged to state that it has the right to reduce the offer consideration by the amount of any dividend (or other distribution) which is paid or becomes payable by the target to its shareholders, unless, and to the extent that, the bidder expressly states that target shareholders are entitled to receive all or part of a specified dividend in addition to the offer consideration. This requirement applies not only to dividends but also to other distributions made by the target. The Panel must be consulted if the offer consideration is to be reduced by the value of a non-cash distribution.

Among other changes, the Code has been amended to clarify how dividends are treated in calculating the minimum offer value which may be established by the acquisition of interests in target by a bidder and its concert parties and how a bidder should deal with a distribution following a “no increase” statement.

The Executive will no longer be publishing the Practice Statement proposed in PCP 2015/1.

The amendments took effect on 23 November 2015.

The full Response Statement can be viewed at:http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/RS201501.pdf

Restrictions and suspensions on voting rightsOn 23 October 2015, the Code Committee published RS 2015/2 following consultation on PCP 2015/2. The amendments to the definition of “voting rights” make clear that shares (other than treasury shares) which are subject to a restriction on the exercise of voting rights, or to a suspension of voting rights, should nevertheless be regarded for the purposes of the Code as having voting rights which are currently exercisable at a general meeting. For more background, see the Ashurst UK Public M&A Update – Q3 2015 Review.

The Code Committee’s original proposals in PCP 2015/2 were incorporated into the Code with only very minor modifications and the changes took effect on 23 November 2015.


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Additional presumptions to the definition of acting in concert

On 23 October 2015, the Code Committee published RS 2015/3 following consultation on PCP 2015/3. The amendments proposed in PCP 2015/3 codified existing Panel practice with regard to three additional presumptions of concertedness. For more background, see the Ashurst UK Public M&A Update – Q3 2015 Review.

The following three new presumptions to the definition of “acting in concert” have been incorporated into the Code:

• a person, the person’s close relatives, and the related trusts of any of them, all with each other;

• the close relatives of a founder of a company to which the Code applies, their close relatives, and the related trusts of any of them, all with each other; and

• shareholders of a private company who sell their shares in that company in consideration for the issue of new shares in a company to which the Code applies, or who, following the re-registration of that company as a public company in connection with an IPO or otherwise, become shareholders in a company to which the Code applies.

Note that as with all the presumptions in the definition of “acting in concert”, they are capable of rebuttal in consultation with the Panel.


Panel Practice StatementsOn 8 October 2015, the Takeover Panel published Practice Statement No. 29 (Rule 21.2 - Offer-related arrangements) and Practice Statement No. 30 (Rule 20.2 - Information required for the purpose of obtaining regulatory consents).

Practice Statement No. 29 (Rule 21.2 - Offer-related arrangements)

This Practice Statement provides guidance on the general prohibition on offer related arrangements set out in Rule 21.2 of the Code, including that:

• The exception allowing a target to give a commitment to provide information/assistance for the purposes of obtaining any official authorisation or regulatory clearance includes information required by a bidder in the preparation of an equity prospectus, circular or similar document. It does not, however, include information/assistance required by a bidder in connection with (i) an application to a tax authority seeking specific tax treatment; or (ii) the preparation of a bond prospectus in relation to the refinancing of bank facilities. Whilst a target can choose to provide such information voluntarily, it cannot be required to provide such information or assistance.

• Whilst a bidder, other than on a reverse takeover, may give a commitment not to invoke a condition to its offer, the target must not agree that a condition may be invoked by a bidder or agree not to object to a bidder seeking to invoke a condition.

• A trigger in a reverse break fee that relates to the target having taken or not taken certain action should not breach Rule 21.2 provided that there is no obligation on the target to take or not take that action - note, however, that conditions which might have the effect of deterring potential competing bidders from making an offer would fall on the wrong side of the line e.g. that the target does not engage in discussions with competing bidders or does

10

not provide information to competing bidders beyond the information which is required to be supplied under Rule 20.2 (equality of information to competing offerors).

• In cases of doubt about the application of Rule 21.2, the Panel must be consulted. Section 4 of Practice Statement No.29 incorporates the relevant contents of Practice Statement No 27 (Rule 21.2 - Directors’ irrevocable commitments and letters of intent) and Section 8 of Practice Statement No 29 incorporates the relevant contents of Practice Statement No.23 (Rule 21.2 - Inducement fees and other offer-related arrangements), which have both accordingly been withdrawn.

Practice Statement No.30 (Rule 20.2 - Information required for the purpose of obtaining regulatory consents) This Practice Statement provides guidance on the Panel’s practice where the target provides commercially sensitive information (“restricted information”) to “outside counsel” of the bidder (the “clean team”) for the purposes of enabling the bidder to establish whether regulatory clearances are necessary. The Panel usually applies Rule 20.2 in such a way that where a bona fide potential competing bidder requests access to the restricted information, the target is only required to provide that information to equivalent “outside counsel” of the potential competing bidder. The target must consult the Panel and obtain its consent to apply Rule 20.2 in this manner.

The Practice Statement also sets out various safeguards required by the Panel to prevent the restricted information being passed to the bidder from the clean team including:

• restrictions on the number and identity of members of the clean team receiving the restricted information;

• arrangements to protect the confidentiality of the restricted information, including effective information barriers;

• confirmations from the bid parties regarding: (i) the identity of the members of the clean team; (ii) the waiver by the bidder of any rights to access the restricted information from a member of the clean team; and (iii) no access to the restricted information by the bidder; and

• confirmations from each firm represented on the clean team that: (i) it will not disclose the information to the bidder or any person outside the clean team other than relevant regulatory authorities; (ii) it has effective information barriers in place; and (iii) it will notify the Panel if restricted information moves outside the clean team.

If any restricted information is provided to, accessed by, or deduced by the bidder or any advisers outside the clean team, the Panel must be informed promptly. In these circumstances, Rule 20.2 would normally be applied in the usual way and such restricted information would need to be provided, on request, directly to a competing bidder.

Consulting the PanelOn 5 November 2015, the Panel published Panel Statement 2015/15 which sets out useful guidance in the context of Panel consultation.

Key lessons:

• The Panel system of regulation relies on parties and their advisers consulting the Panel whenever they are in any doubt whatsoever as to the application of the Code.

• The need to consult with the Panel in cases of doubt is particularly acute where there are

11

doubts as to whether parties may be acting in concert.• To take legal or other professional advice as to whether parties are acting in concert, or

to rely on warranties or representations from those parties to the effect that they are not acting in concert, can never be an alternative to Panel consultation.

• Whenever the Panel is consulted, it is paramount that all relevant facts are disclosed and no relevant facts are withheld.

• Whilst the Code applies to all types of advisers, financial advisers have a particular responsibility under the Code to ensure, so far as they are reasonably able, that their client and, in the case of a company, its directors, are aware of their responsibilities under the Code and will comply with them and that the Panel is consulted whenever appropriate.

The full Panel Statement can be viewed at:http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2015-15.pdf

Prospectus Regulation – exemption from preparing a prospectus on a takeoverThe European Commission has published its proposal for a new Prospectus Regulation which will replace the existing Prospectus Directive regime. The Prospectus Regulation will take effect a year after it is adopted so is expected to take effect some time in 2017.

There is a new proposed exemption in the Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to prepare a prospectus for both admissions to trading and offers to the public where securities are offered in connection with a takeover, provided information describing the transaction and its impact on the issuer is made available.

This is a significant improvement on the current regime where the takeover exemption requires a document equivalent to a prospectus to be prepared and vetted by the FCA providing little benefit to issuers.

For more information on the proposed changes and how these will impact equity issuers, please refer to Ashurst’s December 2015 briefing: The Prospectus Directive: proposed changes for equity capital markets.

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Practice & Panel StatementsThe following Panel Statements (among others) were issued by Panel during 2015 – in reverse chronological order:

2015/19 Xchanging Plc Requirement for potential bidder to make Rule 2.7 announcement or announce no intention to bid by Day 53

2015/18 Ladbrokes Plc Review of the Panel Executive’s ruling by the Hearings Committee of the Panel

2015/17 Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc Requirement for potential bidder to make Rule 2.7 announcement or announce no intention to bid by 8 December 2015

2015/15 Asia Resource Minerals Plc (formerly Bumi Plc)

Statement of public criticism of Credit Suisse, Freshfields and Holman Fenwick Willan

2015/14 Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc Ruling in relation to new deadline for potential bidders to either make Rule 2.7 announcement or announce no intention to bid

2015/13 Publication of RS 2015/1, RS 2015/2 and RS 2015/3

Response Statements to consultations on “Dividends”, “Restrictions and suspensions of voting rights” and “Additional presumptions to the definition of acting in concert”

2015/11 Aga Rangemaster Group Plc Requirement for potential bidder to make Rule 2.7 announcement or announce no intention to bid by 14 September 2015

2015/8 Public Consultation Papers Issue of Public Consultation Papers 2015/2 "Restrictions and suspensions of voting rights" and 2015/3 "Additional presumptions to the definition of acting in concert”

2015/7 New World Oil and Gas Plc Ruling in respect of Mrs Judith Williams

2015/6 Public Consultation Paper: Dividends

Issue of Public Consultation Paper 2015/1 “Dividends”

2015/5 Fees and Charges Revision of document charges and charges for exempt and recognised intermediary status

2015/3 Armour Group Plc Criticism of Mr Bob Morton

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ContactsFor more information about any of the issues raised in this update please contact:

Corporate Partners Office Telephone Number Email

Rob Aird London +44 (0)20 7859 1726 [email protected]

Adrian Clark London +44 (0)20 7859 1767 [email protected]

Simon Beddow London +44 (0)20 7859 1937 [email protected]

Nick Bryans London +44 (0)20 7859 1504 [email protected]

David Carter London +44 (0)20 7859 1012 [email protected]

Nick Cheshire London +44 (0)20 7859 1811 [email protected]

Anthony Clare London +44 (0)20 7859 1927 [email protected]

Karen Davies London +44 (0)20 7859 3667 [email protected]

Richard Gubbins London +44 (0)20 7859 1252 [email protected]

Bruce Hanton London +44 (0)20 7859 1738 [email protected]

Nicholas Holmes London +44 (0)20 7859 2058 [email protected]

Hiroyuki Iwamura London +44(0)20 7859 3244 [email protected]

Tom Mercer London +44 (0)20 7859 2988 [email protected]

Robert Ogilvy Watson London +44 (0)20 7859 1960 [email protected]

Nick Rainsford London +44 (0)20 7859 2914 [email protected]

Michael Robins London +44 (0)20 7859 1473 [email protected]

Dominic Ross London +44 (0)20 7859 1043 [email protected]

Nick Williamson London +44 (0)20 7859 1894 [email protected]

James Wood London +44 (0)20 7859 3695 [email protected]

María José Menéndez Spain +34 91 364 9867 [email protected]

Yann Gozal France +33 (0)1 53 53 53 75 [email protected]

Reinhard Eyring Germany +49 (0)69 97 11 27 08 [email protected]

Carl Meyntjens Belgium +32 (0)2 626 1911 [email protected]

Jon Ericson Sweden +46 (0)8 407 24 56 [email protected]

Martin Börresen Sweden +46 (0)8 407 24 52 [email protected]

Alastair Holland Abu Dhabi/Middle East +971 (0)50 259 4174 [email protected]

Nick Terry Australia +61 2 9258 6122 [email protected]

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Appendix: Announced* UK takeover bids (1 January to 31 December 2015)

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disc

retio

n, e

lect

to p

ay fu

rthe

r cas

h to

Ash

cour

t Row

an sh

areh

olde

rs in

lieu

of a

ll or

par

t of t

he lo

an n

otes

. For

ev

ery

addi

tiona

l 1 p

ence

in ca

sh p

er A

shco

urt s

hare

the

amou

nt o

f loa

n no

tes i

ssue

d in

resp

ect o

f eac

h sh

are

wou

ld b

e re

duce

d by

1 pe

nce.

8.

On

1 Feb

ruar

y 20

15, A

shco

urt R

owan

ent

ered

into

a se

ttle

men

t agr

eem

ent w

ith th

e fo

llow

ing

exec

utiv

e di

rect

ors

(the

Exec

utiv

e D

irect

ors)

- Jo

nath

an P

olin

(the

gro

up ch

ief e

xecu

tive

offic

er), A

lfio

Tagl

iabu

e (th

e gr

oup

chie

f fin

anci

al o

ffice

r) an

d St

eve

Hai

nes (

the

head

of g

over

nanc

e). P

ursu

ant t

o th

e se

ttle

men

t agr

eem

ent e

ach

of th

e Ex

ecut

ive

Dire

ctor

s’ em

ploy

men

t con

trac

ts w

ith A

shco

urt R

owan

will

term

inat

e on

the

sche

me

effe

ctiv

e da

te a

nd

cert

ain

cont

ract

ual a

nd e

x gr

atia

pay

men

ts sh

all b

e m

ade

to th

em.

9.

The

paym

ents

to th

e Ex

ecut

ive

Dire

ctor

s will

be

paya

ble

by A

shco

urt R

owan

at t

he sa

me

time

as th

e lo

an n

otes

ar

e to

be

rede

emed

and

are

subj

ect t

o co

mpl

ianc

e w

ith ce

rtai

n co

nditi

ons.

Thes

e ar

rang

emen

ts re

quire

app

rova

l of

the

inde

pend

ent s

hare

hold

ers i

n ac

cord

ance

with

ss. 2

15 -

219

Com

pani

es A

ct 2

006.

Q1

15Brit

Plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Fa

irfax

Fin

anci

al H

oldi

ngs

Lim

ited

£1.2

2 b

11.2

%•

••10

• C• 11

Rexa

m P

lc (

Mai

n M

arke

t)Ba

ll Co

rpor

atio

n£4

.3 b

40%

••

•L 12

••

• C R

• 13

Baob

ab R

esou

rces

Plc

(AIM

)Re

dbird

Inve

stm

ents

Li

mite

d£2

0.5

m45

.5%

••

•14

Opt

os P

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Nik

on C

orpo

ratio

n£2

59.2

m30

.5%

••

•• C

Dom

ino

Prin

ting

Scie

nces

Pl

c (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Brot

her I

ndus

trie

s, Lt

d.£1

.03

b42

.6%

••

•15•

• C•16

TSB

Bank

ing

Gro

up P

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Banc

o de

Sab

adel

l S.A

.£1

.7 b

4%•

••

• C

Keyc

om P

lc (P

LUS

Mar

ket)

UKB

Net

wor

ks Li

mite

d£1

1.8 m

17

NP

••

•Ac

cum

uli P

lc (A

IM)

NCC

Gro

up P

lc£5

5 m

19.1%

••

•L 18

••

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


10. 7

0 pe

r cen

t. ac

cept

ance

cond

ition

.11.

Ea

ch o

f the

non

-dire

ctor

shar

ehol

ders

has

und

erta

ken

that

they

will

not

solic

it or

ent

er in

to d

iscu

ssio

ns re

gard

ing

any

gene

ral o

ffer f

or B

rit sh

ares

from

any

third

par

ty o

r any

pro

posa

l fo

r a m

erge

r of B

rit w

ith a

ny o

ther

ent

ity.

12.

407

penc

e in

cash

and

0.0

4568

new

Bal

l sha

res f

or e

ach

Rexa

m sh

are.

The

new

Bal

l sha

res h

ave

been

app

rove

d fo

r lis

ting,

subj

ect t

o of

ficia

l not

ice

of is

suan

ce, o

n th

e N

ew Yo

rk S

tock

Ex

chan

ge.

13.

The

Rule

2.7

anno

unce

men

t con

tain

s sta

tem

ents

of e

stim

ated

cost

savi

ngs a

nd sy

nerg

ies a

risin

g fr

om th

e of

fer (

a qu

antifi

ed fi

nanc

ial b

enefi

ts st

atem

ent)

whi

ch h

as b

een

repo

rted

on

by

Pric

ewat

erho

useC

oope

rs LL

P an

d G

reen

hill

& C

o. In

tern

atio

nal L

LP a

s req

uire

d by

Rul

e 28

.1(a)

of t

he C

ode.

14. 7

2.31

per

cent

. acc

epta

nce

cond

ition

.15

. D

omin

o sh

areh

olde

rs (o

ther

than

cert

ain

over

seas

shar

ehol

ders

) can

ele

ct to

rece

ive

loan

not

es in

lieu

of p

art o

r all

of th

e ca

sh co

nsid

erat

ion.

16. A

stat

emen

t mad

e by

Dom

ino

incl

uded

in th

e Ru

le 2

.7 an

noun

cem

ent i

s con

side

red

to b

e a

profi

t for

ecas

t for

the

purp

oses

of R

ule

28 Ta

keov

er C

ode.

The

pro

fit fo

reca

st is

bas

ed o

n th

e an

nual

resu

lts fo

r the

Dom

ino

grou

p fo

r the

year

end

ed 3

1 Oct

ober

201

4, th

e un

audi

ted

man

agem

ent a

ccou

nts o

f Dom

ino

for t

he th

ree

mon

ths e

nded

31 J

anua

ry 2

015

and

a fo

reca

st

for t

he n

ine

mon

ths t

o 31

Oct

ober

201

5. Th

e Ru

le 2

.7 an

noun

cem

ent i

nclu

des t

he d

irect

ors’

confi

rmat

ions

as s

et o

ut in

Rul

e 28

.1(c)

(i) o

f the

Cod

e.17

. £1

3.3m

(inc

ludi

ng D

efer

red

Cons

ider

atio

n). N

o ce

rtai

nty

that

Def

erre

d Co

nsid

erat

ion

will

bec

ome

paya

ble

unde

r the

offe

r.18

. 0.12

18 N

ew N

CC G

roup

Sha

res a

nd 5

.97

penc

e in

cash

for e

ach

Sche

me

Shar

e.

16

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


Appendix: Announced* UK takeover bids (1 January to 31 December 2015) Continued

Nat

ionw

ide

Acci

dent

Rep

air

Serv

ices

plc

(AIM

)CS

P III

AIV

(Cay

man

), L.P

.£4

3.2

m13

%•

••

◊ 19

••20

BG G

roup

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Ro

yal D

utch

She

ll pl

c£4

7 b

50%

••

•L 21

••

• C R

◊ 22

•23

Pace

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)AR

RIS

Gro

up, In

c.£1

.4 b

27.6

%•

••L

24•

• C R

Casd

on p

lc

Cald

er P

rodu

cts L

imite

d (a

co

mpa

ny co

ntro

lled

by th

e Pa

ul C

assi

dy co

ncer

t par

ty)

£3.0

38

m (c

ash)

or

£3.

314

m (c

ash

and

loan

no

tes)

47%

(c

ash)

or

60%

(c

ash

and

loan

no

tes)

••

•25•26

Asia

Res

ourc

e M

iner

als p

lc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)As

ia C

oal E

nerg

y Ven

ture

s Li

mite

d £1

34.9

m46

.4%

•27•

••28

19. O

n 31

Mar

ch 2

015,

bidd

er e

nter

ed in

to a

n eq

uity

term

s let

ter r

egar

ding

the

term

s of m

anag

emen

t inc

entiv

isat

ion

arra

ngem

ents

in fa

vour

of t

arge

t man

agem

ent.

20. D

avid

Pug

h an

d M

icha

el W

ilmsh

urst

are

ent

itled

to su

bscr

ibe

for “

swee

t equ

ity” o

n co

mpl

etio

n of

the

acqu

isiti

on a

nd m

ust e

ach

prov

ide

post

-exi

t res

tric

tive

cove

nant

s of a

two

year

du

ratio

n. M

icha

el W

ilmsh

urst

is e

ntitl

ed to

subs

crib

e fo

r bid

der l

oan

note

s. B

oth

Dav

id P

ugh

and

Mic

hael

Wilm

shur

st e

nter

ed in

to n

ew se

rvic

e ag

reem

ents

with

the

NAR

S gr

oup

from

com

plet

ion

of th

e ac

quis

ition

and

NAR

S ag

reed

to p

ay th

em tr

ansa

ctio

n bo

nuse

s. B

idde

r als

o co

nsen

ted

to a

term

inat

ion

paym

ent o

n th

e de

part

ure

of N

ARS

grou

p sa

les

dire

ctor

, Ste

phen

Tho

mps

on. T

hese

arr

ange

men

ts re

quire

app

rova

l of t

he in

depe

nden

t sha

reho

lder

s in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith R

ule

16.2

of t

he C

ode.

21.

383

penc

e in

cash

and

0.4

454

Shel

l B o

rdin

ary

shar

es fo

r eac

h BG

shar

e.22

. Tar

get a

nd b

idde

r (an

d th

eir r

espe

ctiv

e le

gal c

ouns

el) e

nter

ed in

to a

join

t def

ence

agr

eem

ent w

hich

pro

vide

d fo

r the

pro

tect

ion

of co

mm

erci

ally

sens

itive

info

rmat

ion

whi

ch w

as

shar

ed fo

r the

pur

pose

of p

repa

ring

antit

rust

and

regu

lato

ry fi

lings

.23

. Qua

ntifi

ed fi

nanc

ial b

enefi

ts st

atem

ent (

QFB

S) re

port

ed o

n by

Del

oitt

e an

d M

erril

l Lyn

ch a

s req

uire

d by

Rul

e 28

.1(a)

of t

he C

ode.

24. 1

32.5

pen

ce in

cash

and

0.14

55 n

ew A

RRIS

shar

es fo

r eac

h Pa

ce sh

are.

25

. Tar

get s

hare

hold

ers c

an e

ither

ele

ct to

rece

ive

(i) ca

sh co

nsid

erat

ion

of 5

5 pe

nce

or (i

i) 60

pen

ce w

ith 2

0 pe

nce

to b

e pa

id in

cash

imm

edia

tely

and

40

penc

e in

loan

not

es re

paya

ble

in

2 in

stal

men

ts o

f 20

penc

e in

12 a

nd 2

4 m

onth

s’ tim

e.26

. 75%

acc

epta

nce

cond

ition

.27

. Ini

tially

a u

nila

tera

l offe

r, whi

ch b

ecam

e re

com

men

ded

follo

win

g an

incr

ease

in th

e of

fer p

rice.

28. O

n 7

May

201

5, Ra

iffei

sen

Bank

Inte

rnat

iona

l AG

(RBI

) and

bid

der e

nter

ed in

to a

n ag

reem

ent t

o se

ll of

f the

loan

s adv

ance

d by

RBI

to M

axim

a Va

le H

oldi

ng Li

mite

d, P

T Sa

mud

ra P

acifi

c M

arin

e an

d Ra

venw

ood

to a

third

par

ty fo

r an

aggr

egat

e co

nsid

erat

ion

of U

S$12

0m le

ss th

e U

S$ e

quiv

alen

t of t

he co

nsid

erat

ion

to b

e re

ceiv

ed b

y Ra

venw

ood

for t

he R

aven

woo

d As

ia

Reso

urce

shar

es p

ursu

ant t

o th

e of

fer.

Thes

e ar

rang

emen

ts re

quire

app

rova

l of t

he in

depe

nden

t sha

reho

lder

s in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith R

ule

16.1

of th

e Co

de.

Q2

17

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


Phoe

nix

IT G

roup

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)

Dai

sy G

roup

Lim

ited

and

Tosc

afun

d As

set

Man

agem

ent L

LP£1

35 m

24%

••

••C

•Te

leci

ty G

roup

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Eq

uini

x, In

c.£2

.35

b34

.9%

••

•L 29

••

•CR

Insp

ired

Capi

tal p

lc (A

IM)

Bent

ley

Park

Ltd.

£43.

8 m

26%

••

•An

ite p

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Keys

ight

Tech

nolo

gies

, Inc.

£388

m22

.3%

••

••

Enab

les I

T G

roup

plc

(AIM

)1S

patia

l plc

£2.0

8 m

27.13

%•

•L30•

Ered

ene

Capi

tal L

imite

dEd

en In

vest

men

t Hol

ding

Co

mpa

ny P

te. L

td£1

1.9 m

10%

••

••31

Thor

nton

s plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Fe

rrer

o In

tern

atio

nal S

.A.

£111

.9 m

42.9

%•

••

•32

Esse

nden

PLC

(AIM

)H

arw

ood

Capi

tal L

LP£4

0.1 m

10.3

%•

••

•33

29. 5

72.5

pen

ce in

cash

and

0.0

327

new

Equ

inix

shar

es fo

r eac

h Te

leci

ty sh

are.

30. 1

.13 n

ew 1S

patia

l sha

res f

or e

ach

Enab

les s

hare

.31

. 50

%+

acce

ptan

ce co

nditi

on o

n a

man

dato

ry b

id. T

he o

ffer w

ill b

e un

cond

ition

al a

s to

acce

ptan

ces a

s fro

m th

e tim

e it

is m

ade.

32. 5

0%+

acce

ptan

ce co

nditi

on o

n a

man

dato

ry b

id.

