Last checked at 2 Oct 2017 07:00
2 October 2017
Versarien plc
("Versarien" or the "Company")
Award of Share Options to Directors
Versarien (AIM: VRS), the advanced engineering materials group, announces that the Board has issued options over an aggregate of 5,253,228 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company ("Share Options"), on the recommendation of the Company's Remuneration Committee, as detailed below. The Share Options represent 4.0 per cent of the Company's current issued share capital.
Neill Ricketts, Chief Executive Officer, and Christopher Leigh, Chief Financial Officer, have each been awarded 2,626,614 Share Options under the Company's Employee Share Option Plan 2013. The Share Options will vest and may be exercised on the following basis:
· One-third on or after 2 October 2020 ("Vesting Period 1");
· One-third on or after 2 October 2021 ("Vesting Period 2");
· One-third on or after 2 October 2022 ("Vesting Period 3").
The exercise price for the Share Options is 15p.
The Share Options may be exercised upon vesting subject to certain performance criteria, principally the Company's average share price in the 30 days prior to exercise being not less than 30p prior to Vesting Period 1 exercise, 35p prior to Vesting Period 2 exercise and 40p prior to Vesting Period 3 exercise.
Following the grant of the Share Options, Neill Rickets is interested in 15,375,000 Versarien ordinary shares, representing 11.71 per cent of the Company's issued share capital and options over a further 4,206,095 ordinary shares. Christopher Leigh is interested in 315,000 Versarien ordinary shares, representing 0.24 per cent of the Company's issued share capital and options over a further 4,206,095 ordinary shares.
Enquiries:
Versarien 01242 269 122
Neill Ricketts, CEO
Chris Leigh, CFO
WH Ireland (Nominated Advisor) 0117 945 3470
Mike Coe / Ed Allsopp
IFC Advisory (Financial PR and IR) 0203 053 8671
Tim Metcalfe
Graham Herring
Heather Armstrong
About Versarien
Versarien plc (AIM:VRS), is an advanced engineering materials group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range of industries. Versarien has five subsidiaries operating under two divisions:
Thermal and Hard Wear Products
Versarien Technologies Ltd. which owns the exclusive rights to a patent-protected additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and manufactures extruded aluminium heat sinks for the electronics and computing industries. www.versarien-technologies.co.uk
Total Carbide Ltd, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com
Graphene and Plastics
2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products. www.2-dtech.com
ACC Cyroma Ltd, which specialises in the supply of vacuum-formed and injection-moulded products to the automotive, construction, utilities and retail industry sectors. Using Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC will have the ability to produce graphene-enhanced plastic products. www.aaccyroma.co.uk
Cambridge Graphene Ltd, which supplies novel inks based on graphene and related materials, using patented processes and develops graphene materials technology for licensing to manufacturers. www.cambridgegraphene.com