THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS
RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN
WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE
UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW
ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF
THE EU (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR"). THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
Ocean Harvest Technology
Group plc
("OHT", the "Company", or the
"Group")
Proposed issue of Secured Loan Notes and
Warrants to raise £1.5 million
Approval of a waiver under Rule 9 of the
City Code on Takeovers and Mergers
and
Notice of General Meeting
Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc
(AIM: OHT), a leading researcher, developer and supplier of
proprietary blended seaweed products as functional additives for
the global animal feed industry, is pleased
to announce that it has conditionally raised £1,500,000, before
expenses, by way of the issue of Secured Loan Notes and Warrants to
certain existing Shareholders (the "Fundraising").
A circular, containing further
details of the Fundraising and Notice of General Meeting to be held
at 10.00 a.m. on 17 October 2024 is expected to be published and
despatched to Shareholders on 30 September 2024 (the "Circular").
A copy of the Circular and the
Notice of General Meeting is available on the Company's website
at
https://oceanharvesttechnology.com/results-reports-presentations/
and defined terms used in this announcement are
set out at the end of the announcement.
The General Meeting has been called
in order to put to Shareholders the Resolutions required to approve
the Rule 9 Waiver and complete the Fundraising.
Transaction Summary
· Subscription by Noteholders to raise £1,500,000, before
expenses, by way of the issue of Secured Loan Notes and Warrants to
Noteholders.
· The Fundraising is
conditional upon the passing of the Resolutions. If the Resolutions
are not passed, the Fundraising will not proceed.
· Each
warrant entitles the Noteholder to subscribe for one Ordinary Share
at the Exercise Price of 11 pence each, increasing to 14 pence each
from and including the fifth anniversary of the Warrant
Instrument.
· Four-year term with early redemption permitted in whole (but
not in part) on giving three months' notice (or on shorter notice
with three months' interest).
· The
Secured Loan Notes provide for the grant of security to the
Noteholders over certain of the Company's assets.
· Interest on the principal amount of the Secured Loan Notes
shall accrue at the rate of 12.5 per cent. per annum.
· The
Company shall, on the date of the Secured Loan Note Instrument (the
"Issue Date"), pay to each Noteholder an arrangement fee equal to
3.5 per cent. of the principal amount of each Secured Loan Note
issued to a Noteholder on the Issue Date.
· The
Company shall, on each Anniversary Date, pay to each Noteholder a
commitment fee equal to 0.75 per cent. per annum of the principal
amount of the outstanding Notes held by such Noteholder.
· Following completion of the Fundraising, the Company may, if
there is demand, issue up to a maximum of an additional £500,000 of
Secured Loan Notes (together with Warrants) to other investors who
may wish to subscribe.
The
Independent Directors, having been so advised by Cavendish,
consider the terms of the Proposals are fair and reasonable as far
as the Shareholders and the Independent Shareholders are concerned
and therefore in the best interests of Shareholders and the
Independent Shareholders taken as a whole. Accordingly, the
Independent Directors unanimously recommend that Shareholders vote
in favour of the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting,
as the Independent Directors have undertaken to do in respect of
their own beneficial holdings, amounting as at the Reference Date
in aggregate to 187,334 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately
0.2% of the Existing Ordinary Shares.
For more information please
contact:
Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc
|
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 735018
|
Ashley Head, Executive
Chairman
Chris Scott, CFO
|
|
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker)
|
Tel: +44 020 7220 0500
|
Geoff Nash / Seamus Fricker /
Trisyia Jamaludin (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Harriet Ward
(ECM)
|
|
|
|
Notes to Editors
Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc
is a global leader in the development and commercialisation of
value adding proprietary products from blending multiple species of
seaweed. The Company provides a range of natural additives focused
on improving animal performance and the sustainability of the feed
chain, through its unique and proven proprietary seaweed blends.
The Company sources its seaweed globally, utilising sustainable and
socially responsible harvesting of largely wild blooming seaweed
species. Its products are produced in its facility in Vietnam
and sold into the $40bn animal feed additive sector in multiple
markets across the world.
For more information, please
visit www.oceanharvesttechnology.com.
BACKGROUND TO, REASONS FOR AND DETAILS OF THE
FUNDRAISING
Business overview of the Company
Founded in the UK, the Company is a
leading researcher, developer and supplier of proprietary blended
seaweed products as functional additives for the global animal feed
industry. The Company sources raw seaweed for its products globally
and has operations spanning the UK, Ireland and Vietnam.
The Company has demonstrated that
its products, blended from red, green and brown seaweeds, have a
pre-biotic effect in animals which has been shown to lead to higher
growth rates, lower mortality and improved feed efficiency in
multiple species of animals. The company has been granted a patent
which protects these performance claims for a wide range of seaweed
blends and for use in a wide range of animals. The granting of this
patent demonstrates that OHT is the innovator in this area and has
first mover advantage.
OHT sells its OceanFeed blended
seaweed additive to customers globally who use the product in a
range of animal species. Examples include:
·
the use of OceanFeed in piglet diets to help
support the animal in its early life without having to rely on
antibiotics;
·
in dairy cattle diets to improve milk production
and milk quality; and
·
in layer hen diets to increase egg production and
increase eggshell strength.
All of these lead to improvements in
profitability for our customers and an improvement in the
sustainability of their animal production practices.
The global animal feed additive
market is worth over US$40bn per annum providing OHT with
significant growth opportunities as customers seek out new products
which are natural and help to deliver improvements in performance
and sustainability in their animal production systems.
OHT sources wild harvested seaweed
from Southeast Asia, Africa (seaweed blooms) and the North Atlantic
(sustainably harvested wild seaweed). The seaweed blooms, often
invasive, are harvested to restore the biodiversity in the
environments from which they are collected. Unlike most other
ingredients in animal feed, seaweed uses no arable land, fresh
water or fertilisers and hence it has a much lower carbon footprint
than other ingredients and additives which they can
replace.
OHT continues to invest in its
research and development to demonstrate additional benefits of
using its OceanFeed products. The company will continue to report
the results of these trials and then leverage them to further grow
its addressable markets.
OHT has strong growth opportunities
as it on-boards new customers in this large global market. Its
customers are looking for natural products which can help them
deliver improved animal performance, improve the sustainability of
their production systems and address their profitability issues.
OHT's OceanFeed blended seaweed product is a unique solution for
these customers as it is 100 per cent. natural and has a pre-biotic
effect with demonstrated results which have been patented. The
products also have a lower carbon footprint than most other animal
feed ingredients and improves the sustainability of production
animals when included in their diets.
Reasons for the Fundraising
On 23 July 2024, and further
detailed in paragraph below, the Company announced that it would
deliver full year revenue materially below expectations which in
turn would have a knock on effect on the Company's cash flow for
the same period. Notwithstanding the Company's access to capital
through its largely undrawn receivables facility of EUR 2 million,
since the date of the trading update the Company has recognised a
more urgent need for additional capital to provide a more permanent
solution to meet the Company's short-medium term working capital
requirements.
The Company currently holds a
significant level of inventory (€1.7 million) following lower H1
sales, with this inventory required to meet increasing demand in
H2. There are no conventional options to borrow using seaweed as
collateral and this has contributed to the need for funding. The
Company has therefore taken the decision to carry out the
Fundraising to provide a more permanent solution to meet the
Group's short-term working capital requirements.
The
Fundraising and Terms of the Secured Loan Notes and
Warrants
The Company has conditionally raised
£1,500,000, before expenses, by way of the issue of Secured Loan
Notes and Warrants to the following existing
Shareholders:
Shareholder
|
Aggregate amount of Secured Loan Notes
|
Aggregate number of Warrants
|
Heaton Holdings Ltd
|
£550,000
|
2,750,000
|
Ashley Head
|
£200,000
|
1,000,000
|
Terance Butler Holdings
|
£750,000
|
3,750,000
|
|
|
|
Total
|
£1,500,000
|
7,500,000
|
The Fundraising is conditional on
the passing of the Resolutions.
The initial Exercise Price for the
Warrants represents an approximate 4.8 per cent. premium to the closing
middle market price of 10.5
pence per Existing Ordinary Share on 27 September
2024 (being the last practicable date prior to the date of the
announcement of Fundraising, as announced by the Company on 30
September 2024).
Following completion of the
Fundraising, the Company may, if there is demand, issue up to a
maximum of an additional £500,000 of Secured Loan Notes (together
with Warrants) to other investors who may wish to
subscribe.
