Notice of Intention to Delist From The London Stock Exchange
04 April 2023 - 4:00PM
OKYO Pharma Limited (Nasdaq: OKYO; LSE: OKYO)
("
OKYO" or the "
Company"), an
ophthalmology-focused bio-pharmaceutical company which is
developing OK-101 to treat dry eye disease to address the
significant unmet need in this multi-billion-dollar market, today
announces that it has applied to the UK Financial Conduct Authority
("
FCA") and London Stock Exchange plc
("
LSE") to effect a cancellation of its ordinary
shares of no par value each ("
Ordinary Shares")
from listing on the standard segment of the FCA's Official List and
trading on the main market for listed securities of the LSE
("
Main Market") ("
Delisting").
The Delisting will have no impact on the
Company’s American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") (each currently
representing 65 Ordinary Shares) which are traded on
Nasdaq.
The Company has decided to request the voluntary
cancellation of listing as the volume of trading of the Ordinary
Shares on the Main Market is negligible and does not justify the
associated costs.
Pursuant to Listing Rule 5.2.8, the Company is
required to give at least 20 business days' notice of the intended
cancellation of listing. It is anticipated that, in accordance with
Listing Rule 5.2.8R, the Delisting will be effective at 8:00 a.m.
on Friday, 12 May 2023 (the "Delisting Date").
Following the Delisting, the Company will no longer be subject to
the regulatory and statutory regime which applies to companies
admitted to the standard segment of the Official List and traded on
the Main Market.
The securities to which the Delisting relates
are the Ordinary Shares of OKYO Pharma Limited with ISIN
GG00BD3FV870. Following the Delisting, it will no longer be
possible to trade the Ordinary Shares on the Main Market or any
other market of the LSE.
The Company will shortly put proposals to
shareholders, inter alia, to consolidate every 65 existing Ordinary
Shares into one new ordinary share of no par value (thereby
matching its current ADS ratio). The Company then intends, on the
Delisting Date, to collapse the ADS and directly list the Company’s
new ordinary shares on Nasdaq in place of the current ADSs. This is
an administrative "substitution of security" for the purposes of
Nasdaq and current ADSs holders will automatically have their DTC
accounts credited with the underlying new ordinary shares.
ADS holders accordingly need to take no
action.
Information for holders through
CREST
Following the share consolidation (which is
expected to take place on the Delisting Date), holders of the
Company’s ordinary shares in CREST will receive a CDI (a CREST
depositary interest issued by Euroclear) into their CREST account,
with each CDI representing one new ordinary share. The CDIs can be
exchanged for the new ordinary shares within the CREST system. Full
information will be contained in the circular to be sent to
shareholders and posted to the Company’s website.
Information for holders in certificated
form
For persons who currently hold Ordinary Shares
in certificated form, these shareholders will receive a "DRS
Statement" from the Company’s US transfer agent, by post. The DRS
Statement will explain how to dematerialise the underlying shares
into a trading account. ANY SHAREHOLDERS WHO CURRENTLY HOLD
ORDINARY SHARES IN CERTIFICATED FORM ARE URGED TO SPEAK TO THEIR
STOCKBROKER OR SHARE DEALING PLATFORM AND TO MOVE THEIR
CERTIFICATED ORDINARY SHARES INTO CREST PRIOR TO THE DELISTING
DATE. THIS WILL SUBSTANTIALLY SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS FOR RECEIVING
NASDAQ TRADED ORDINARY SHARES. ANY HOLDER OF CERTIFICATED ORDINARY
SHARES SHOULD ALSO ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY’S REGISTRAR HAS FULLY
UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION AS TO THEIR CURRENT ADDRESS AS DRS
STATEMENTS CANNOT EASILY BE REISSUED.
Other information
The Company will also file a registration
statement with the SEC in respect of the ordinary shares not
currently comprised in the ADSs to facilitate free trading in those
shares.
Following the Delisting, holders of ordinary
shares will continue to be entitled to transfer such ordinary
shares in accordance with the requirements of the Company's
articles of association and the laws of the Bailiwick of
Guernsey.
Full information, including details of the
action that shareholders holding in certificated form will need to
take, will be contained in the circular to be sent to shareholders
and posted to the Company’s website.
For the purposes of UK MAR, the person who
arranged the release of this information is Gary S. Jacob, Chief
Executive Officer of OKYO.
Enquiries:
OKYO Pharma Limited |
Keeren Shah, Chief Financial Officer |
+44 (0)20 7495 2379 |
Investor Relations |
Paul Spencer |
+44 (0)20 7495 2379 |
|
|
|
Broker |
Robert Emmet, Optiva Securities Limited |
+44 (0)20 3981 4173 |
Notes for Editors:
About OKYO
OKYO Pharma Limited (LSE: OKYO; NASDAQ: OKYO) is
a life sciences company admitted to listing on NASDAQ and on the
standard segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct
Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities
of London Stock Exchange plc. OKYO is focusing on the discovery and
development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye
diseases and chronic pain. For further information, please visit
www.okyopharma.com.
About OK-101OK-101 is a lipid
conjugated chemerin peptide antagonist of the ChemR23 G-protein
coupled receptor which is typically found on immune cells of the
eye responsible for the inflammatory response. OK-101 was developed
using a membrane-anchored-peptide (MAP) technology to produce a
novel long-acting drug candidate for treating dry eye disease.
OK-101 has been shown to produce anti-inflammatory and
pain-reducing activities in mouse models of dry eye disease and
corneal neuropathic pain; and is designed to combat washout through
the inclusion of the lipid ‘anchor’ contained in the candidate drug
molecule to enhance the residence time of OK-101 within the ocular
environment.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE
INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION 2014/596/EU
WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET ABUSE
(AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK
MAR").
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