Polygon Global Partners LLP Offer Document Posted (5605F)

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RNS Number : 5605F

Polygon Global Partners LLP

16 July 2021

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

16 July 2021

MANDATORY CASH OFFER

BY

POLYGON GLOBAL PARTNERS LLP ("Polygon")

TO ACQUIRE THE ENTIRE ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL OF

WATCHSTONE GROUP PLC ("Watchstone")

other than those Watchstone Shares already owned by Polygon

through the Polygon Funds

PUBLICATION OF OFFER DOCUMENT

Summary

On 1 July 2021 Polygon announced the terms of a mandatory cash offer (the " Offer ") to be made by Polygon for the Watchstone Shares in which Polygon (or any persons acting in concert with it) is not already interested at a price of 34 pence per Watchstone Share.

Polygon is pleased to announce that the offer document containing the full terms and conditions of the Offer (the "Offer Document"), together with the related Form of Acceptance, will be published and sent to Watchstone Shareholders today. The Offer Document, the Form of Acceptance and this Announcement will be made available on Polygon's website at https://www.polygoninv.com/uk-regulatory-disclosures/ .

Terms used but not defined in this Announcement have the same meanings as in the Offer Document.

Action to be taken by Watchstone Shareholders and Timetable

The Offer will remain open for acceptance until 1:00 p.m. (London time) on 6 August 2021. To accept the Offer, it is important that you follow the instructions set out in Part C and Part D of Appendix 1 of the Offer Document and, in respect of certificated Watchstone Shares, as further described in the Form of Acceptance.

Acceptances of the Offer in respect of certificated Watchstone Shares should be made by completing and returning the Form of Acceptance (along with the relevant share certificate(s) and/or other appropriate documents of title) using the enclosed first class reply-paid envelope (for use within the United Kingdom only) as soon as possible and, in any event, by no later than 1:00 p.m. (London time) on 6 August 2021.

Acceptances of the Offer in respect of uncertificated Watchstone Shares should be made electronically through CREST so that the TTE Instruction settles as soon as possible and, in any event, by no later than 1:00 p.m. (London time) on 6 August 2021.

If you require assistance, please telephone the Receiving Agent on 0370 707 4040 (if calling from within the UK) or [phone] (if calling from outside the UK) between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (London time) Monday to Friday.

Enquiries

finnCap (Financial Adviser to Polygon)

 
 Henrik Persson, Kate Bannatyne and Tim   Tel: [phone] 
  Harper                                                 0500 
 

Important notices about financial advisers

finnCap, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting as financial adviser to Polygon and for no one else in connection with the Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Polygon for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.

This Announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase any securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities pursuant to the Offer or otherwise, nor shall there be any purchase, sale, issuance or exchange of securities or such solicitation in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, sale issuance or exchange is unlawful. The Offer is made solely by means of the Offer Document, which contains the full terms of the Offer. Any decision or acceptance in relation to the Offer should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Offer Document and such Form of Acceptance (if applicable). Watchstone Shareholders are advised to read the Offer Document and Form of Acceptance (if applicable) carefully.

Overseas jurisdictions

The release, publication or distribution of this Announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by the laws of those jurisdictions and therefore persons into whose possession this Announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Further details in relation to the Overseas Shareholders are contained in the Offer Document. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Offer disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person.

Unless otherwise determined by Polygon or required by the Takeover Code, and permitted by applicable law and regulation, the Offer will not be made available, directly or indirectly, in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this Announcement and all documents relating to the Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction, and persons receiving this Announcement and all documents relating to the Offer (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send them in, into or from such jurisdictions where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction.

The availability of the Offer to Watchstone Shareholders who are not resident in the United Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are resident. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements.

The Offer shall be subject to the applicable requirements of the Takeover Code, the Panel, the London Stock Exchange, the Financial Conduct Authority, the AQSE Growth Market and AIM Rules.

Forward-looking statements

This Announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this Announcement), oral statements made regarding the Offer, and other information published by Polygon contains statements about Polygon, the Polygon Funds and Watchstone that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Announcement may be forward looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words "targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects" or words or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Polygon, the Polygon Funds', or Watchstone's operations resulting from the Offer; and (iii) the effects of government regulation on Polygon, the Polygon Funds' or Watchstone's business.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and are based on certain key assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the satisfaction of the conditions to the Offer, as well as additional factors, such as changes in political and economic conditions, changes in the level of capital investment, retention of key employees, success of business and operating initiatives, impact of any acquisitions or similar transactions, changes in the regulatory environment, fluctuations of interest and exchange rates. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Polygon or the Polygon Funds or any of its respective members, directors, officers or employees or any persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. Polygon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements contained in this Announcement, except as required by applicable law.

No profit forecasts or estimates

No statement in this Announcement is intended as a profit forecast or estimate for any period and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or earnings per share for Watchstone for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share for Watchstone.

Dealing disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3:30 p.m. (London time) on the 10(th) Business Day following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3:30 p.m. (London time) on the 10(th) Business Day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3:30 p.m. (London time) on the Business Day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on [phone] if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

Publication of this Announcement on website

A copy of this Announcement and the documents required to be published pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Takeover Code will be available, free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions on Polygon's website at https://www.polygoninv.com/uk-regulatory-disclosures/ by no later than 12:00 p.m. on the Business Day following this Announcement.

For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of these websites and any websites accessible from hyperlinks on these websites are not incorporated into and do not form part of this Announcement.

Information relating to Watchstone Shareholders

Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain information provided by Watchstone Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons for the receipt of communications from Watchstone may be provided to Polygon during the Offer Period as required under Section 4 of Appendix 4 of the Takeover Code to comply with Rule 2.11(c) of the Takeover Code.

Right to receive documents in hard copy form

Any person entitled to receive a copy of documents, announcements and information relating to the Offer is entitled to receive such documents in hard copy form free of charge. A person may also request that all future documents, announcements and information in relation to the Offer are sent to them in hard copy form.

A hard copy of this Announcement may be requested by contacting finnCap Ltd at ([phone].

Rounding

Certain figures included in this Announcement have been subjected to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown for the same category presented in different tables may vary slightly and figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

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July 16, 2021 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)