
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RECOMMENDED FINAL* CASH ACQUISITION
of
by
a wholly-owned subsidiary of WSP Global Inc. ("WSP Global")
to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement
under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006
Court Sanction of Scheme of Arrangement
On
The scheme document in relation to the Scheme was published on
Ricardo and
Pursuant to the Court Order, the Scheme will become Effective on delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies, which is expected to occur on
Next Steps
The last day for dealings in, and for registrations of transfers of,
Applications have been made to the Financial Conduct Authority and the
A further announcement will be made when the Scheme has become Effective, which is expected to occur on
General
Full details of the Scheme are set out in the Scheme Document. Capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement shall have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document. All references to times in this announcement are to
*The financial terms of the Acquisition are final and will not be increased, except that WSP Global and
Enquiries
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+44 1273 455 611 |
Gleacher Shacklock (Financial Adviser to Ricardo) |
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+44 20 7484 1150 |
Investec (Corporate Broker to Ricardo) |
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SEC Newgate (Media Enquiries) Box Huxford |
+44 20 7680 6882 |
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+1 438-843-7519 |
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+44 20 7653 4000 |
Important notices
This announcement is for information purposes only. It is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise nor will there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.
This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law, the Takeover Code and the Listing Rules and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside
Overseas Shareholders
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement and the Scheme Document in or into certain jurisdictions other than the
Unless otherwise determined by
The availability of the Acquisition to Ricardo Shareholders who are not resident in the
The Acquisition shall be subject to English law, the jurisdiction of the Court and the applicable requirements of the Takeover Code, the Panel, the Listing Rules, the
Additional information for US investors
The Acquisition relates to shares of a
Accordingly, the Acquisition is subject to the disclosure and procedural requirements applicable in the
In the event that the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, in accordance with normal
The receipt of consideration by a US holder for the transfer of its
Neither the US Securities and Exchange Commission nor any securities commission of any state or other jurisdiction of
Financial information relating to Ricardo and/or the
WSP Global is organised under the laws of
Additional information for Canadian investors
Holders of
The receipt of cash pursuant to the Acquisition by a Canadian holder as consideration for the transfer of its
Ricardo is located in a country other than
Forward-looking statements
This announcement and the Scheme Document (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement and the Scheme Document), oral statements made regarding the Acquisition and other information published by Ricardo, WSP Global,
The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and the Scheme Document relate to future events, including Ricardo, WSP Global,
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that shall occur in the future. These events and circumstances include changes in, and assumptions about, the global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces and conditions; future exchange and interest rates, changes in tax rates; future business combinations or disposals; the satisfaction of the conditions to Completion of the Acquisition on the proposed terms and schedule; the state of the global economy, political environment and the economies of the regions in which Ricardo, WSP Global,
Specifically, statements of estimated cost savings and synergies relate to future actions and circumstances which, by their nature, involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies. As a result, the cost savings and synergies referred to may not be achieved, may be achieved later or sooner than estimated, or those achieved could be materially different from those estimated. Due to the scale of the
Additionally, to the extent any forward-looking statement in this announcement or the Scheme Document constitutes financial outlook, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, such information is intended to provide investors with information regarding WSP Global,
The forward-looking statements speak only at the date of this announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to any member of the
WSP Global,
Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in 1 per cent. 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
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1 per cent. 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
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 shall 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 Panel's website at http://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 +44 (0) 20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.
Electronic communications
Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain information provided by Ricardo Shareholders, persons with information rights, participants in the Ricardo Share Plans and other relevant persons for the receipt of communications from Ricardo may be provided to
Publication on website and availability of hard copies
A copy of this announcement will be made available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions) on WSP Global's and Ricardo's websites at https://www.wsp.com/en-gl/investors/offer-wsp-ricardo and https://www.ricardo.com/en/investors/recommended-offer-from-wsp, respectively, by no later than 12 noon (
You may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting
If you are in any doubt about the contents of this announcement or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor or independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are resident in the
Scheme process
In accordance with Section 5 of Appendix 7 to the City Code, Ricardo or
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the