Placing

23 Jun 2005 07:00

Pure Wafer PLC23 June 2005 23 JUNE 2005 PURE WAFER PLC ("Pure Wafer" or "the Company") PLACING OF SHARES DIRECTORS' SHAREHOLDINGS Pure Wafer announces that its broker, Numis Securities Limited, yesterday placeda total of 7,310,062 ordinary shares of the Company with a range ofinstitutional investors and with three directors of the Company at a price of145p per share. These shares have been placed on behalf of two of the Company'sfounding shareholders, IBM and Bank of Scotland. Prior to the placing, IBM owned4,208,711 ordinary shares of the Company, representing 15.89% of the Company'sissued share capital and Bank of Scotland owned 3,101,151 ordinary shares of theCompany, representing 11.70% of the Company's issued share capital. Followingthe placing, neither IBM nor Bank of Scotland will own any ordinary shares ofthe Company. The placing follows the expiry on 20 June 2004 of a lock-in agreement enteredinto by, inter alia, IBM and Bank of Scotland not to sell any of their ordinaryshares in the Company for a period of 6 months from the Company's admission toAIM, which took place on 20 December 2004. Funds advised by Apax Partners, which also entered into the above lock-inagreement, have not sold any of their shares and thus continue to own 13,742,540ordinary shares representing 51.87% of the Company's issued share capital. Of the shares placed on behalf of IBM and Bank of Scotland, 100,000 shares havebeen placed with Giles Clarke, Pure Wafer's Chairman, 7,000 have been placedwith Keith Baker, Chief Executive and 7,000 have been placed with PeterHarrington, an Executive Director. Following the placing, Giles Clarke's, KeithBaker's and Peter Harrington's interests in the Company's issued share capitalare as follows: Director No. of shares % of issued No. of shares held % of issued previously held share capital following the placing share capital Giles Clarke 59,482 0.22% 159,482 0.60%Keith Baker 163,921 0.62% 170,921 0.65%Peter Harrington 163,921 0.62% 170,921 0.65% ENQUIRIES Pure Wafer plc (www.purewafer.com) Tel. +44 (0)1792 311 203Keith Baker, Chief Executive or +44 (0)7730 833111 ICIS Tel. +44 (0)20 7651 8688Tom Moriarty or +44 (0)7802 442486Archie Berens This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange