PTCM.L Regulatory News (PTCM)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO BE UNLAWFUL.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2 September 2019

Recommended All-Share Merger

of

Porta Communications plc

and

SEC S.p.A.

Court Sanction of the Scheme of Arrangement

Further to the announcement of 30 August 2019, Porta Communications plc ("Porta") is pleased to announce that the Court has today made an order to sanction the Scheme. Accordingly, the last day of dealings in, and registration of transfers of, Porta Shares on AIM is today. CREST disablement will be effective from 5.00 p.m. today with the Scheme Record time for Porta Scheme Shareholders being 6.00pm today. Trading in Porta Shares on AIM will be suspended with effect from 8.00 a.m. on 3 September 2019.

The Scheme will become Effective on delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies, which is expected to take place on 3 September 2019, a further announcement will be made at that time. Porta has applied to the London Stock Exchange for the cancellation of admission to trading of the Porta Shares on AIM, which is expected to take effect at 7.00 a.m. on 4 September 2019. Following the Effective Date, share certificates in respect of Porta Shares will cease to be valid and entitlements to Porta Shares held within the CREST system will be cancelled.

Enquiries:

Grant Thornton UK LLP, which, in the United Kingdom, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Porta and no one else in connection with the Merger and will not be responsible to anyone other than Porta for providing the protections afforded to clients of Grant Thornton UK LLP nor for providing advice in relation to the Merger or any other matter or arrangement referred to in this announcement.

Arden Partners plc, which, in the United Kingdom, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for SEC and no one else in connection with the Merger and will not be responsible to anyone other than SEC for providing the protections afforded to clients of Arden Partners plc nor for providing advice in relation to the Merger or any other matter or arrangement referred to in this announcement.

Disclosure requirements of the Code

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% 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) 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% 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, 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 Takeover 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 websites

A copy of this announcement is available free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on SEC's and Porta's websites at https://www.secglobal.com/investors/proposed-merger-with-porta/ and www.portacomms.com respectively, up to and including the Effective Date.

For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the websites referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.