3 Oct 2017 15:30
Concha PLC
RNS announcement: Investment update and cancellation of share options
Embargoed: 03.30 p.m. - 3 October 2017
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)
CONCHA PLC
('Concha' or 'the Company')
Further update on Investment in Ve Interactive Limited
Several months have now elapsed since the Ve Interactive Limited ("Ve"), a company in which Concha originally held a 0.43% interest entered in to administration. As many of you will be aware from the numerous press reports and extensive media coverage, having entered in to administration on 25 April 2017, certain assets of Ve were subsequently acquired by a consortium comprising the new management team, debt holders and former investors with activities immediately re-initiated under the trading name of Ve Global UK Limited.
Throughout this time we have maintained dialogue with the management team and monitored the substance and integrity of the various allegations which have been levied against the former executive management of Ve. As a small minority shareholder, having acquired our interest on the secondary market we have been peripheral to both the administration process and the restructured entity which emerged from this insolvency process.
We have fully investigated the prospects of pursuing actions against the former directors of Ve to recover our initial investment and challenging the process by which certain assets of Ve were acquired from the administration process. This exercise has led to a number of discussions with certain contingent litigation funders who may have provided the legal funding required to pursue such actions in return for participation in any recovery proceeds secured.
In addition to our own initiatives, we are also aware that certain creditors who relied substantially on representations from two of the former directors of Ve, David Brown and Martin King are also considering the merits of pursuing both Brown and King through a process of personal bankruptcy. If successful, your Board considers the chances of being able to successfully recover its original investment from the personal assets of Mssrs Brown and King to be significantly diminished, and as such, your Board no longer considers this course of action to be either commercially viable or the best use of shareholders' funds.
Your Board is also giving consideration to joining with a group of similarly disaffected former shareholders who have sought to challenge both the role and appointment of the Administrator in the insolvency process of Ve. If successful, this may provide Concha with an ability to re-establish an interest in the technology offering which now operates as Ve Global UK Limited which we continue to believe will fulfill the potential identified at the time of our initial investment.
In supporting this initiative, Concha will be obliged to contribute to the costs of mounting this legal challenge and therefore before doing so will seek its own legal opinion as to the likelihood of being able to restore value for its shareholders in this matter.
Further updates will be made as our options become clearer.
Cancellation of share options
In addition, the Board further announces that it has cancelled today a total of 115,000,000 share options ("Options") granted under the Concha PLC 2016 Unapproved Share Option Incentive Scheme to the directors of the Company. The cancelled Options were originally granted with an exercise price of 1.18p and were voluntarily surrendered by the holders thereof for no consideration.
Following cancellation, the Company has no further share options outstanding.
**ENDS**
For further information, please contact:
Concha PLC
Chris Akers, Chairman chris.akers@srgplc.com
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Advisor) +44 (0) 20 3368 3550
Sean Wyndham-Quin/Mark Brady