Gooch & Housego Regulatory News (GHH)

6 Mar 2006 07:02

Gooch & Housego PLC06 March 2006 For Immediate Release 6 March 2006 Gooch & Housego PLC Institutional Placing of Gooch Family Shares The Gooch family and their various family and charitable trusts ("the GoochFamily") today announce that they have reduced their holding in Gooch & HousegoPlc. Gooch & Housego PLC ("Gooch & Housego" or "the Company"), the specialistmanufacturer of acoustic-optic and electro-optic devices, precision opticalcomponents, crystals, instruments for measuring optical radiation andhyperspectral imaging systems, announces that the Gooch Family has reduced itsshareholding in Gooch & Housego from 40.8% to 30.8% by selling 1,800,000 sharesat 360p per share (the "Sale Shares") to institutional investors through OrielSecurities Limited. The exact details of the disposals and the underlying beneficiaries who soldthem and the resulting holdings of the various "Gooch Family" Interests, are asfollows: +-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+|Beneficiary |No. of |% of issued |No of shares |% of issued share || |Shares |share capital |remaining to |capital remaining to|| |disposed of:|disposed |be held |be held |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+|The Gooch | | | | ||1997 | | | | ||Discretionary| 1,200,000 | 6.7% | 1,799,880 | 10.0% ||Settlement | | | | |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+|The Gooch | | | | ||Charitable | | | | ||Trust | | | | ||(Ilminster) | 200,000 | 1.1% | 77,000 | 0.4% |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+|Heather | 400,000 | 2.2% | 2,333,226 | 13.0% ||Virgin | | | | |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+|Others | Nil| Nil| 1,341,173 | 7.4% |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+| Total | 1,800,000 | 10.0% | 5,551,279 | 30.8% |+-------------+------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------+ Following the share sale referred to in this announcement, the Gooch Family andthe trustees have indicated that they have no intention of selling furthershares for the foreseeable future. Commenting on this announcement, Gareth Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch& Housego, said: "This is a positive development for Gooch & Housego. The Gooch Family'sreduction in its shareholding in Gooch & Housego marks another milestone in thegrowth of our business and has enabled the Company to broaden its institutionalshareholder base significantly. The Company's shareholder register isstrengthened as a result and we would anticipate that future liquidity will beenhanced. I would like to both welcome our new shareholders to Gooch & Housegoand to record my thanks for the Gooch Family's historic and continued supportfor the Company." For further information please contact Gareth Jones, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 01460 52271Tim Thompson, Buchanan Communication Ltd, 020 7466 5000Andrew Edwards, Oriel Securities Limited, 020 7710 7600 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange