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21 Jun 2021 13:04
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ZEGONA COMMUNICATIONS PLC ("Zegona")
LEI: 213800ASI1VZL2ED4S65
21 JUNE 2021
ZEGONA STARTS RETURNING CASH TO SHAREHOLDERS WITH £5.7 MILLION DIVIDEND PAYMENT
On 28 March 2021, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MasMovil Ibercom, S.A.U. ("MasMovil"), a portfolio company of the private equity funds KKR, Providence and Cinven, launched a tender offer to acquire 100% of Euskaltel, S.A. ("Euskaltel") for €11.17 per share in cash (the "Offer"). On 2 June 2021, Euskaltel shareholders approved a €0.17 per share dividend which was paid on 17 June 2021. On 18 June[1], Masmovil confirmed, in accordance with its Offer terms, that as a result of Euskaltel's dividend the Offer price will now be reduced by €0.17 to €11.00.
On 24 May 2021, Zegona announced its intention to return £335 million of the proceeds from the successful sale of its investment in Euskaltel[2] to its shareholders as soon as is reasonably practicable. Zegona is now following through on this commitment, with its Board of Directors today declaring an interim dividend of 2.6 pence per share which returns the full dividend received from Euskaltel. This is consistent with Zegona's existing policy to pass 100% of all Euskaltel dividends straight through to its shareholders.
After payment of this 2.6 pence per share dividend, Zegona remains committed to returning the balance of the £335 million from the successful sale of its investment in Euskaltel[3]. This capital return will be implemented as soon as is reasonably practicable once the funds have been received, using the mechanism which the directors believe offers the best combination of timeliness, cost effectiveness and tax efficiency.
The timetable for Zegona's dividend is[4]:
Ex-dividend date 1 July 2021
Record date 2 July 2021
Payment of the dividend 23 July 2021
Enquiries
Tavistock (Public Relations adviser - UK)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7920 3150
Jos Simson - jos.simson@tavistock.co.uk
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Zegona is listed on the standard listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Main Market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange. This announcement has been prepared in accordance with English law, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside England.
The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction. None of the content of https://www.cnmv.es, https://Zegona.com nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on either website or any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in Zegona.
[1] See https://www.cnmv.es/Portal/verDoc.axd?t={6dace521-5969-4e81-b548-bc73d0fb5793}
[2] See https://www.zegona.com/~/media/Files/Z/Zegona/press-release/21-05-24-return-of-335m-final.pdf the capital return will be conditional upon the closing of MasMovil's Offer and subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including the receipt of the required shareholder and court approvals and such other third-party approvals as reasonably required, which the Company has undertaken to use all reasonable endeavours promptly to procure.
[3] This will result in a capital return of £329.3 million after the payment of £5,693,221 for this dividend.
[4] The payment of the dividend to eligible holders of shares is expected to be effected through CREST or by BACS/cheque (in the case of shares held in certificated form).
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