WHIreland Regulatory News (WHI)

5 Oct 2007 09:48

W.H. Ireland Group PLC05 October 2007 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTIONWHERE TO DO THE SAME WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCHJURISDICTION 5 October 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WH Ireland Group plc ("WH Ireland" or the "Company") Preliminary Approach The Board of WH Ireland notes the recent share price movement and confirms thatit has recently received a number of approaches regarding a potential offer forthe Company. The Board is considering these matters, which are at a very earlystage. There can be no guarantee of any offer being made for the Company. A further announcement will be made in due course. Pursuant to Rule 2.10 of the City Code, WH Ireland announces that it has16,840,211 ordinary shares of 5p each in issue. Enquiries: WH Ireland Group plc 0161 832 6644 Laurie Beevers, Chief Executive N M Rothschild & Sons Limited 0161 827 3800 Greg Cant Biddicks 0207 448 1000 Zoe Biddick Sophie Lane The Directors of WH Ireland accept responsibility for the information containedin this announcement. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the Directors,who have taken all reasonable care to ensure such is the case, the informationcontained in this announcement is in accordance with the facts and does not omitanything likely to affect the importance of such information. N M Rothschild & Sons Limited is acting for WH Ireland and no one else inconnection with this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone otherthan WH Ireland for providing the protections afforded to clients of N MRothschild & Sons Limited or for providing advice in relation to the contents ofthis announcement. 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 WH Ireland, all " dealings"in any "relevant securities" of that 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until the date on which the offer becomes, or is declared,unconditional as to acceptances, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn or on whichthe "offer period" otherwise ends.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 WH Ireland, 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 WH Ireland by WH Ireland, or by any of their 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 the price ofsecurities. In particular, a person will be treated as having an "interest" byvirtue of the ownership or control of securities, or by the virtue of any optionin respect of, or derivative referenced to, securities. Terms in quotation marks are defined in the Code, which can also 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