RNS Number : 7223U
Acambis PLC
19 May 2008
Strong support from existing shareholders in £40m Placing and Open Offer
Final allocation of shares made to existing and new investors
FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ONLY. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN, OR INTO ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION WHERE THE EXTENSION OR AVAILABILITY OF THE
PLACING AND OPEN OFFER OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD BREACH ANY APPLICABLE LAW
Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts - 19 May 2008 - Acambis plc (LSE: ACM)
("Acambis" or the "Company"), a vaccine development
company, announces that the Placing and Open Offer announced on 23 April 2008 has received
strong support from existing shareholders.
On 23 April 2008, Acambis announced that it had been awarded a $425m (c. £212m),
ten-year contract by the US Government to provide it
with US-based warm-base manufacturing for its ACAM2000* smallpox vaccine. On the same day, it
announced an underwritten Placing and Open
Offer of 37,715,811 New Ordinary Shares at a price of 115 pence per New Ordinary Share to
raise £40m, net of expenses. The Placing and Open
Offer has been fully underwritten by JPMorgan Cazenove and Piper Jaffray.
The Open Offer closed at 11.00 am on 16 May 2008. Valid applications have been received
from Qualifying Shareholders in respect of
27,530,816 shares (representing approximately 73.0 per cent. of the 37,715,811 New Ordinary
Shares available under the Placing and Open
Offer). The remaining 10,184,995 New Ordinary Shares have been placed with shareholders
seeking an additional allotment and with new
investors at a price of 115 pence per New Share.
The remaining steps in the process to complete the Placing and Open Offer are:
* passing of the Resolutions without material amendment at the Extraordinary General
Meeting to be held tomorrow (20 May 2008); and
* admission of the New Ordinary Shares to trading on the London Stock Exchange and to
listing on the Official List of the UK Listing
Authority, which is expected to become effective on 21 May 2008.
The New Ordinary Shares, when issued and fully paid, will rank pari passu with the
Existing Ordinary Shares in all respects.
Capitalised terms used (but not defined) in this announcement have the same meanings as in
the Prospectus sent to shareholders on 23
April 2008 unless the context requires otherwise.
Enquiries
Acambis plc +44 (0) 1223 275
300
Ian Garland / Elizabeth Jones / Lyndsay Wright
JPMorgan Cazenove Limited +44 (0) 20 7588 2828
John Muncey / James Mitford / Shona Graham
Piper Jaffray +44 (0) 20
3142 8700
Neil Mackison / Jamie Adams
Brunswick +44 (0) 20 7404
5959
Jon Coles / Justine McIlroy / Annabel Entress
JPMorgan Cazenove Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Services Authority, is acting for
the Company as sponsor, joint broker and joint underwriter in connection with the Placing and
Open Offer and not for any other person and
will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to its
customers or for providing advice in relation to
the Placing and Open Offer, the contents of the Prospectus and, if relevant, the accompanying
documents or any arrangements referred to
therein or in this announcement.
Piper Jaffray Ltd., which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Services Authority, is acting for the
Company as joint broker and joint underwriter in connection with the Placing and Open Offer
and not for any other person and will not be
responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to its customers or for
providing advice in relation to the Placing
and Open Offer, the contents of the Prospectus and, if relevant, the accompanying documents or
any arrangements referred to therein or in
this announcement.
This announcement has been issued by Acambis plc and is the sole responsibility of Acambis
plc.
The Existing Ordinary Shares, the New Ordinary Shares and the Basic Entitlements have not
been and will not be registered under the US
Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered, sold, pledged, transferred or
otherwise disposed of except outside the United
States in an "offshore transaction" (as defined in Rule 902(k) of the US Securities Act) in
accordance with Rule 903 or 904 of Regulation S
under the US Securities Act; pursuant to an effective registration statement under the US
Securities Act or pursuant to an available
exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. Moreover, neither the
Existing Ordinary Shares, nor the New Ordinary
Shares nor the Basic Entitlements have been or will be registered under the securities laws of
any state of the United States, or under the
applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada or Japan, or in any other jurisdiction where
action for that purpose is required. Subject to
certain exceptions, the New Ordinary Shares made available under the Placing and Open Offer
may not be offered, sold, delivered or transferred in or into the United States, Australia,
Canada or
Japan. This announcement should not be issued, mailed or otherwise distributed or sent into
the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan.All persons (including, without limitation, stockbrokers, banks or other agents) must observe
these restrictions.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or
issue, or any solicitation of any offer to
purchase or subscribe for, any securities.
The delivery of this announcement shall not, under any circumstances, create any
implication that there has been no change in the
affairs of the Group since the date of this announcement nor that the information in it is
correct as of any subsequent time.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Group's current
expectations regarding future events. Such
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and on numerous assumptions
regarding the Group's present and future business
strategies and the environment in which the Group will operate in the future, and are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. The
Company disclaims and assumes no responsibility
to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to
reflect any change in the Company's expectations
or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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