Details of the terms of the Secured
Loan Notes and Warrants are set out below.
Secured Loan Notes
The key terms of the Secured Loan
Note Instrument are as follows:
(a) Four-year term
with early redemption permitted in whole (but not in part) on
giving three months' notice (or on shorter notice with three
months' interest).
(b) The Secured Loan
Notes provide for the grant of security to the Noteholders over
certain of the Company's assets.
(c) Interest on
the principal amount of the Secured Loan Notes shall accrue at the
rate of 12.5 per cent. per annum.
(d) The Company shall,
on the date of the Secured Loan Note Instrument (the "Issue Date"), pay to each
Noteholder an arrangement fee equal to 3.5 per cent. of the
principal amount of each Secured Loan Note issued to a Noteholder
on the Issue Date.
(e)
The Company shall, on each Anniversary Date, pay
to each Noteholder a commitment fee equal to 0.75 per cent. per
annum of the principal amount of the outstanding Notes held by such
Noteholder.
Further details of the terms of the
Secured Loan Notes are set out in paragraph 8.2 of Part II of the
Circular.
The Secured Loan Notes will be
issued following approval of the Resolutions by Shareholders at the
General Meeting and the satisfaction of all conditions precedent.
In order to meet the short-term cash requirements of the Company
prior to the General Meeting and the satisfaction of all conditions
precedent, it is intended two of the Noteholders will make up to
£0.4m available immediately through an on-demand term loan at an
interest rate of 12.5%. Following Shareholder approval of the
Resolutions, the Secured Loan Notes will be issued along with the
Warrants and the balance of the £1.5 million will be available to
be drawn down.
Warrants
Each warrant entitles the holder to
subscribe for one Ordinary Share at the Exercise Price. The
Warrants may be exercised at any time up to 11.59 p.m. on the date
falling 10 years from the date of the Warrant
Instrument.
Further details of the terms of the
Warrants are set out in paragraph 8.3 of Part II of the
Circular.
CURRENT TRADING
On
30 September 2024, the Company published its interim results for
the 6 months ended 30 June 2024 which contained the following
statement:
In its trading update of 23 July
2024 ("Trading Update"), OHT detailed multiple new initiatives that
were implemented in early 2024 to drive growth of its OceanFeed
product into its substantial target markets. Whilst the major
benefits of these initiatives are not immediate, the Company has
already seen a number of early indications of success including
greater momentum in onboarding new customers from a wider range of
species, geographies and sales channels and enabling shorter sales
cycles.
OHT has a highly concentrated
customer base that means the actions of a handful of customers have
had a material impact on revenues. As detailed in the trading
update of July, neither the Company's largest OceanFeed customer
nor its largest single seaweed customer from 2023 had placed any
orders in 1H2024. In addition to existing customer revenues, the Company's previous FY 2024 outlook was
reliant on quickly commercialising successful trials outcomes and
expanding distribution channels which have been slower to realise
than forecast.
Reflecting the impact on FY 2024 of
existing customer ordering patterns and slower onboarding of new
customers, the Company now expects to report full year revenue of
circa €2.4 million. Within that there is an expectation of
positive organic revenue growth in OceanFeed excluding the one-year
impact from the largest customer. The Company is pleased to now
report that this customer resumed orders in August 2024.
Gross margin from the sale of
OceanFeed is expected to continue to increase and is expected to be
over 40% for the full year. The Company is adequately funded
through the loan note facility announced today which gives it
sufficient capital (alongside the receivables purchase facility it
put in place at the start of 2024) to drive revenue growth into
2025.
Looking forward, OHT believes that
2025 will be a year of substantial revenue growth with greater
revenue visibility from the changes made in its sales and marketing
strategy which are resulting in:
·
targeting the highest opportunity segments in each
specific region and market
·
significant investment in sales and marketing
resource and headcount in target regions
·
increasing breadth of customer base with reduced
customer concentration risk
·
improved customer intelligence and longer term
visibility of usage / demand requirements
·
increased use of distributors with faster customer
onboarding and reduced reliance on long trial periods
The trial data and customer feedback
remain extremely positive as regards OceanFeed and
the Company looks forward to returning to significant growth given
the substantial size of the market opportunity.
DETAILS OF CONCERT PARTY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE
FUNDRAISING
Certain members of the Concert Party
have agreed, conditional on the passing of the Resolutions, to
subscribe for the following aggregate amount of Secured Loan Notes
and Warrants:
Shareholder
|
Aggregate amount of Secured Loan Notes
|
Aggregate number of Warrants
|
Heaton Holdings Ltd
|
£550,000
|
2,750,000
|
Ashley Head
|
£200,000
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
|
Total
|
£750,000
|
3,750,000
|
|
|
|
INTENTIONS OF CONCERT PARTY FOR THE COMPANY
The Concert Party has confirmed
there is no agreement, arrangement or understanding for the
transfer of their Ordinary Shares to any third party.
The Concert Party has no intention
of making any change in relation to:
1. the continued
employment of the employees and management of the Company and its
subsidiaries, including any material change in the conditions of
employment or in the balance of the skills and functions of the
employees and management;
2. the Company's future business including its research and
development functions;
3. the location of
the Company's headquarters or headquarter functions or the location
of the Company's places of business;
4. the redeployment of the Company's fixed
assets;
5. employer
contributions into the Company's pension schemes, the accrual
benefits of existing members and the admission of new members;
or
6. the maintenance
of any existing trading facilities for the relevant securities
including the maintenance and admission of the Ordinary Shares to
trading on AIM.
The Concert Party also confirms that
Heaton Holdings Limited, Kivalina Two Ltd and Marwal Holdings
Limited do not intend to change their own business strategy or any
other matter referred to in paragraph above as a result of the
Proposals.
In considering whether to recommend
that Independent Shareholders vote in favour of the Rule 9 Waiver,
the Independent Directors have also given due consideration to the
intentions of the Concert Party with respect to the future
operation of the business and welcome the assurances made by the
Concert Party that it does not seek to make any changes to the
Company's future business, fixed assets, headquarter functions,
research and development functions, employees or management,
pension schemes or the trading facilities on which the Company's
Ordinary Shares currently trade.
USE
OF PROCEEDS OF THE FUNDRAISING
The gross proceeds of the
Fundraising are £1.5 million.
The net proceeds of approximately
£1.3 million will be used to meet the Company's immediate working
capital requirements and provide the capital to drive revenue
growth into 2025.
In addition, the Company would
receive a further £825,000 to £1.05 million in the event that all
of the Warrants are exercised in full , although there can be no
certainty all or any of such Warrants will be exercised. If
received, these funds would also be used to build out additional
seaweed supply and drive sales growth.
APPLICATION OF THE TAKEOVER CODE AND RULE 9
WAIVER
Takeover Code
The Takeover Code is issued and
administered by the Takeover Panel. The Takeover Code applies to
all takeover and merger transactions, however effected, where the
offeree company is, among other things, a listed or unlisted public
company resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the
Isle of Man (and to certain categories of private limited
companies). The Company is a public company whose Ordinary Shares
are admitted to trading on AIM, and its Shareholders are therefore
entitled to the protections afforded by the Takeover
Code.
Under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code,
any person who acquires an interest in shares (as defined in the
Takeover Code) which, taken together with any shares in which that
person or any other person acting in concert with that person is
interested, carry 30 per cent. or more of the voting rights of a
company which is subject to the Takeover Code, is normally required
to make an offer to all of the remaining shareholders to acquire
their shares in the company.
Similarly, when any person, together
with persons acting in concert with him, is interested in shares
which in aggregate carry not less than 30 per cent. of the voting
rights of such a company, but does not hold shares carrying more
than 50 per cent. of such voting rights, a general offer will
normally be required if any further interest in shares is acquired
by any such person, or persons acting in concert with him, which
increases the percentage of shares carrying voting rights held by
such persons.
An offer under Rule 9 would have to
be made in cash at a price not less than the highest price paid for
any interest in shares in the Company by that person or by any
person acting in concert with it within the 12 months prior to the
announcement of the offer.
Rule 9 Waiver Resolution
The Concert Party is currently
beneficially interested in 56,071,458 Ordinary Shares, representing
approximately 44.6 per cent. of the Existing Ordinary
Shares.
If the Concert Party exercises the
Warrants held by it in full, the Concert Party will be interested
in shares carrying more than 30 per cent. of the voting rights of
the Company but will not hold shares carrying more than 50 per
cent. of the voting rights of the Company.
The interests of the Concert Party
in relevant securities of the Company, as at the Reference Date and
as they would be assuming exercise of the Warrants held by the
Concert Party in full, are set out below:
Concert Party
Member
|
Existing Ordinary
Shares
|
Current holding as
a percentage of Existing Ordinary Shares
|
New Ordinary
Shares*
|
Maximum potential
holding of the concert party**
|
Percentage of
Enlarged Share Capital**
|
Ashley Head
|
14,068,078
|
11.2%
|
1,000,000
|
15,068,078
|
11.6%
|
Stuart Waring
|
1,358,293
|
1.1%
|
0
|
1,358,293
|
1.0%
|
Heaton Holdings Ltd
|
15,721,628
|
12.5%
|
2,750,000
|
18,471,628
|
14.3%
|
Marwal Holdings Ltd
|
7,368,940
|
5.9%
|
0
|
7,368,940
|
5.7%
|
Kivalina Two Ltd
|
17,224,157
|
13.7%
|
0
|
17,224,157
|
13.3%
|
Daniel Waring
|
165,181
|
0.1%
|
0
|
165,181
|
0.1%
|
Zoe Mongey
|
165,181
|
0.1%
|
0
|
165,181
|
0.1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
56,071,458
|
44.6%
|
3,750,000
|
59,821,458
|
46.2%
|
* assuming the Concert Party
exercises all the Warrants issued to it
** Assuming that: (i) the Concert
Party exercises in full the Warrants issued to it; and (ii) TBH
does not exercise any Warrants
The
Takeover Panel has agreed, subject to the passing of the Rule 9
Waiver Resolution by the Independent Shareholders on a poll at the
General Meeting, to waive the obligation of the Concert Party that
would otherwise arise as a result of the exercise of all of the
Warrants held by it. Accordingly, the Company is proposing the Rule
9 Waiver Resolution at the General Meeting, which will be taken on
a poll.
The
Rule 9 Waiver will be invalidated if any purchases are made by the
Concert Party or any party acting in concert with the Concert Party
in the period between the date of the Circular and the General
Meeting.
Shareholders should note that any further increase in the
interests of the Concert Party in the Ordinary Shares of the
Company that increases the percentage of the voting rights in the
Company in which they are interested, whether collectively or
individually, will be subject to the provisions of Rule 9. Whether
or not the Rule 9 Waiver Resolution is passed by the Independent
Shareholders, members of the Concert Party will not be restricted
from making an offer for the Company.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTION
The participation of Ashley Head,
Heaton Holdings Ltd and TBH in the Fundraising is a related party
transaction for the purposes of Rule 13 of the AIM Rules. For the
purposes of the AIM Rules, the Independent Directors of the Company
consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser,
Cavendish, that the terms of the Fundraising are fair and
reasonable insofar as Shareholders are concerned.
GENERAL MEETING
The Notice of General Meeting is set
out at the end of the Circular. The General Meeting is to be held
at 41 London Road, Reigate, RH2 9RJ at 10.00 a.m. (UK time) on 17
October 2024.
The
Company has called the General Meeting in order to (i) put to
Independent Shareholders the Rule 9 Waiver Resolution required to
approve the Rule 9 Waiver and to (ii) put to Shareholders the other
Resolutions set out in Part III (Notice of General Meeting) of the
Circular. Your attention is drawn to the fact that all of the
Resolutions must be passed by Shareholders at the General Meeting
in order for the Fundraising to proceed.
The Rule 9 Waiver Resolution will be
proposed in accordance with the Takeover Code and will be taken on
a poll of Independent Shareholders present and by proxy voting at
the General Meeting.
The Takeover Code requires the Rule
9 Waiver Resolution to be passed by the Independent Shareholders
only.
At
the General Meeting the following additional Resolutions will be
proposed:
Resolution 2 - Authority to
allot shares
Resolution 2 is an ordinary
resolution to authorise the Directors to allot relevant securities
with an aggregate nominal value of up to £100,000 being equal to
10,000,000 New Ordinary Shares (i.e. the maximum number of Ordinary
Shares that may be allotted pursuant to or in connection with the
Warrant Instrument).
Resolution 3 - Disapplication
of statutory pre-emption rights
Resolution 3, which is conditional
on the passing of Resolution 2, is a special resolution to
authorise the Directors to allot up to 10,000,000 New Ordinary
Shares (i.e. the maximum number of Ordinary Shares that may be
allotted pursuant to or in connection with the Warrant Instrument)
for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis.
The authorities given by the
Resolutions 2 and 3 will be in addition to any existing similar
authorities which the Directors may have.
If
the Resolutions are not approved by Shareholders at the General
Meeting, the Fundraising will not proceed. As such, the anticipated
net proceeds of the Fundraising would not become available to the
Company. There is no certainty that other funding would be
available on suitable terms or at all. Accordingly, in light of the
Group's reducing cash position, in such circumstances it would be
likely that the Company would have to seek alternative funding
which may come at a significantly greater cost.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY SHAREHOLDERS
Whether or not Shareholders intend
to be present at the General Meeting, they are asked to complete
and return the Form of Proxy (enclosed with the Circular) in
accordance with the instructions printed on it as soon as possible
and, in any event, by no later than 10.00 a.m. on 15 October 2024
(or, in the case of an adjourned General Meeting, no later than 48
hours before the time of such meeting, excluding any part of a day
that is not a working day).
Alternatively, Shareholders can
submit their vote electronically at www.sharegateway.co.uk.
Shareholders will need to use their personal proxy registration
code which is printed on their Form of Proxy to facilitate this.
Electronic proxy appointments must be received by no later than
10.00 a.m. on 15 October 2024 (or, in the case of an adjournment of
the General Meeting, not less than 48 hours before the time fixed
for the holding of the adjourned General Meeting (at the discretion
of the Directors, excluding any part of a day that is not a working
day)).
If Shareholders hold Existing
Ordinary Shares in uncertificated form (that is, in CREST) they may
vote using the CREST proxy voting service in accordance with the
procedures set out in the CREST Manual (please also refer to the
accompanying notes to the Notice of the General Meeting set out at
the end of the Circular). Proxies submitted via CREST must be
received by the Company's Registrar, Neville Registrars Limited
(ID: 7RA11), by no later than 10.00 a.m. on 15 October 2024 (or, in
the case of an adjournment of the General Meeting, not less than 48 hours before the time fixed for the
holding of the adjourned General Meeting (at the discretion of the
Directors, excluding any part of a day that is not a working
day)).
If
Shareholders require help with voting online or if they have any
queries in relation to voting, they should contact the Company's
Registrar, Neville Registrars Limited, on Tel: +44 (0) 121 585 1131
or by email at info@nevilleregistrars.co.uk.
Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by
provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the
applicable international rate. Lines are open between 9.00 a.m. -
5.00 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England
and Wales).
INDEPENDENT ADVICE IN RESPECT OF THE WAIVER
The Takeover Code requires the
Independent Directors to obtain competent independent advice
regarding the merits of the Proposals. Cavendish has provided
financial advice to the Directors regarding the Proposals and in
providing such advice, Cavendish has taken into account the
Directors' commercial assessments. Cavendish confirms that it, and
any person who is or is presumed to be acting in concert with it,
is independent of the Noteholders and has no personal, financial or
commercial relationship, or arrangements or understandings with the
Noteholders. Cavendish has given and has not withdrawn its written
consent to the inclusion in the Circular of its name and the
references to it in the form and context in which they are
included.
RECOMMENDATION AND IRREVOCABLE UNDERTAKINGS
The Concert Party is considered to
be interested in the outcome of the General Meeting. Accordingly,
no Director who is also a member of the Concert Party (being Ashley
Head) has participated in the Independent Directors' recommendation
and no member of the Concert Party will vote on the Rule 9 Waiver
Resolution.
In addition, given that TBH is a
Shareholder and is considered to be interested in the outcome of
the General Meeting, TBH will not vote on the Rule 9 Waiver
Resolution. In addition, given that Stephen Walker is a board
representative of TBH, Mr Walker has also not participated in the
Independent Directors' recommendation and will also not vote on
Rule 9 Waiver Resolution.
The
Independent Directors, having been so advised by Cavendish,
consider the terms of the Proposals are fair and reasonable as far
as the Shareholders and the Independent Shareholders are concerned
and therefore in the best interests of Shareholders and the
Independent Shareholders taken as a whole. Accordingly, the
Independent Directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favour
of the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting, as the
Independent Directors have undertaken to do in respect of their own
beneficial holdings, amounting as at the Reference Date in
aggregate to 187,334 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately
0.2 per cent. of the Existing Ordinary Shares.
DEFINITIONS AND GLOSSARY
The following definitions and glossary apply
throughout this document (including the Notice of General Meeting)
unless the context otherwise requires:
"Act"
the Companies Act 2006 (as amended);
"acting in
concert"
has the meaning attributed to it in the Takeover
Code;
"Admission
Document"
the admission document published on 30 March 2023
in connection with the IPO;
"AIM"
the market of that name operated by the London
Stock Exchange;
"AIM
Rules"
the AIM Rules for Companies and the AIM Rules for
Nominated Advisers;
"AIM Rules for
Companies"
the AIM Rules for Companies, as published and
amended from time to time by the London Stock Exchange;
"AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers" the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, as published and amended
from time to time by the London Stock Exchange;
"Approval"
approval of the Rule 9 Waiver;
"Australia"
the Commonwealth of Australia, its states,
territories and possessions;
"Board" or "Directors"
the directors of the Company as at the date
hereof;
"Business
Day"
any day (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) on which
banks are open in London for normal banking business and the London
Stock Exchange is open for trading;
"Canada"
Canada, its provinces, territories and all areas
subject to its jurisdiction and any political sub-division
thereof;
"Cavendish"
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited, a private limited company
incorporated in England and Wales under registered number 06198898
and having its registered office at 1 Bartholomew Close, London,
EC1A 7BL, the Company's nominated adviser and sole
broker;
"certificated" or "in certificated
an ordinary share recorded on a company's share
register as being
form"
held in certificated form (namely, not in
CREST);
"Chairman"
the chairman of the Board;
"Circular" or
"this
document"
this document;
"Company" or
"Ocean
Harvest Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc, a company incorporated
in
Technology"
England and Wales with registered number
13411717;
"Concert
Party"
Kivalina Two Ltd, Ashley Head, Stuart Waring,
Heaton Holdings Ltd, Marwal Holdings Ltd, Daniel Waring and Zoe
Mongey;
"CREST"
the relevant system (as defined in the CREST
Regulations) for paperless settlement of share transfers and
holding shares in uncertificated form, in respect of which
Euroclear is the operator (as defined in the CREST
Regulations);
"CREST
Manual"
the rules governing the operation of CREST as
published by Euroclear;
"CREST
member"
a person who has been admitted by Euroclear as a
system member (as defined in the CREST Regulations);
"CREST
participant"
a person who is, in relation to CREST, a
system-participant (as defined in the CREST
Regulations);
"CREST participant
ID"
shall have the meaning given in the CREST
Manual;
"CREST
Regulations"
the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI
2001/3755) including any enactment or subordinate legislation which
amends or supersedes those regulations and any applicable rules
made under those regulations or any such enactment or subordinate
legislation for the time being in force;
"CREST
sponsor"
a CREST participant admitted to CREST as a CREST
sponsor;
"CREST sponsored
member"
a CREST member admitted to CREST as a CREST
sponsored member;
"Daily Official
List"
the daily official list of the London Stock
Exchange;
"Enlarged Share
Capital"
the entire issued share capital of the Company
following exercise of the Warrants issued to the Concert
Party;
"Euroclear"
Euroclear UK & International
Limited;
"Exercise
Price"
11 pence per New Ordinary Share (increasing to 14
pence per New Ordinary Share after 5th anniversary of the Warrant
Instrument);
"Existing Ordinary
Shares"
the 125,855,697 Ordinary Shares in issue at the
date of this announcement;
"FCA"
the UK Financial Conduct Authority;
"Form of
Proxy"
the hard copy form of proxy for use by
Shareholders in connection with the General Meeting;
"FSMA"
the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as
amended);
"Fundraising"
the issue of the Secured Loan Notes and Warrants
to the Noteholders;
"FY23"
the financial year ended 31 December 2023 of the
Company;
"General Meeting" or
"GM"
the General Meeting of the Company convened for
10.00 a.m. (UK time) on 17 October 2024 or any adjournment thereof,
notice of which is set out at the end of the Circular;
"Group"
the Company and its subsidiaries (as defined in
the Act);
"Independent
Directors"
the Directors, save for Ashley Head and Stephen
Walker;
"Independent
Shareholders"
all Shareholders other than the Concert Party, TBH
and Stephen Walker;
"IPO"
the admission of the Company's Ordinary Shares to
trading on AIM which became effective on 4 April 2023;
"London Stock
Exchange"
London Stock Exchange Group plc;
"New Ordinary
Shares"
the new ordinary shares to be issued pursuant to
the exercise of the Warrants;
"Non-Executive
Directors"
the non-executive directors of the Company, being
Stephen Walker, David Frank Tilston, Christine Adair Maggs, Gerina
Eberl-Hancock and Riaan Van Dyk;
"Noteholders"
the proposed holders of the Secured Loan Notes
being Terance Butler Holdings Limited, Heaton Holdings Ltd and
Ashley Head;
"Notice of General
Meeting"
the notice convening the General Meeting as set
out at the end of the Circular;
"Official
List"
the Official List of the FCA;
"Ordinary
Shares"
the ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital
of the Company in issue from time to time;
"Proposals"
the recommended proposals by the board for the (i)
Fundraising; and (ii) the Rule 9 Waiver;
"Prospectus Regulation Rules"
the rules made by the FCA under Part VI of FSMA in
relation to offers of transferable securities to the public and
admission of transferable securities to trading on a regulated
market;
"Reference
Date"
27 September 2024, being the latest practicable
date prior to publication of this announcement;
"Registrar"
Neville Registrars Limited, the Company's
registrar;
"Regulatory Information Service" a service approved by the FCA for the distribution to the
public of regulatory announcements and included within the list
maintained on the FCA's website;
"Republic of South
Africa"
the Republic of South Africa, its territories and
possessions;
"Resolutions"
the resolutions to be proposed at the General
Meeting, details of which are set out in the Notice of General
Meeting;
"Rule
9"
Rule 9 of the Takeover Code;
"Rule 9
Waiver"
the waiver granted by the Takeover Panel,
conditional upon the approval by the Independent Shareholders of
the Rule 9 Waiver Resolution at the General Meeting, of an
obligation which would otherwise be imposed on the Concert Party to
make a general offer to all Shareholders under Rule 9 of the
Takeover Code, as a result of the issue of New Ordinary Shares
following the exercise of Warrants by the Concert Party;
"Rule 9 Waiver
Resolution"
the ordinary resolution numbered 1 in the Notice
of General Meeting to approve the Rule 9 Waiver;
"Secured Loan
Notes"
the secured loan notes to be issued by the Company
to the Noteholders pursuant to the Secured Loan Note Instrument in
the aggregate principal amount of £1,500,000;
"Secured Loan Note Instrument" the secured loan note instrument under which the Company has
constituted the Secured Loan Notes;
"Securities
Act"
US Securities Act of 1933 (as amended);
"Senior Independent
Director" David Frank Tilston;
"Shareholders"
the holders of Existing Ordinary Shares, and the
term "Shareholder" shall be construed
accordingly;
"Share
Options"
existing share options granted under the Company's
existing share option plans;
"Subscription
Letter"
the subscription letter under which each
Noteholder has subscribed for Secured Loan Notes and Warrants and
"Subscription Letters" shall be
construed accordingly;
"Takeover
Code"
the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers issued by
the Takeover Panel, as amended from time to time;
"TBH"
Terance Butler Holdings Limited;
"Takeover
Panel"
the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers;
"United Kingdom" or
"UK"
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland;
"United States" or
"US"
the United States of America, each State thereof,
its territories and possessions (including the District of
Columbia) and all other areas subject to its
jurisdiction;
"£", "pounds sterling", "sterling"
the lawful currency of the United Kingdom;
"pence" or
"p"
"Warrants"
the warrants to subscribe for the New Ordinary
Shares at the Exercise Price;
"Warrant
Holders"
the holders of the Warrants;
"Warrant
Instrument"
the instrument under which the Company has
constituted the Warrants;
"working
day"
has the meaning given in section 1173 of the
Act.