Inspiration Hlt Regulatory News (IHC)

11 Oct 2007 14:10

India Hospitality Corp.11 October 2007 For Immediate Release 11 October 2007 INDIA HOSPITALITY CORP. Application for admission of shares and warrants to the CREST system New York, NY. - October 11, 2007 - India Hospitality Corp. (LSE: IHC, "IHC" or "India Hospitality"), today announced that it has applied for admission ofde-materialized depositary interests representing its shares and warrants to theCREST system. The CREST settlement system allows securities to be transferredfrom one CREST account to another without the need to use share certificates,warrants or written instruments of transfer. IHC believes that admission to theCREST system will facilitate settlement of its shares and warrants in a moretimely and efficient manner and benefit its shareholders. Securities issued by non-U.K. companies, such as IHC, cannot be held ortransferred in the CREST system. However, to enable investors to settle suchsecurities through the CREST system, a depositary or custodian can hold therelevant securities and issue de-materialized depositary interests representingthe underlying securities, which are held in trust for the holders of thedepositary interests. It will be possible for CREST members to hold and transferinterests in shares or warrants within CREST pursuant to a depositary interestarrangement to be established by IHC with Capita IRG Trustees Limited (the"Depositary"). The shares and warrants will not themselves be admitted to CREST.Instead, the Depositary will issue depositary interests in respect of theunderlying shares and warrants ("Depositary Interests"). The Depositary Interests will be independent securities constituted underEnglish law and may be held and transferred through the CREST system. DepositaryInterests will have the same ISIN as the underlying shares and warrants and willnot require a separate listing on AIM. The Depositary Interests will be createdand issued pursuant to a Deed Poll entered into by the Depositary, which willgovern the relationship between the Depositary and the holders of the DepositaryInterests. Application has been made for the Depositary Interests in respect of theunderlying shares and warrants to be admitted to CREST commencing on October 29,2007. If CREST members wish to trade the Depositary Interests instead of holdingphysical certificates, they can do so by submitting a stock deposit pursuant tostandard CREST procedures. Holders of certificated shares or warrants who arenot CREST members, but would like to dematerialize their shares or warrants, mayutilize a CREST transfer form. Transfers of the Depositary Interests will besubject to stamp duty reserve tax at the rate of 0.5%. Holders of shares or warrants who wish to continue holding and/or trading sharesor warrants in certificated form may continue to do so. Shares and warrants heldby IHC's "affiliates" (as defined under Rule 144 of the U.S. Securities Act of1933) will initially remain in certificated form. U.S. persons holding shares or warrants may still be subject to transferrestrictions under the U.S. securities laws requiring any resales to be pursuantto an exemption from the U.S. Securities Act, such as Rule 144A or Regulation S.Holders of shares or warrants should consult with their counsel with respect totransfer questions. CREST members may be required to submit a depositcertification form to Capita, certifying compliance with the relevant transferrestrictions imposed by U.S. securities law. The deposit certification form mustbe submitted to Capita no later than 6 hours after submission of a stock depositto CREST. For further details, please refer to CREST operational bulletin number 1281,issued on March 19, 2007, for the special procedures contained therein.About India Hospitality Corp. IHC was created as a blank-check company to acquire Indian businesses or assets in the hospitality, leisure, tourism, travel and related industries, including but not limited to hotels, resorts, timeshares, serviced apartments and restaurants. In August 2006, IHC raised US $103 million in an IPO and private placement and is listed on AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange plc, under the ticker IHC. IHC was sponsored and advised by Hayground Cove Asset Management LLC, a New York-based investment management firm with approximately US $1.9 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2007. In July 2007, IHC closed on the acquisition from Navis Capital Partners and its Affiliates of India-based Mars Restaurants Private Limited ("Mars"), an emerging hotel and restaurant company, and SkyGourmet Catering Private Limited ("SkyGourmet"), an airline catering company operating out of four locations in India. About Mars and SkyGourmet Since its incorporation in 2000, Mars has diversified into bakery outlets and operating and managing food courts and hotels. SkyGourmet was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Mumbai. SkyGourmet currently provides in-flight catering services to a number of domestic and international airlines, including Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Air France. It has operations in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune. For the nine months ended December 31, 2006, the combined entities had audited revenues of approximately US $18.9 million and 1,700 employees. For further information, please contact: Investor Relations Contact: 203-682-8200 ICR Inc. William Schmitt Media Contact: +44 207 466 5000 Buchanan Communications Richard Darby, Isabel Podda Nominated Adviser and Broker: +44 20 7545 8000 Deutsche Bank Mumtaz Naseem Deutsche Bank is IHC's nominated adviser and broker for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Its responsibilities as IHC's nominated adviser and broker under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to London Stock Exchange plc and not to IHC, any director of IHC or any other person. No offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for ordinary shares in or warrants to purchase or subscribe for ordinary shares or warrants of IHC is being made by this announcement. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange