Tau Capital PLC Conditional sale of holding in Stopharm LLC (9315Y)

TIDMTAU

RNS Number : 9315Y

Tau Capital PLC

28 August 2018

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Tau Capital plc

("Tau" or the "Company")

Conditional sale of holding in Stopharm LLC

Tau Capital plc announces that on Saturday 25 August 2018, its wholly owned subsidiary company, Tau SPV 1 Cooperatief W.A. ("TAU SPV") entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to sell its remaining investment, an approximately 40.35% holding in Stopharm LLC ("Stopharm"), to Aldar Orazbekovich Beisembayev (the "Buyer"), a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, for a gross consideration of KZT 443.85 million (approximately USD 1.23 million).

The aggregate net proceeds from the sale, after allowing for transaction and other costs, are estimated to be approximately USD 1.1 million and will be paid up to Tau. The sale is subject to bank approval, approval of the Company's shareholders, waiver of pre-emption rights by the participants in Stopharm, and regulatory approvals in Kazakhstan which are expected to take up to 60 days to obtain.

The Share Purchase Agreement contains an undertaking from the Buyer, should the Buyer transfer the holding in Stopharm within 12 months of the closing date of the Share Purchase Agreement, to pay to TAU SPV 25% of any excess consideration received by the Buyer over the purchase price received by TAU SPV pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement.

The Share Purchase Agreement includes a Long Stop date of 24 October being 60 days from the date of signing. Tau will also be convening an extraordinary general meeting in due course to obtain shareholder approval for the sale and to approve a change to the investing policy of the Company.

Stopharm is a Kazakh company engaged in wholesale pharmaceutical distribution. Stopharm's audited results for the year ended 31 December 2017 recorded total revenues of KZT 37.4 billion (approximately USD 112.46 million) and a profit before tax of KZT 76.3 million (approximately USD 0.23 million). The audited total assets of Stopharm as at 31 December 2017 were KZT 14.3 billion (approximately USD 43.00 million).

The agreed sale price represents an impairment of approximately USD 4.77 million to the carrying value of Stopharm of USD 6 million contained in the Company's interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 as reported on 29 September 2017. This impairment will be reflected in the Company's financial statements for the year to 31 December 2017 which will be finalised and published as soon as possible. Trading in the Company's ordinary shares will remain suspended on AIM pending publication of the Company's annual report and accounts for the year to 31 December 2017.

Further announcements will be made as appropriate.

Further information, please contact:

 
 FIM Capital Limited 
  Philip Scales                            Tel: [phone] 
 
 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated 
  Adviser and Joint Broker) 
  John Depasquale / Alex Brearley          Tel: [phone] 
 
 
  Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited 
  (Joint Broker)                           Tel: [phone] 
  Lucy Williams / Heena Karani 
 

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August 28, 2018 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)