TIDMSUMO

RNS Number : 5291Y

Sumo Group PLC

17 January 2022

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 THAT JURISDICTION

17 January 2022

RECOMMED CASH ACQUISITION

of

SUMO GROUP PLC

by

SIXJOY HONG KONG LIMITED

Suspension of trading

On 19 July 2021, Sumo Group plc (Sumo) and Tencent Holdings Limited (Tencent) announced a recommended cash offer for Sumo through Tencent's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited (Tencent Bidco), under Rule 2.7 of the Code (the Acquisition), to be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement (the Scheme), subject to the terms and conditions set out in the circular relating to the Scheme dated 16 August 2021 (the Scheme Document).

On 13 January 2022, Sumo and Tencent Bidco announced that the High Court of Justice in England and Wales had, on that date, made an order sanctioning the Scheme under section 899 of the Companies Act. Sumo and Tencent Bidco also announced on 13 January 2022, that, as expected, the last day for dealings in, and for registration of transfers of, and disablement of CREST for, Sumo Shares was 14 January 2022.

Further to that announcement, Sumo today announces that dealings in Sumo Shares on AIM were suspended with effect from 7.30 a.m. today, 17 January 2022.

Except as otherwise defined herein, capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement have the same meanings as given to them in the Scheme Document. References to time in this announcement are to London time.

Next steps

The Scheme remains conditional on, and will become Effective upon, the delivery of a copy of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies which is expected to occur later today. Scheme Shareholders on Sumo's register of members at the Scheme Record Time, being 6.00 p.m. on 14 January 2022 will, upon the Scheme becoming Effective, be entitled to receive 513 pence in cash for each Scheme Share held.

It is expected that, subject to the Scheme becoming Effective later today, the admission to trading of Sumo Shares on AIM will be cancelled with effect from 7.00 a.m. on 18 January 2022.

A further announcement will be made when the Scheme has become Effective and when the admission to trading of Sumo Shares on AIM have been cancelled.

If any of the expected times and/or dates above change, the revised times and/or dates will be notified to Sumo Shareholders by announcement through a Regulatory Information Service. Such announcement will, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons in Restricted Jurisdictions, also be available on Sumo's website at www.sumogroupplc.com/investors-centre/ and Tencent's website at https://www.tencent.com/en-us/investors.html.

Enquiries

 
 Sumo Group plc                                                                           via Belvedere Communications 
  Carl Cavers / David Wilton 
 Goldman Sachs International (Lead financial adviser to Sumo) 
  Khamran Ali / Hemal Thaker / Tanguy Croguennoc / Chris Emmerson                                 +44 (0) 20 7774 1000 
 Zeus Capital Limited (Rule 3 Adviser, Nominated Adviser, Joint Broker and financial 
  adviser 
  to Sumo)                                                                                        +44 (0) 161 831 1512 
  Benjamin Robertson / Richard Darlington / Andrew Jones                                          +44 (0) 20 3829 5000 
 Investec Corporate & Investment Banking (Joint Broker to Sumo) 
  David Flin / Bruce Garrow                                                                       +44 (0) 207 597 5970 
 Belvedere Communications Limited (Financial PR adviser to Sumo) 
  Cat Valentine                                                                                   +44 (0) 7715 769 078 
  John West                                                                                       +44 (0) 7788 971 403 
 Tencent                                                                                     +852 3148 5100 ext 868919 
  PH Cheung 
 Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc (Financial adviser to Tencent and Tencent 
  Bidco) 
  Laurence Hopkins / Daniel Diamond / Josh Bretherton                                             +44 (0) 20 7425 8000 
 Brunswick Group (Financial PR adviser to Tencent) 
  Tim Danaher / Diana Vaughton                                                                    +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 
 

Further information

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute or form part of, any 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 shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities of Sumo in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.

The Acquisition will be implemented solely by means of the Scheme Document (or if the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer, the offer document), which contains the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition.

Goldman Sachs, which is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Sumo and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sumo for providing the protections afforded to clients of Goldman Sachs, or for giving advice in connection with the matters referred to in this announcement.

Zeus Capital, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting as Rule 3 adviser for Sumo and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sumo for providing the protections afforded to clients of Zeus, nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to herein.

Investec Bank plc, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting for Sumo and for no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Sumo for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the matters set out in this announcement.

Morgan Stanley, which is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom, is acting as financial adviser exclusively for Tencent and Tencent Bidco and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to any person other than Tencent and Tencent Bidco for providing the protections afforded to clients of Morgan Stanley, nor for providing advice in relation to the content of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. Neither Morgan Stanley nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Morgan Stanley in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Notice to Overseas Shareholders

General

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in or into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore any persons who are subject to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable legal or regulatory requirements. Any failure to comply with the applicable 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 Acquisition disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person. This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law, the Code and the AIM 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 of jurisdictions outside of England.

The Acquisition will not be made, directly or indirectly, in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction. Copies of this announcement and formal documentation relating to the Acquisition will not be, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction or any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction and persons receiving such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise forward, distribute or send them in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Doing so may render invalid any related purported vote in respect of the Acquisition. If the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer (unless otherwise permitted by applicable law or regulation), the Takeover Offer may not be made, directly or indirectly, in, into or by use of the mails of or from within any Restricted Jurisdiction, other means of instrumentality (including, without limitation, facsimile, email or other electronic transmission, telex or telephone) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any facility of a national, state or other securities exchange of any Restricted Jurisdiction and the Takeover Offer will not be capable of acceptance by any such use, means, instrumentality or abilities or from within any Restricted Jurisdiction.

Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders is contained in paragraph 15 of Part Two of the Scheme Document.

Certain notices to US investors in Sumo

The Acquisition relates to the shares of an English company that is a "foreign private issuer" as defined in Rule 3b-4 under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is intended to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement under English law. Neither the US proxy solicitation rules nor (unless implemented by means of a takeover offer) the tender offer rules under the US Exchange Act will apply to the Acquisition. Accordingly, the Scheme is subject to the disclosure requirements and practices applicable to the United Kingdom and under the Code to schemes of arrangement (or takeover offers, if applicable), which differ from the disclosure and procedural requirements of the US proxy solicitation rules and the tender offer rules. Neither the SEC, nor any securities commission of any state of the United States, has approved the Acquisition, passed upon the fairness of the Acquisition or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this document. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. Financial information relating to Sumo included in this announcement and the Scheme Document has been or will have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and accounting standards applicable in the United Kingdom that may not be comparable to financial information of US companies or companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

The receipt of cash by a beneficial owner of Sumo Shares pursuant to the Acquisition as consideration for the transfer of its Scheme Shares pursuant to the Scheme will likely be a taxable transaction for United States federal income tax purposes and may also be a taxable transaction under other applicable tax laws, including any applicable United States state and local, as well as non-US, tax laws. Each Sumo Shareholder is urged to consult its independent professional adviser immediately regarding the tax consequences to it (or to its beneficial owners) of the Acquisition.

Sumo is organised under the laws of England, Tencent is organised under the laws of the Cayman Islands and Tencent Bidco is organised under the laws of Hong Kong. All of the officers and directors of Sumo and Tencent are residents of countries other than the United States and the majority of the assets of Sumo and Tencent are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible to effect service of process within the United States upon Sumo, Tencent, Tencent Bidco or any of their respective officers or directors, or to enforce outside the United States judgements obtained against Sumo, Tencent, Tencent Bidco or any of their respective officers or directors in courts in the United States, including, without limitation, judgements based upon the civil liability provisions of the US federal securities laws or the laws of any state or territory within the United States. It may not be possible to sue Sumo, Tencent and Tencent Bidco in a non-US court for violations of US securities laws. It may be difficult to compel Sumo, Tencent, Tencent Bidco and their respective affiliates to subject themselves to the jurisdiction and judgment of a court in the United States.

If the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Takeover Offer and Tencent Bidco determines to extend such offer into the United States, the offer will be made in compliance with applicable US tender offer rules. In such circumstances, Sumo Shareholders are urged to read any documents relating to the Acquisition because they will contain important information regarding the Acquisition. Such documents will be available from Sumo at www.sumogroupplc.com.

In accordance with normal UK practice and pursuant to Rule 14e-5 under the US Exchange Act, Tencent Bidco or certain of its affiliates, or its nominees, or its brokers (acting as agents), may from time to time make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, Sumo Shares outside of the United States, other than pursuant to the Acquisition, until the date on which the Acquisition becomes Effective or the Acquisition (or the Takeover Offer) lapses or is otherwise withdrawn. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Any information about such purchases will be disclosed as required in the UK, will be reported to a Regulatory Information Service and will be available on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com. Accordingly, such information will also be publicly disclosed in the United States to the extent that such information is made public in the UK.

Publication of this announcement and availability of hard copies

A copy of this announcement will be available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on Tencent's website (at www.tencent.com/en-us/investors.html) and Sumo's website (at www.sumogroupplc.com/investors-centre/) by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the Business Day following this announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of the websites referred to in this announcement are not incorporated into and do not form part of this announcement.

Sumo Shareholders may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Link Group on 0371 664 0321 (if calling from within the UK) or +44 371 664 0321 (if calling from outside the 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. The helpline is open between 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in England and Wales. Please note that Link Group cannot provide any financial, legal or tax advice and calls may be recorded and monitored for security and training purposes. Your attention is drawn to the fact that a hard copy of this announcement will not be sent to you unless so requested. You may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to you in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

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 London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.

END

SRSZZLFFLFLZBBF

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2022 02:30 ET (07:30 GMT)

Sumo (LSE:SUMO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024 Click Here for more Sumo Charts.
Sumo (LSE:SUMO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024 Click Here for more Sumo Charts.