Editor's Pick: Markets: The week that was (16-20/11/09)
(YELL.L) Yell Group PLC Buy/Sell
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| Fri 17:25 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 8828C Yell Group plc 20 November 2009
the underlying issuer of
existing shares to which
voting rights are attached:
2. Reason for the notification
An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments
which may result in the acquisition of shares
already issued to which voting rights are attached
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights
Other (please specify): Shares transferred out.
4. Full name of shareholder(s)
(if different from 3.):
(and date on which the
threshold is crossed or
reached if different):
notified:
crossed or reached: 8. Notified details:
A: Voting rights attached to shares
CODE
(GB0031718066)
B: Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
N/A
Total (A+B)
Number of voting rights % of voting rights
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or
the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:
Proxy Voting
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: N/A
5468
ANNEX NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES
A: Identity of the person or legal entity subject to the notification
obligation
entities)
representative for legal persons)
6501/
relationship with the person or legal entity
subject to the notification obligation)
N/A This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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| Wed 18:15 | AFX UK Focus |
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BARCELONA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - French yellow-pages publisher PagesJaunes said growth was more important than balance-sheet concerns as it wanted the freedom to be part of an expected consolidation among local information providers.
Not only yellow-pages companies but also local news providers, especially newspapers, have suffered from a slump in classified advertising as small businesses, their main customers, have tightened marketing budgets.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.6680 euro) Keywords: TECH CONFERENCE/PAGESJAUNES (georgina.prodhan@thomsonreuters.com; +4420 7542 7954; Reuters Messaging georgina.prodhan.reuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 13-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 5009C Yell Group plc 13 November 2009
TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES
existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments An event changing the breakdown of voting rights Other (please specify):
subject to the notification obligation:
4. Full name of shareholder(s)
date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:
notified:
crossed or reached: 8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares
if possible using
the ISIN CODE
B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: Barclays Bank plc Barclays Global Investors Ltd Barclays Stockbrokers Ltd Gerrard Investment Management Ltd Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: 13. Additional information:
15. Contact telephone number: 020 7116 2913 Note: Annex should only be submitted to the FSA not the issuer Annex: Notification of major interests in share
A: Identity of the persons or legal entity subject to the notification obligation
(including legal form of legal entities)
Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons)
B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable
7PT
Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation) C: Additional information For notes on how to complete form TR-1 please see the FSA website. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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| 11-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 3679C Yell Group plc 11 November 2009
TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES
existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments An event changing the breakdown of voting rights Other (please specify):
subject to the notification obligation:
4. Full name of shareholder(s)
date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:
notified:
crossed or reached: 8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares
if possible using
the ISIN CODE
B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: Barclays Bank plc Barclays Global Investors Ltd Barclays Stockbrokers Ltd Gerrard Investment Management Ltd Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: 13. Additional information:
15. Contact telephone number: 020 7116 2913 Note: Annex should only be submitted to the FSA not the issuer Annex: Notification of major interests in share
A: Identity of the persons or legal entity subject to the notification obligation
(including legal form of legal entities)
Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons)
B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable
7PT
Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation) C: Additional information For notes on how to complete form TR-1 please see the FSA website. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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| 11-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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The Times LLOYDS ANNOUNCES ANOTHER 5,000 JOBS WILL GO Lloyds Banking Group announced it is to axe a further 5,000 jobs in its administration, insurance and mortgage divisions. This will bring the total number of jobs cut to 12,500 since the takeover of HBOS in January. Lloyds said it is targeting synergies of at least 1.5 billion pounds ($2.50 billion) from the merger and has forecast that by the end of the year it will have achieved annualised cost-savings of 750 million pounds. Unite, the union, said the cuts demonstrated "the depth of corporate arrogance within this taxpayer supported bank".
