Petards Regulatory News (PEG)

22 Apr 2008 09:18

Petards Group PLC22 April 2008 Petards Group plc Statement re. Possible Offer Not for release, publication or distribution in whole or in part, in or into theUnited States, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of Ireland Petards Group plc ("Petards" or the "Company") Statement re. Possible Offer and Rule 2.10 announcement The Board of Petards announces that it is in discussions with a number ofparties concerning the potential sale of the Company and/or one of its divisionsor, alternatively, a refinancing of the business by a third party. Suchdiscussions may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company or theacquisition of a division of the Company or a refinancing of the business. TheBoard of Petards, which is being advised by Collins Stewart Europe Limited,wishes to stress that the approaches and the resulting discussions are atvarying stages of advancement and there can be no certainty that any of theapproaches will lead to an offer being made for the Company or the acquisitionof any of its divisions or a refinancing of the business. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate. In accordance with Rule 2.10 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, theCompany confirms that it has 636,706,423 ordinary shares of 1 pence each inissue. The ISIN reference for these securities is GB0030040090. 22 April 2008 Contact: Tim Wightman, Chairman + 44 (0) 1789 262664 Petards Group plc Mark Connelly/ Stewart Wallace + 44 (0) 207 523 8350 Collins Stewart Europe Limited Collins Stewart Europe Limited ("Collins Stewart") which is regulated in theUnited Kingdom by The Financial Services Authority is acting for the Company inrelation to the matters described in this announcement and is not advising anyother person, and accordingly will not be responsible to anyone other than theCompany for providing the protections afforded to customers of Collins Stewartor for providing advice in relation to the matters described in thisannouncement. Dealing disclosure requirements Under the provisions of Rule 8.3 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the"Code"), if any person is, or becomes, "interested" (directly or indirectly) in1% or more of any class of "relevant securities" of the Company, all "dealings"in any "relevant securities" of the Company (including by means of an option inrespect of, or a derivative referenced to, any such "relevant securities") mustbe publicly disclosed by no later than 3.30pm (London time) on the Londonbusiness day following the date of the relevant transaction. This requirementwill continue until the date on which the offer becomes, or is declared,unconditional as to acceptances, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn or on whichthe "offer period" otherwise ends. If two or more persons act together pursuantto an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire an "interest" in "relevant securities" of the Company, they will be deemed to be asingle person for the purpose of Rule 8.3. Under the provisions of Rule 8.1 of the Code, all "dealings" in "relevantsecurities" of the Company by the Company or by any of its respective "associates", must be disclosed by no later than 12.00 noon (London time) on theLondon business day following the date of the relevant transaction. A disclosure table, giving details of the companies in whose 'relevantsecurities' 'dealings' should be disclosed, and the number of such securities inissue, can be found on the Takeover Panel's website atwww.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk . "Interests in securities" arise, in summary, when a person has long economicexposure, whether conditional or absolute, to changes in price or securities.In particular, a person will be treated as having an "interest" by virtue of theownership or control of securities, or by virtue of any option in respect of, orderivative referenced to, securities. Terms in quotation marks are defined in the Code, which can be found on thePanel's website. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not you are requiredto disclose a "dealing" under Rule 8, you should consult the Panel. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange