Stirling Industries PLC Update on proposed acquisition (1482Q)

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RNS Number : 1482Q

Stirling Industries PLC

17 October 2019

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATES OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES"), CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR IN OR INTO ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY ANY APPLICABLE LAW.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE, CONTAIN OR FORM PART OF AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE OR A SOLICITATION TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE, ANY SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH ANY SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Stirling Industries plc

("Stirling" or the "Company")

Update on proposed acquisition of Ipsen International

Following the announcement of 4 September, in which Stirling (AIM: STRL.L) confirmed it is in discussions to acquire Ipsen International GmbH ("Ipsen"), (the "Transaction) the Company has been exploring a variety of solutions with potential providers of equity and private capital that would enable the Transaction to proceed.

Deteriorating capital market conditions, caused by global trade and geopolitical tensions, have continued to weigh on investor sentiment, leading many institutional investors to adopt a cautious stance, such that the Company acknowledges the transaction cannot be funded through the public markets at this time.

Consequently, the Company is continuing to consider alternative sources of funding for the Transaction. This would enable it to implement its plans for Ipsen and/or monetise the considerable due diligence undertaken on the Transaction in the interests of the Company's shareholders.

However, in the meantime, the Company is taking steps to reduce its cost base and, as it does not have the financial resources to explore further opportunities, is making preparations for the winding up of the Company with the return of any net proceeds to shareholders, providing for the eventuality that no deliverable proposals to support the acquisition of Ipsen emerge in the near future.

The shares remain suspended pending a further announcement.

Blair Illingworth, Chief Executive, said:

"Having undertaken detailed due diligence on Ipsen, we know it to be a high-quality business with significant potential to grow, driven by its world-class technology, engineering capabilities and diverse geographical revenues. We remain convinced that Ipsen has an exciting future ahead of it."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) NO. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Stirling is Simon Thomas, Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary of Stirling.

- Ends -

For more information contact:

 
 Stirling Industries plc 
  Blair Illingworth, Chief Executive 
  c/o Montfort Communications                          [phone] 
 Montfort Communications - Financial Communications 
  Olly Scott                                           [phone] 
 Numis Securities - Nominated Adviser and 
  Broker 
  Luke Bordewich 
  Ben Stoop                                            [phone] 
 

Numis Securities Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting only for the Company in connection with the matters described in this announcement and is not acting for or advising any other person, or treating any other person as its client, in relation thereto and will not be responsible for providing the regulatory protection afforded to its clients or advice to any other person in relation to the matters contained herein.

About Stirling

Stirling has been established to offer a differentiated management and ownership approach for industrial businesses where the strategic and operational expertise of its team combines with that of the portfolio company's management to drive and enable improvements that create long-term shareholder value.

The Company focuses on acquiring businesses with strong fundamentals and enterprise values between GBP100 million and GBP750 million. Transactions will be financed through a combination of new equity and prudent leverage, with the Company's target debt to be no more than 2.5x the Company's EBITDA.

Stirling's approach begins with the belief that many companies have the potential to achieve material operational enhancement and margin improvement. Stirling's value add is to ensure operating assets have the right strategy, the right focused leadership, empowered and incentivised management teams and the appropriate capital investment to support growth.

The Company's leadership team has significant experience of identifying the key value drivers of a given business, implementing change strategies across a diverse range of industries and delivering significant operational value creation.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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October 17, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)