KCT.L Regulatory News (KCT)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11 March 2024

Kin and Carta plc ("Kin and Carta")

LAPSE OF OFFER BY KELVIN UK BIDCO LIMITED ("APAX") FOR KIN AND CARTA AND VALTECH ACQUISITION UPDATE

On 18 October 2023, the boards of directors of Kin and Carta and Apax announced they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash acquisition of the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Kin and Carta (the "Original Apax Offer"). Apax subsequently announced an increased offer of 120 pence in cash for each Kin and Carta Share (the "Revised Apax Offer"). 

On 19 December 2023, the boards of directors of Kin and Carta and Valtech announced they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash acquisition of the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Kin and Carta by Valtech at an offer price of 130 pence per Kin and Carta Share (the "Valtech Acquisition") and withdrew their recommendation of the Revised Apax Offer.

On 15 January 2024, the scheme document in respect of the Valtech Acquisition (the "Scheme Document") was published and made available to Kin and Carta Shareholders and, on 15 February 2024, the requisite majority of Scheme Shareholders voted in favour of (i) the resolution to approve the Scheme at the Court Meeting; and (ii) the Special Resolution at the General Meeting.

Update on Revised Apax Offer

The Kin and Carta Directors note the announcement published by Apax earlier today that the Revised Apax Offer has now lapsed in accordance with its terms.

Update on Expected Valtech Timetable and Regulatory Conditions

The Valtech Acquisition is conditional on, among other things, certain antitrust, foreign investment and regulatory clearances. The Kin and Carta Directors are pleased to confirm that all the regulatory conditions set out in Conditions 3.1 to 3.6 of the Scheme Document have now been satisfied, other than (i) the receipt of merger control clearance in Bulgaria; and (ii) the receipt of merger control clearance in Kosovo. These clearances are expected to be received within the current transaction timetable and therefore the Kin and Carta Directors continue to expect that the Scheme will become Effective by the end of April 2024.

Capitalised terms used in this announcement shall, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document. All references to times in this announcement are to London, United Kingdom times unless stated otherwise.

Enquiries

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Citigroup Global Markets Limited ("Citi"), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and the PRA, is acting as financial adviser for Kin and Carta and for no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Kin and Carta for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citi nor for providing advice in connection with the contents of this announcement, or any other matters referred to in this announcement. Neither Citi nor any of its affiliates, directors or employees owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, consequential, whether in contract, in tort, in delict, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Citi in connection with the Acquisition, this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Numis Securities Limited ("Deutsche Numis") which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Kin and Carta and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Kin and Carta for providing the protections afforded to clients of Deutsche Numis nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to in this announcement or any transaction or arrangement referred to herein. Deutsche Numis is not responsible for the contents of this announcement. Neither Deutsche Numis nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Deutsche Numis in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, any transaction or arrangement referred to herein, or otherwise.

Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt") which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Kin and Carta and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Kin and Carta for providing the protections afforded to clients of Peel Hunt nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to in this announcement or any transaction or arrangement referred to herein. Peel Hunt is not responsible for the contents of this announcement. Neither Peel Hunt nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Peel Hunt in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, any transaction or arrangement referred to herein, or otherwise.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not, constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities of Kin and Carta in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. The Acquisition will be implemented solely pursuant to the terms of the Scheme Document, which contains the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition, including details of how to vote in respect of the Acquisition. Any vote in respect of the Scheme or other response in relation to the Acquisition should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Scheme Document.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus, prospectus equivalent document or exempted document.

The Acquisition shall be subject to, among other things, the applicable requirements of the Code, the Panel, the London Stock Exchange and the FCA.

The statements contained in this announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice.

If you are in any doubt about the contents of this announcement or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or independent financial adviser duly authorised under FSMA if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.

Forward looking statements

This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement), oral statements made regarding the Acquisition, and other information published by Valtech and Kin and Carta contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of the management of Valtech and Kin and Carta about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement include statements relating to the expected effects of the Acquisition on Valtech and Kin and Carta (including their future prospects, developments and strategies), the expected timing and scope of the Acquisition and other statements other than historical facts. In some cases, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "prepares", "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "is subject to", "budget", "projects", "synergy", "strategy", "scheduled", "goal", "estimates", "forecasts", "cost-saving", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward looking statements may include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Valtech's, Kin and Carta's, any member of the Valtech Group's or any member of the Kin and Carta Group's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Acquisition; and (iii) the effects of global economic conditions and governmental regulation on Valtech's, Kin and Carta's, any member of the Valtech Group's or any member of the Kin and Carta Group's business.

Although Valtech and Kin and Carta believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, Valtech and Kin and Carta can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors include, but are not limited to: the ability to complete the Acquisition; the ability to obtain requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals and the satisfaction of other Conditions on the proposed terms and schedule; changes in the global political, economic, business and competitive environments and in market and regulatory forces; changes in future exchange and interest rates; changes in tax rates; future business combinations or disposals; changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in the behaviour of other market participants, changes in the anticipated benefits from the Acquisition not being realised as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions in the countries in which Valtech and Kin and Carta operate, weak, volatile or illiquid capital and/or credit markets, changes in tax rates, interest rate and currency value fluctuations, the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which Valtech and Kin and Carta operate and changes in laws or in supervisory expectations or requirements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected, estimated or projected in the forward-looking statements. If any one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialises or if any one or more of the assumptions proves incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors. Neither Valtech nor Kin and Carta, nor any of their respective associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this announcement will actually occur. Given these risks and uncertainties, potential investors should not place any reliance on forward looking statements.

Specifically, statements of estimated cost savings and synergies relate to future actions and circumstances which, by their nature, involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies. As a result, the cost savings and synergies referred to may not be achieved, may be achieved later or sooner than estimated, or those achieved could be materially different from those estimated.

The forward-looking statements speak only at the date of this announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to any member of the Valtech Group or any member of the Kin and Carta Group, or any of their respective associates, directors, officers, employees or advisers, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above.

Other than in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations, neither Valtech nor Kin and Carta is under any obligation, and Valtech and Kin and Carta expressly disclaim any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Opening Position Disclosure and Dealing Disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1 per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) of the Code applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1 per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

Publication on a website

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on Kin and Carta's website at https://investors.kinandcarta.com by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the Business Day following this announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, neither the content of this website nor of any website accessible from hyperlinks is incorporated by reference or forms part of this announcement.

No profit forecasts, estimates or quantified benefits statements

No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast, profit estimate or quantified benefits statement for any period and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share for Kin and Carta for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share for Kin and Carta.

Requesting hard copy documents

In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, Kin and Carta Shareholders, persons with information rights and participants in Kin and Carta Share Plans may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Kin and Carta's receiving agents, Link Group, between 9.00 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. (London time) Monday to Friday (except UK public holidays) on 0371 664 0321 from within the UK or on +44 371 664 0321 if calling from outside the UK or by submitting a request in writing to Link Group, Corporate Actions, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL. Calls are charged at the standard geographical rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. Please note that Link Group cannot provide any financial, legal or tax advice and calls may be recorded and monitored for security and training purposes.

For persons who receive a copy of this announcement in electronic form or via a website notification, a hard copy of this announcement will not be sent unless so requested. Such persons may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form.

Electronic communications

Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain other information provided by Kin and Carta Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons for the receipt of communications from Kin and Carta may be provided to Valtech during the Offer Period as required under Section 4 of Appendix 4 of the Code to comply with Rule 2.11(c) of the Code.