25 Feb 2013 07:00
25 February 2013
Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited
("Great Eastern" or the "Company")
Extraordinary General Meeting - Initial Public Offering in India
Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (LSE: GEEC), the fully integrated, leading Indian Coal Bed Methane (CBM) company is pleased to announce that it is seeking shareholders' approval to conduct an Initial Public Offering ("Indian IPO") in India in order to raise further capital and to achieve a listing of its Ordinary Shares on the Indian Stock Exchanges alongside its existing listing of Global Depository Receipts ("GDRs") on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The Company has issued a notice to shareholders for convening an Extraordinary General Meeting (the "EGM") to be held on March 26, 2013, and to seek shareholders' approval for the following proposals linked to the Indian IPO:
1. Authorisation for the issue of up to 8 million Ordinary Shares for the Indian IPO.
2. Authorisation to increase the authorised share capital of the Company by 5 million Ordinary Shares.
3. An amendment to the Articles of Association of the Company in compliance with the guidelines governing listing in India.
4. An amendment to the existing Employee Stock Option Plan of the Company in compliance with the guidelines governing listing in India.
The above-mentioned proposals will not have any effect on the rights of the existing shareholders / GDR holders of the Company.
Up to 8 million Ordinary Shares is equivalent to an increase of up to 13.43% per cent in the existing issued shares in the Company. There are currently 59,561,950 Ordinary Shares in issue, of which 36,919,873 are in and trade under the existing UK GDR programme.
Reasons for the Indian IPO
The Indian IPO is being conducted in order to raise further funds for the Company, to increase liquidity in its public shares, and also help raise awareness in the markets in which it operates. It is anticipated that these funds will be allocated towards the acceleration of the Company's next phase of drilling and well development, acquisition of new acreages in CBM, repayment of debt or any other object/s as Board or its committee may decide from time to time. The allocation of such funds is yet to be finalised and will depend on the total amount raised, which in turn is dependent on the price determined through the book building process. It is intended to list the Ordinary Shares on the BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited and such other recognized stock exchanges as may be determined by the Board from time to time.
A copy of the notice along with the Explanatory Statement sent to shareholders for convening the EGM is available on the Company's website:
http://www.geecl.com/GEEC/pdf/Shareholder_Notice/Notice-EGM-03-13.pdf
The said notice has also been forwarded to the depository, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas on behalf of GDR holders. Holders of GDRs in the Company who have not received a copy of the notice may obtain a copy from the Company's website.
Y.K. Modi, Chairman and CEO of Great Eastern Energy, said:
"As an Indian company this is a natural progression in the Company's development. Our listing in London has been, and continues to be, a great help in achieving the significant growth we have seen since joining the London Stock Exchange in 2008, and this new listing in India will help boost liquidity and drive future growth."
For Further Information please contact:
Great Eastern Energy
Yogendra Kr. Modi Chairman & CEO +44 (0)20 7337 1516
Prashant Modi President & COO
Arden Partners
Richard Day +44 (0)20 7614 5917
Goldman Sachs International
James Anderson +44 (0)20 7774 1000
M: Communications
Ann-marie Wilkinson +44 (0)20 7920 2330
Andrew Benbow
Notes to Editors
Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd is a public limited company incorporated in India in 1992 to explore, develop, distribute and market Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in India.
In December 2005, the Company joined the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange though a Global Depositary Receipts ("GDR") programme, becoming the first Indian Company to have its primary listing on AIM. In May 2010, the listing was moved to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Each GDR represents 0.5 Ordinary Shares of INR 10 each. The entire paid up capital of the Company comprises of 59,561,950 shares, which equates to 119,123,900 GDRs. Therefore, the company's notional market capitalisation on February 22, 2013 was GBP 320.15 million.