33. T

oppi

ng ri

ghts

giv

en in

the

irrev

ocab

le u

nder

taki

ng o

f non

-dire

ctor

shar

ehol

der H

argr

eave

Hal

e Li

mite

d (H

argr

eave

).

18

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer



Prom

ethe

an W

orld

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)N

etD

rago

n W

ebso

ft In

c.£8

4.1 m

48%

••

••CR

AGA

Rang

emas

ter G

roup

plc

(M

ain

Mar

ket)

The

Mid

dleb

y Co

rpor

atio

n£1

29 m

77%

••

•Al

ent p

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Plat

form

Spe

cial

ty P

rodu

cts

Corp

orat

ion

£1.3

51 b

49%

••

•L34•

•CR•35

Qui

ntai

n Es

tate

s and

D

evel

opm

ent P

LC (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Lone

Sta

r Rea

l Est

ate

Fund

IV

(U.S

.), L

.P. a

nd Lo

ne

Star

Rea

l Est

ate

Fund

IV

(Ber

mud

a), L

.P.

£745

m31

.8%

••

•36

John

Sw

an &

Son

s P.L.

C.

(AIM

)H

&H

Gro

up P

LC£8

.2 m

107.7

%•

••U

37•

◊38•39

Chim

e Co

mm

unic

atio

ns p

lc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Pr

ovid

ence

Equ

ity P

artn

ers

L.L.C

and

WPP

plc

£374

m33

%•

••

•C•40

34. P

artia

l sha

re a

ltern

ativ

e of

0.3

1523

new

bid

der s

hare

s for

eac

h ta

rget

shar

e (li

mite

d to

the

issu

e of

new

bid

der s

hare

s in

resp

ect o

f 58,

432,

694

targ

et sh

ares

(app

rox.

29.

1% o

f tar

get

issu

ed sh

are

capi

tal))

. 35

. QFB

S re

port

ed o

n by

Pric

ewat

erho

useC

oope

rs LL

P an

d Cr

edit

Suis

se S

ecur

ities

(Eur

ope)

Lim

ited

as re

quire

d by

Rul

e 28

.1(a)

of t

he Ta

keov

er C

ode.

36. P

erce

ntag

e of

targ

et sh

areh

olde

r acc

epta

nces

requ

ired

to sa

tisfy

the

acce

ptan

ce co

nditi

on re

duce

d fr

om 9

0% to

75%

.37

. Pa

rtia

l unl

iste

d se

curit

ies a

ltern

ativ

e (s

tub

equi

ty) o

f 0.5

74 b

idde

r sha

res f

or e

ach

targ

et sh

are

(lim

ited

to th

e is

sue

of 12

5,000

bid

der s

hare

s (ap

prox

. 12%

of b

idde

r iss

ued

shar

e ca

pita

l)).

38. J

ohn

Swan

Lim

ited

is th

e pr

inci

pal e

mpl

oyer

of t

he Jo

hn S

wan

Lim

ited

Retir

emen

t Ben

efits

Sch

eme.

In

2012

John

Sw

an Li

mite

d gr

ante

d a

float

ing

char

ge o

ver i

ts a

sset

s in

favo

ur

of th

e pe

nsio

n sc

hem

e. C

ondi

tiona

l upo

n th

e tr

ansa

ctio

n be

com

ing

effe

ctiv

e, th

e bi

dder

, tar

get a

nd th

e pe

nsio

n sc

hem

e tr

uste

es e

nter

ed in

to a

n ag

reem

ent a

nd g

uara

ntee

und

er

whi

ch th

e pe

nsio

n tr

uste

es a

gree

d to

rele

ase

the

float

ing

char

ge a

nd re

plac

e it

with

a g

uara

ntee

pro

vide

d by

the

bidd

er.

39. T

oppi

ng ri

ghts

in th

e irr

evoc

able

und

erta

king

s giv

en b

y no

n-di

rect

or sh

areh

olde

rs P

eter

Alle

n an

d Pe

regr

ine

Mon

crei

ffe.

40. A

stat

emen

t con

tain

ed in

the

targ

et’s

AGM

upd

ate

for t

he fi

rst f

our m

onth

s of 2

015

is co

nsid

ered

to b

e a

profi

t for

ecas

t for

the

purp

oses

of R

ule

28 o

f the

Take

over

Cod

e.

Q3

19

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


Part

ners

hip

Assu

ranc

e G

roup

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Ju

st R

etire

men

t Gro

up p

lc£6

68.5

mN

P•

•L41•

•C

◊42 ◊43

◊44 ◊45

•46

Palle

tfor

ce P

LC (n

ot li

sted

)Em

erge

Vest

£30

m94

.6%

47•

••

•48

The

Inno

vatio

n G

roup

plc

(M

ain

Mar

ket)

The

Carly

le G

roup

£499

m13

.5%

••

••C

Latc

hway

s plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)M

SA S

afet

y In

corp

orat

ed£1

24 m

53%

••

••

Betf

air G

roup

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)Pa

ddy

Pow

er p

lc£2

.89

bN

P•

•L49•

•C•50

•51 •52

41. 0

.834

new

Just

Ret

irem

ent s

hare

s for

eac

h Pa

rtne

rshi

p As

sura

nce

shar

e.42

. Tar

get a

nd b

idde

r (an

d th

eir r

espe

ctiv

e le

gal c

ouns

el) e

nter

ed in

to a

join

t def

ence

agr

eem

ent,

whi

ch p

rovi

ded

for t

he p

rote

ctio

n of

com

mer

cial

ly se

nsiti

ve in

form

atio

n w

hich

was

sh

ared

for t

he p

urpo

se o

f pre

parin

g su

bmis

sion

s to

the

Com

petit

ion

and

Mar

kets

Aut

horit

y an

d th

e Pr

uden

tial R

egul

atio

n Au

thor

ity.

43. C

erta

in fu

nds m

anag

ed b

y Ci

nven

Lim

ited

(the

Cinv

en F

unds

) cur

rent

ly h

old

appr

ox. 5

1.9%

of t

he ta

rget

’s sh

ares

. The

bid

der e

nter

ed in

to a

rela

tions

hip

agre

emen

t with

Cin

ven

Lim

ited

and

the

Cinv

en Fu

nds (

toge

ther

, the

Cin

ven

Entit

ies)

und

er w

hich

the

Cinv

en E

ntiti

es a

re e

ntitl

ed to

app

oint

one

non

-exe

cutiv

e di

rect

or to

the

boar

d of

the

com

bine

d gr

oup

for s

o lo

ng a

s the

Cin

ven

Entit

ies a

re e

ntitl

ed to

cont

rol t

he e

xerc

ise

of 15

% o

r mor

e of

the

vote

s abl

e to

be

cast

on

all o

r sub

stan

tially

all

mat

ters

at g

ener

al m

eetin

gs o

f the

bid

der.

44. A

vallu

x S.

a.r.l

(Ava

llux)

(who

hol

ds a

ppro

xim

atel

y 52

.3%

of t

he b

idde

r sha

res)

, Cin

ven

and

Barc

lays

Ban

k en

tere

d in

to a

lock

-up

agre

emen

t und

er w

hich

Ava

llux

and

Cinv

en w

ill n

ot

(with

out fi

rst o

btai

ning

Bar

clay

s’ co

nsen

t) di

spos

e of

any

bid

der s

hare

s dur

ing

the

lock

-up

perio

d.

45. A

vallu

x an

d Ci

nven

ent

ered

into

a se

ll do

wn

agre

emen

t und

er w

hich

they

agr

eed

that

they

will

not

dis

pose

of a

ny b

idde

r sha

res w

ithou

t firs

t offe

ring

the

othe

r par

ty th

e rig

ht to

el

ect t

o pa

rtic

ipat

e in

the

prop

osed

dis

posa

l at t

he sa

me

pric

e an

d on

the

sam

e te

rms i

n th

e re

spec

tive

ratio

of t

heir

resu

lting

hol

ding

s und

er th

e m

erge

r (60

:40)

. 46

. QFB

S re

port

ed o

n by

KPM

G, B

arcl

ays B

ank

and

Fenc

hurc

h Ad

viso

ry P

artn

ers L

LP a

s req

uire

d by

Rul

e 28

.1(a)

of t

he Ta

keov

er C

ode.

47. P

rem

ium

ove

r the

ave

rage

strik

e pr

ice

for t

he m

atch

ed b

arga

in tr

adin

g w

hich

took

pla

ce o

n th

e da

te o

f the

last

mat

ched

bar

gain

auc

tion

befo

re th

e da

te o

f the

Rul

e 2.

7 An

noun

cem

ent.

48. T

he ta

rget

man

agem

ent t

eam

ent

ered

into

ince

ntiv

isat

ion

arra

ngem

ents

und

er w

hich

mem

bers

of t

he te

am w

ill e

xcha

nge

thei

r exi

stin

g sh

areh

oldi

ngs i

n th

e ta

rget

for a

co

mbi

natio

n of

shar

es, lo

an n

otes

and

cash

issu

ed b

y en

titie

s with

in th

e bi

dco

grou

p st

ruct

ure.

The

se a

rran

gem

ents

are

subj

ect t

o ta

rget

shar

ehol

der a

ppro

val u

nder

Rul

e 16

of t

he

Take

over

Cod

e.49

. 0.4

254

of a

new

Pad

dy P

ower

Bet

fair

shar

e fo

r eac

h Be

tfai

r sha

re.

50. T

he m

erge

r is s

ubje

ct to

bid

der s

hare

hold

er a

ppro

val a

s it c

onst

itute

s a C

lass

1 tr

ansa

ctio

n un

der t

he Li

stin

g Ru

les a

nd in

ord

er to

aut

horis

e th

e is

suan

ce o

f the

new

Pad

dy P

ower

Be

tfai

r sha

res.

51.

Padd

y Po

wer

’s in

terim

resu

lts a

nnou

ncem

ent f

or th

e si

x m

onth

s end

ed 3

0 Ju

ne 2

015

cons

titut

es a

pro

fit fo

reca

st a

nd w

as re

port

ed o

n by

KPM

G a

nd M

orga

n St

anle

y in

acc

orda

nce

with

Rul

e 28

.1(a)

of t

he Ta

keov

er C

ode.

52

. QFB

S re

port

ed o

n by

KPM

G a

nd M

orga

n St

anle

y as

requ

ired

by R

ule

28.1(

a) o

f the

Take

over

Cod

e.

20

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer



Amlin

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)M

S&AD

Insu

ranc

e G

roup

H

oldi

ngs,

Inc.

£3.4

68 b

36%

••

••C

•Je

lf G

roup

plc

(AIM

)M

arsh

& M

cLen

nan

Com

pani

es, In

c.£2

58 m

4%•

••

•C•53

Alka

ne E

nerg

y pl

c (A

IM)

Balfo

ur B

eatt

y In

fras

truc

ture

Par

tner

s, L.P

.£6

1.37

m44

%•

••

•C

◊54•55

•D

ensi

tron

Tech

nolo

gies

pl

c (A

IM)

Qui

xant

plc

£7.6

6 m

29.4

%•

••

Hel

lerm

ann

Tyto

n G

roup

PLC

(M

ain

Mar

ket)

Del

phi A

utom

otiv

e PL

C£1

.07

b44

.5%

••

••C

Poly

us G

old

Inte

rnat

iona

l Li

mite

d (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Wan

dle

Hol

ding

s Lim

ited,

co

ntro

lled

by M

r Sai

d Ke

rimov

US$

9 b

(app

rox.

£5

.93

b)2%

••56

•57

53. N

on-s

olic

itatio

n un

dert

akin

gs g

iven

by

each

of t

he n

on-d

irect

or sh

areh

olde

rs th

at g

ave

irrev

ocab

le u

nder

taki

ngs t

o vo

te in

favo

ur o

f the

sche

me.

54. T

arge

t and

bid

der e

nter

ed in

to a

mem

oran

dum

of u

nder

stan

ding

sett

ing

out d

etai

ls in

resp

ect o

f the

shar

e in

cent

ive

sche

mes

of t

he ta

rget

and

pro

posa

ls to

be

mad

e to

par

ticip

ants

in

acc

orda

nce

with

Rul

e 15

of t

he Ta

keov

er C

ode.

55. N

on-s

olic

itatio

n un

dert

akin

gs g

iven

by

each

of t

he n

on-d

irect

or sh

areh

olde

rs th

at g

ave

irrev

ocab

le u

nder

taki

ngs t

o ac

cept

the

offe

r.56

. A fa

cilit

y is

to b

e m

ade

avai

labl

e un

der w

hich

targ

et sh

areh

olde

rs w

ill b

e ab

le to

ele

ct to

rece

ive

the

offe

r con

side

ratio

n in

GBP

rath

er th

an U

SD.

57.

Elig

ible

GD

R ho

lder

s will

be

able

to p

artic

ipat

e in

the

offe

r.

21

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


Xcha

ngin

g pl

c (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Capi

ta p

lc£4

12 m

44%

•58•

••CR

Infin

is E

nerg

y pl

c (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Terr

a Fi

rma

Inve

stm

ents

(G

P) 2

Lim

ited

£555

m40

.4%

••

•

APR

Ener

gy p

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Fairf

ax F

inan

cial

Hol

ding

s Li

mite

d, A

CON

Inve

stm

ents

LL

C an

d Al

brig

ht C

apita

l M

anag

emen

t LLC

£165

m87

.7%

••

••C

•59•60

•61

OpS

ec S

ecur

ity G

roup

plc

(A

IM)

Inve

stco

rp B

ank

B.S.

C.£6

6.7

m69

%•

••

•62•63

Ener

gy Te

chni

que

plc

(AIM

)Vo

lutio

n G

roup

plc

£9.2

5 m

10.4

%•

••

•

58. I

nitia

lly re

com

men

ded.

59. A

dditi

onal

ly, th

e irr

evoc

able

und

erta

king

s of s

hare

hold

ers L

ee M

unro

, JCL

A Ca

yman

Lim

ited,

SCI

P an

d AD

A co

ntai

n a

notifi

catio

n un

dert

akin

g in

the

even

t of a

n ap

proa

ch b

y a

third

pa

rty.

60. M

atch

ing

right

s in

the

irrev

ocab

le u

nder

taki

ng g

iven

by

Gen

eral

Ele

ctric

.61

. The

targ

et m

anag

emen

t tea

m e

nter

ed in

to in

cent

ivis

atio

n ar

rang

emen

ts u

nder

whi

ch m

embe

rs o

f the

team

will

exc

hang

e th

eir e

xist

ing

shar

ehol

ding

s in

the

targ

et fo

r sha

res i

n bi

dco

and

beco

me

boun

d by

a sh

areh

olde

rs’ a

gree

men

t. Th

ese

arra

ngem

ents

are

subj

ect t

o ta

rget

shar

ehol

der a

ppro

val u

nder

Rul

e 16

.2 o

f the

Cod

e.62

. Add

ition

ally,

the

shar

ehol

ders

’ irre

voca

ble

unde

rtak

ings

cont

ain

a no

tifica

tion

unde

rtak

ing

in th

e ev

ent o

f any

app

roac

h by

a th

ird p

arty

.63

. 1) B

idco

ent

ered

into

a co

nditi

onal

bin

ding

arr

ange

men

t with

the

sole

trus

tee

of th

e O

pSec

Sec

urity

Gro

up E

mpl

oyee

Trus

t (th

e Tr

uste

e). O

n th

e sc

hem

e be

com

ing

effe

ctiv

e, th

e Tr

uste

e w

ill tr

ansf

er it

s 2,5

14,4

29 O

pSec

ord

inar

y sh

ares

(rep

rese

ntin

g ap

prox

imat

ely

2.1%

of t

he O

pSec

votin

g sh

ares

) to

bidc

o in

exc

hang

e fo

r the

issu

e an

d al

lotm

ent t

o th

e Tr

uste

e by

bid

co o

f 2,8

26,11

5 B

ordi

nary

shar

es (r

epre

sent

ing,

in a

ggre

gate

, app

roxi

mat

ely

2.4%

of t

he is

sued

ord

inar

y sh

are

capi

tal o

f bid

co a

s at s

uch

date

). 2)

Opt

ion

exch

ange

agr

eem

ent i

n re

spec

t of o

utst

andi

ng o

ptio

ns g

rant

ed in

favo

ur o

f sev

eral

seni

or e

mpl

oyee

s of t

he O

pSec

gro

up. B

oth

arra

ngem

ents

requ

ire a

ppro

val o

f the

inde

pend

ent s

hare

hold

ers i

n ac

cord

ance

w

ith R

ule

16.2

of t

he C

ode.

Q4

22

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer



SABM

iller

plc

(Mai

n M

arke

t)An

heus

er-B

usch

InBe

v SA

/NV

£71 b

50%

••

•U64

•65•CR

◊66 ◊67

•68•69

Japa

n Re

side

ntia

l In

vest

men

t Com

pany

Li

mite

d (A

IM)

The

Blac

ksto

ne G

roup

L.P.

£152

.6 m

31.8

%•

••70

◊71•72

Cabl

e &

Wire

less

Co

mm

unic

atio

ns P

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Libe

rty

Glo

bal p

lc£3

.6 b

50%

••L

•73•CR

•74•75

64. T

arge

t sha

reho

lder

s may

ele

ct to

rece

ive

a pa

rtia

l unl

iste

d sh

are

alte

rnat

ive

inst

ead

of fu

ll ca

sh co

nsid

erat

ion.

Thi

s mus

t be

in re

latio

n to

thei

r ent

ire sh

areh

oldi

ng o

f sha

res a

nd n

ot

part

onl

y. Th

e pa

rtia

l sha

re a

ltern

ativ

e is

lim

ited

to 3

26,0

00,0

00 R

estr

icte

d Sh

ares

and

£2,

545,

387,8

24 in

cash

. To

the

exte

nt th

at e

lect

ions

for t

he p

artia

l sha

re a

ltern

ativ

e ca

nnot

be

satis

fied

in fu

ll, th

ey w

ill b

e sc

aled

bac

k pr

o ra

ta a

nd th

e ba

lanc

e sa

tisfie

d in

cash

. The

Res

tric

ted

Shar

es w

ill b

e co

nver

tible

at t

he e

lect

ion

of th

e ho

lder

into

new

ord

inar

y sh

ares

in

New

co o

n a

one-

for-o

ne b

asis

from

the

fifth

ann

iver

sary

of c

ompl

etio

n. S

ABM

iller

shar

ehol

ders

on

the

Sout

h Af

rican

Reg

iste

r who

opt

for t

he p

artia

l sha

re a

ltern

ativ

e w

ill re

ceiv

e th

e ca

sh e

lem

ent i

n So

uth

Afric

an R

and.

65. H

olde

rs o

f Tar

get A

DRs

will

be

able

to p

artic

ipat

e in

the

sche

me

of a

rran

gem

ent.

66. B

idde

r ent

ered

a ta

x m

atte

rs a

gree

men

t with

Altr

ia (o

ne o

f the

larg

est s

hare

hold

ers o

f tar

get),

und

er w

hich

New

co w

ill p

rovi

de a

ssis

tanc

e an

d co

-ope

ratio

n to

, and

will

giv

e ce

rtai

n re

pres

enta

tions

, inde

mni

ties a

nd u

nder

taki

ngs t

o, A

ltria

in re

latio

n to

cert

ain

mat

ters

that

are

rele

vant

to A

ltria

und

er U

S ta

x le

gisl

atio

n. T

his r

epla

ces a

n ex

istin

g ta

x m

atte

rs

agre

emen

t bet

wee

n Al

tria

and

SAB

Mill

er.

67. B

idde

r ent

ered

an

info

rmat

ion

right

s agr

eem

ent w

ith A

ltria

, und

er w

hich

New

co w

ill sh

are

cert

ain

info

rmat

ion

to e

nabl

e Al

tria

to co

mpl

y w

ith it

s fina

ncia

l rep

ortin

g, fi

nanc

ial

cont

rols

and

fina

ncia

l pla

nnin

g re

quire

men

ts a

s the

y ap

ply

to A

ltria

’s in

vest

men

t in

New

co. T

his w

ill re

plac

e an

exi

stin

g re

latio

nshi

p ag

reem

ent b

etw

een

Altr

ia a

nd S

ABM

iller

.68

. App

rova

l of b

idde

r sha

reho

lder

s req

uire

d un

der B

elgi

an la

w.

69. T

he Q

FBS

has b

een

repo

rted

on

by D

eloi

tte

LLP

and

Laza

rd &

Co.

as r

equi

red

by R

ule

28.1(

a) o

f the

Take

over

Cod

e.70

. The

sche

me

of a

rran

gem

ent w

ill b

e go

vern

ed b

y G

uern

sey

law

and

will

be

subj

ect t

o th

e ju

risdi

ctio

n of

the

Gue

rnse

y co

urts

.71

. Bi

dder

ent

ered

into

an

asse

t man

agem

ent t

rans

ition

agr

eem

ent w

ith th

e sh

areh

olde

rs o

f K.K

. Hal

ifax

Asse

t Man

agem

ent (

the

exte

rnal

man

ager

of t

he w

ider

targ

et g

roup

’s pr

oper

ty

port

folio

) (As

set M

anag

er) a

nd K

.K. H

alifa

x M

anag

emen

t Lim

ited.

Thi

s gov

erns

the

term

inat

ion

and

tran

sitio

nal a

rran

gem

ents

in re

spec

t of a

sset

man

agem

ent s

ervi

ces p

rovi

ded

to

the

wid

er ta

rget

gro

up (A

sset

Man

agem

ent T

rans

ition

Agr

eem

ent)

.72

. The

Ass

et M

anag

emen

t Tra

nsiti

on A

gree

men

t req

uire

s app

rova

l by

an o

rdin

ary

reso

lutio

n of

the

inde

pend

ent t

arge

t sha

reho

lder

s und

er R

ule

16 o

f the

Cod

e.73

. Str

uctu

re in

clud

es a

pro

pose

d cr

oss-

bord

er m

erge

r und

er th

e EU

Cro

ss-B

orde

r Mer

gers

Dire

ctiv

e.74

. The

acq

uisi

tion

by b

idde

r of t

arge

t sha

res f

rom

CH

LLC

(a sh

areh

olde

r of t

arge

t con

nect

ed to

bid

der),

bei

ng a

subs

tant

ial p

rope

rty

tran

sact

ion

unde

r sec

tion

190

of th

e Co

mpa

nies

Act

20

06, a

nd th

e is

sue

of b

idde

r sha

res t

o ta

rget

shar

ehol

ders

requ

ire a

ppro

val b

y bi

dder

shar

ehol

ders

.75

. The

QFB

S ha

s bee

n re

port

ed o

n by

Ern

st &

Youn

g LL

P, Ev

erco

re P

artn

ers I

nter

natio

nal L

LP a

nd J.

P. M

orga

n Li

mite

d as

requ

ired

by R

ule

28.1(

a) o

f the

Cod

e.

23

Targ

et (M

arke

t)

Bidd

er

Bid value

Bid premium**

Recommended


Shareholder vote



Formal Sale Process


Scheme

Partial Offer

Offer***

Mix and match

Other consideration

Shares (L/U/A)

Cash

Rule 9 offer


Dar

ty p

lc (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Gro

upe

Fnac

S.A

.£5

58 m

33%

••

•L76•

•CR•

••77

Xcha

ngin

g pl

c (M

ain

Mar

ket)

Com

pute

r Sci

ence

s Co

rpor

atio

n£4

80 m

72%

••

••C

•IS

G p

lc (A

IM)

Cath

exis

Hol

ding

s, LP

£70.

8 m

17.2

%•

••

Plet

hora

Sol

utio

ns H

oldi

ngs

plc

(AIM

)Re

gent

Pac

ific

Gro

up

Lim

ited

£95.

94 m

323.

7%•

•L•

•R•78

Inte

rBul

k G

roup

plc

(AIM

)D

en H

arto

gh H

oldi

ng B

.V.£4

2.1 m

125%

••

•◊79

76. P

artia

l cas

h al

tern

ativ

e in

a m

axim

um a

ggre

gate

am

ount

of £

66,6

86,3

21.

77.

The

QFB

S ha

s bee

n re

port

ed o

n by

Ern

st &

Youn

g LL

P an

d N

. M. R

oths

child

& S

ons L

imite

d as

requ

ired

by R

ule

28.1(

a) o

f the

Cod

e.78

. Ap

prov

al o

f bid

der s

hare

hold

ers r

equi

red

as b

id co

nstit

utes

a “v

ery

subs

tant

ial a

cqui

sitio

n” a

nd a

“con

nect

ed tr

ansa

ctio

n” u

nder

the

Hon

g Ko

ng S

tock

Exc

hang

e Ru

les.

79. T

arge

t and

bid

der e

nter

ed in

to a

lett

er a

gree

men

t rel

atin

g to

the

satis

fact

ion

of th

e co

nditi

ons t

hat r

elat

e to

ant

itrus

t cle

aran

ces.

Ref: D/5985

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