DUPD.L Regulatory News (DUPD)

23 Nov 2007 16:08

Dragon-Ukrainian Prop. & Dev. PLC23 November 2007 23 November 2007 Dragon Ukrainian Properties & Development ("DUPD") Closing of the Private Placement Further to the announcement on 13 November, DUPD is pleased to announce that ithas undertaken a private placement (the "Private Placement"), placing36,630,100 ordinary shares of 1 p each in the capital of the Company (the"Placing Shares") with existing and new institutional investors at 130p perordinary share for total gross proceeds of GBP £47.6 million (USD $100 million).The Placing Shares represent 26% of the revised share capital of the Companyimmediately after the completion of the Secondary Fundraising and the issue ofthe Placing Shares.. DUPD will invest the funds raised in the Private Placement in the development ofcommercial and residential properties in Ukraine which offer the prospect ofattractive returns to shareholders. The DUPD board commented: "We are pleased to announce the successful completion of a private placement ofUSD $100 million worth of new ordinary shares which were predominately taken upby shareholders who participated in the AIM admission on 1 June 2007. We believethe positive reaction of investors was influenced by the ability of the Companyto commit over USD $185M, being approximately 89% of the capital raised at IPO,across various real estate projects within 5 months of the admission to AIM" DUPD Chairman Aloysius van der Heijden said, "We have been able to source,identify and structure transactions in all main segments of our investmentfocus, including retail, office, residential sectors as well as landconsolidation. We are pleased with progress to date on all of our projects andare expecting the first shopping centre arising from our investment in HenrylandGroup Limited to open in early December. Development of other projects in theportfolio is also progressing according to plan." Tomas Fiala, Non-Executive Director, said "Our performance since the IPO and ourability to source a pipeline of potential projects with investment potential ofover USD $1.2 billion helped DUPD to complete the placing, receiving supportfrom several of the world's largest investment banks and asset managementinstitutions. We strive to maintain a strong culture of selectivity by pursuingonly those investments where we feel we can add substantial value and deploy ourresources, both capital and sector expertise, in the most effective manner. Webelieve that Ukraine remains one of a few countries where there is evidence of acontinuing positive yield shift, which should have a positive impact on thevalue of assets currently under development." Application has been made for 36,630,100 new ordinary shares to be admitted totrading on AIM on 29 November. The new ordinary shares will rank pari passu withthe existing ordinary shares in issue. Total voting rights in the share capitalwill be 140,630,300 ordinary shares on 29 November 2007. Contact Dragon Ukrainian Properties & Development PlcTomas Fiala+380 44 490 7120 Zimmerman Adams International - Nominated Adviser and BrokerRay Zimmerman/Jonathan Evans+44 (0)20 7060 1760 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange