Hilton Food Group PLC Result of Placing (9194T)

TIDMHFG

RNS Number : 9194T

Hilton Food Group PLC

18 October 2017

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014).

18 October 2017

Hilton Food Group plc ("Hilton" or the "Company")

Result of Placing

Hilton (LSE: HFG), a leading specialist international meat packing business, is pleased to announce the result of the placing announced earlier today (the "Placing").

A total of 7,350,000 new ordinary shares in the Company of 10p each (the "Placing Shares") have been conditionally placed at a price of 760p per Placing Share (the "Placing Price"), raising proceeds of GBP55.9 million (before expenses) to part-fund the proposed acquisition of Icelandic Group UK Limited ("Seachill"), a leading chilled fish processor in the UK ("the Acquisition").

The Placing Shares to be issued represent approximately 9.93% of the Company's existing issued ordinary share capital. The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 3.7% to the closing price of 789p on 17 October 2017.

Numis Securities Limited ("Numis") and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited ("Panmure Gordon", and together with Numis, the "Bookrunners") have acted as joint bookrunners in respect of the Placing. Other than where defined, capitalised terms used in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the announcement released by the Company this morning at 7.00am.

Director participation

The participation of Directors of Hilton who have taken up Placing Shares at the Placing Price is as follows:

 
 Director              Interest     Aggregate        Number      Aggregate        Resulting 
                    in Ordinary         value    of Placing       interest          holding 
                         Shares    of Placing        Shares    in Ordinary      of Ordinary 
                          as at        Shares         to be         Shares           Shares 
                     17 October         to be      acquired      following          as % of 
                           2017      acquired                  the Placing         enlarged 
                                        (GBP)                                        issued 
                                                                              share capital 
----------------  -------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------- 
 Nigel Majewski          93,715     49,992.80         6,578        100,293            0.12% 
----------------  -------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------- 
 Colin Smith             50,000     24,996.40         3,289         53,289            0.07% 
----------------  -------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------- 
 John Worby               7,000     15,200.00         2,000          9,000            0.01% 
----------------  -------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------- 
 Christine 
  Cross                   5,000     76,000.00        10,000         15,000            0.02% 
----------------  -------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------- 
 

Admission

The Company will apply for admission of the Placing Shares to listing on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") and to trading on the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc (together, "Admission"). The Placing is conditional upon, inter alia, Admission becoming effective and the Acquisition Agreement in relation to Seachill having become unconditional (save as to Admission). It is expected that settlement of subscriptions in respect of the Placing Shares and Admission will take place and that trading in the Placing Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 7 November 2017, which follows the Hilton general meeting at 10a.m. on 6 November 2017.

For further information please contact:

 
 Hilton Food Group plc      Tel: [phone] 
 Robert Watson OBE, Group 
  Chief Executive 
 Nigel Majewski, Chief 
  Financial Officer 
 
 Numis                      Tel: [phone] 
  Mark Lander 
  Luke Bordewich 
  Andrew Hackney 
 
  Panmure Gordon             Tel: [phone] 
  Erik Anderson 
  Andrew Godber 
  Tom Salvesen 
 
  Citigate Dew Rogerson      Tel: [phone] 
 Angharad Couch 
  Ellen Wilton 
 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Bookrunners, which are both authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, are acting for the Company and for no-one else in connection with the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of the Bookrunners, or for providing advice in relation to the contents of this announcement or any matters referred to herein.

Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Numis and/or Panmure Gordon under FSMA or the regulatory regime established thereunder, neither Numis nor Panmure Gordon accept any responsibility whatsoever and make no representation or warranty, express or implied, concerning the contents of this announcement including its accuracy, completeness and verification or concerning any other statement made or purported to be made by it or on behalf of it, in connection with the Company and the Acquisition. Numis and Panmure Gordon accordingly disclaim to the fullest extent permitted by law all and any responsibility and liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to herein) which it might otherwise have in respect of this document or any such statement.

Certain statements in this announcement may be forward-looking. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance or guarantee that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements.

Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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October 18, 2017 03:52 ET (07:52 GMT)