TIDMAN.

RNS Number : 5034S

Alternative Networks plc

21 December 2016

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21 DECEMBER 2016

RECOMMED CASH ACQUISITION

of

ALTERNATIVE NETWORKS PLC

by

DAISY INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS LIMITED

OFFER UPDATE - COURT SANCTION OF SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT

On 21 November 2016, the Board of Directors of Alternative Networks plc ("Alternative Networks") and the Board of Directors of Daisy Intermediate Holdings Limited ("Daisy") announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition (the "Acquisition"), to be implemented by way of a Court sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme"), under which it was proposed that Daisy would acquire the entire issued ordinary share capital of Alternative Networks. A scheme document to shareholders of Alternative Networks (the "Scheme Document"), containing further information on the Scheme, was published on 28 November 2016. The Scheme and its implementation was approved by the shareholders of Alternative Networks on 19 December 2016.

Alternative Networks and Daisy are pleased to announce that the Court has today made an order to sanction the Scheme to give effect to the Acquisition. The Scheme will become effective on delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies, which is expected to take place on 23 December 2016, whereupon the entire issued ordinary share capital of Alternative Networks will be owned by Daisy.

The expected timetable of residual events for completion of the Acquisition is as follows:-

 
 Event                                  Expected Time and/or 
                                         date 
 Last day of dealings in, and           6.00 p.m. on 22 
  for registration of transfers          December 2016 
  of, and disablement in CREST 
  of, Alternative Networks Shares 
 Scheme Record Time                     6.00 p.m. on 22 
                                         December 2016 
 Dealings in Alternative Networks       7.30 a.m. on 23 
  Shares on AIM suspended                December 2016 
 Effective Date of the Scheme           23 December 2016 
 Cancellation of admission to           7.00 a.m. on 28 
  trading on AIM of Alternative          December 2016 
  Networks Shares 
 Despatch of cheques and crediting      within 14 days 
  of CREST accounts for Consideration    of the Effective 
  due under the Scheme                   Date 
 Long Stop Date                         28 February 2017 
 

If any of these dates change, the revised times and/or dates will be notified to Alternative Networks Shareholders by issuing an announcement through a Regulatory Information Service and by posting notice on its website (www.alternativenetworks.com/investors/).

Enquiries:

Alternative Networks

Gavin Griggs Tel: +44 (0) 870 190 7444

Investec Bank plc (Rule 3 adviser, nominated adviser and joint corporate broker to Alternative Networks)

Patrick Robb Tel: +44 (0) 20 7597 5000

Andrew Pinder

Carlton Nelson

N M Rothschild & Sons Limited (Financial adviser to Alternative Networks)

Warner Mandel Tel: +44 (0) 20 7280 5000

Stephan Bocklet

finnCap Limited (Joint corporate broker to Alternative Networks)

Stuart Andrews Tel: +44 (0) 20 7220 0565

Bell Pottinger Financial & Corporate (Public relations adviser to Alternative Networks)

Elly Williamson Tel: +44 (0) 20 3772 2500

Anna Legge

Definitions

Save where otherwise defined herein or where the context otherwise requires, terms defined in the Scheme Document bear the same meanings when used in this announcement (the "Announcement").

Disclaimers

Investec Bank plc ("Investec"), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the PRA, is acting exclusively for Alternative Networks and for no one else in connection with the matters set out in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Alternative Networks for providing the protections afforded to clients of Investec nor for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any other matter or arrangement referred to in this Announcement.

N M Rothschild & Sons Limited ("Rothschild"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Alternative Networks and for no one else in connection with the Acquisition and the contents of this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Alternative Networks for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild, or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition, the contents of this Announcement or any other matters referred to herein.

finnCap Limited ("finnCap"), which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Alternative Networks and for no one else in connection with the matters set out in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Alternative Networks for providing the protections afforded to clients of finnCap nor for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any other matter or arrangement referred to in this Announcement.

Further information

This Announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form any part of, an offer to sell or subscribe for or any invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise. The Acquisition will be made solely through the Scheme Document and the accompanying Forms of Proxy, which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition and the Scheme, including details of how to vote in respect of the Acquisition and the Scheme. Any approval, decision or other response to the Acquisition and/or the Scheme should be made only on the basis of the information in the Scheme Document. Scheme Shareholders are strongly advised to read the formal documentation in relation to the Acquisition and the Scheme once it has been dispatched.

This Announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law, the Code and the AIM Rules 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 of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.

The statements contained in this Announcement are made as at the date of this Announcement, unless some other time is specified in relation to them, and service of this Announcement shall not give rise to any implication that there has been no change in the facts set out in this Announcement since such date.

Overseas shareholders

The laws of certain jurisdictions may affect the availability of the Acquisition to persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom, or who are subject to laws of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom, should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable requirements. Any person (including, without limitation, nominees, trustees and custodians) who would, or otherwise intends to, forward this Announcement, the Scheme Document or any accompanying document to any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom should refrain from doing so and seek appropriate professional advice before taking any action. In particular, the ability of persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom to vote their Alternative Networks Shares at the Court Meeting and/or the General Meeting, or to execute and deliver Forms of Proxy appointing another to vote their Alternative Networks Shares in respect of the Court Meeting and/or the General Meeting on their behalf, may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdiction in which they are located.

Any failure to comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements may constitute a violation of the laws and/or regulations of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Acquisition disclaim any responsibility and liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person.

The Acquisition will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into or by use of the mails or any other means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, telephonic or electronic) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any facility of a national, state or other securities exchange of, a Restricted Jurisdiction, and no person may vote in favour of the Acquisition by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility or from within a Restricted Jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this Announcement and formal documentation relating to the Acquisition are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded or distributed in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction and persons receiving this Announcement (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not distribute or send it in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction. In the event that the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer and extended into the US, Daisy will do so in satisfaction of the procedural and filing requirements of the US securities laws at that time, to the extent applicable thereto. The Acquisition relates to the shares of an English company and it is proposed to be made by means of a scheme of arrangement provided for under the laws of England and Wales. The Scheme will relate to the shares of an English company that is a "foreign private issuer" as defined under Rule 3b-4 under the US Exchange Act. A transaction effected by means of a scheme of arrangement is not subject to the shareholder vote, proxy solicitation and tender offer rules under the Exchange Act. Accordingly, the Scheme will be subject to the disclosure requirements and practices applicable in the UK to schemes of arrangement, which differ from the disclosure requirements and practices of US shareholder vote, proxy solicitation and tender offer rules. Financial information included in the relevant documentation will have been prepared in accordance with accounting standards applicable in the UK and may not be comparable to the financial statements of US companies. However, if Daisy were to elect to implement the Acquisition by means of a Takeover Offer, such Takeover Offer will be made in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and Regulation 14E thereunder. Such Takeover Offer would be made in the US by Daisy and no one else. In addition to any such Takeover Offer, Daisy, certain affiliated companies and the nominees or brokers (acting as agents) may make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, shares in Alternative Networks outside such Takeover Offer during the period in which such Takeover Offer would remain open for acceptance. If such purchases or arrangements to purchase are made, they would be made outside the United States in compliance with applicable law, including the Exchange Act.

Publication on website and availability of hard copies

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this Announcement will be made available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions), free of charge, on Alternative Networks' website at www.alternativenetworks.com/investors/ by no later than 12:00 noon on the Business Day following this Announcement. Neither the contents of that websites nor the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on such websites is incorporated into, or forms part of, this Announcement.

In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, a person so entitled may request a hard copy of this Announcement, free of charge, by contacting Investec on +44 (0) 20 7597 5000. For persons who receive a copy of this Announcement in electronic form or via a website notification, a hard copy of this Announcement will not be sent unless so requested. In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, a person so entitled may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form.

Disclosure requirements of the Code

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1 per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of: (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm on the 10th Business Day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm on the 10th Business Day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1 per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of: (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm on the Business Day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror, and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Takeover Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0) 20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

SOAUASURNNAUUAA

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 21, 2016 07:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

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