HSBC AND BARCLAYS SUGGEST THE 'BIGGEST JOLT HAS PASSED' Britain's biggest banks, HSBC and Barclays , revealed notable improvements in underlying profits on Tuesday. There is also evidence that the rise in personal and commercial defaults is slowing. Michael Geoghegan, HSBC's chief executive, said that "the biggest jolt has now passed" but expressed concerns about rising unemployment levels in the West. Barclays, meanwhile, now expects bad debts to peak a few months earlier than previously thought. Its statutory pre-tax profit for the first three quarters of 2009 was 4.5 billion pounds, 19 percent lower than last year. HSBC does not disclose profit figures when it announces results.
DES AND DAVE CHECK BACK INTO CITY WITH BOUTIQUE HOTEL D&D London, the company formerly known as Conran Restaurants, is to return to the hotel business by developing a small chain of boutique hotels. Initially D&D is teaming up with property developer Frogmore to create a luxury 80-room hotel in the Moorgate area of London. D&D sold its 50 percent stake in the Great Western Hotel in 2006, vowing to return to the market as soon as possible and experts estimate the cost of the new Moorgate development will be in the region of 50 million pounds. The Daily Telegraph
YELL'S 660 MILLION POUND RIGHTS ISSUE HAS 85 MILLION POUND
FEE Yell, which has just raised 660 million pounds in a rights issue, will have to pay bankers 85 million pounds in fees. Yell owes lenders 60 million pounds after they accepted the company's request to extend 3.8 billion pounds of debts until 2014. Meanwhile, the four banks which arranged and underwrote the rights issue will collect 25 million pounds. Adviser Nigel Himsworth of NM Rothschild said the fee was lower than Yell had expected to pay. Yell recently revealed a 66 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profits, to 38.7 million pounds.
NATIONAL EXPRESS PREPARES HEAVILY DISCOUNTED 370 MILLION POUND. National Express is expected to launch a discounted 370 million pounds rights issue on Wednesday. The cash call is likely to come at a discount of around 40 percent to the theoretical ex-rights price, with the bus and rail operator currently valued at 517 million pounds. The Cosmen family, the majority shareholder in National Express, has not said whether or not it will back the issue. National Express is due to relinquish its East Coast rail franchise on Friday.
DEFENCE WORK BOOSTS BABCOCK RESULTS Babcock, the engineering group, has revealed better-than-expected first-half results. A drop in sales in its rail division has been offset by new defence contracts and good performance in its marine business, where operating profit rose 29 percent to 54.3 million pounds. However, the rail division's revenue dropped by a quarter in the first half to 84.8 million pounds. Peter Rogers, Babcock's chief executive, has expressed concerns about the division's performance and will decide by the end of this year whether it should be sold. The Independent
THRESHERS' FRANCHISEES ARE 'DETERMINED TO RESIST' TRANSFER
TO NEW FIRST QUENCH OWNER An estimated 55 out 65 franchisees at Threshers have told KPMG, the administrators of First Quench Retailing, that they will resist plans to force them into a sale to a purchaser of the business. Franchisees believe that the failure by FQR to deliver stock to stores for long periods this year constituted a breach of the franchise agreement, and if KPMG pushes ahead with an opposed sale, this breach may be used to leave them free to trade as independent businesses. Franchises account for 30 million pounds, or 10 percent, of FQR's sales.
VODAFONE TO DOUBLE ITS COST CUTTING TARGET TO TWO BILLION
POUNDS The economic downturn and strong competition from its rivals have forced Vodafone to prepare to double its cost-cutting drive to two billion pounds. The group said job cuts are inevitable and 500 million pounds of the savings would be used to fund potential acquisitions, "depending on the economic situation". The group also confirmed that its guidance for the whole year would see operating profit at the "upper end" of the 11 billion - 11.8 billion pounds range. Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said cuts will focus on technology, sourcing and infrastructure initiatives and overheads.
BSM DIRECTORS TAKE THE WHEEL FOR 10 MILLION POUNDS The British School of Motoring's joint managing directors have announced a 10 million pound deal to take control of the company. It is the second time in less than a year that the company has changed hands. Abu-Haris Shafi and Nikolai Kesting led the takeover and outlined proposals to hire a further 3,000 driving instructors and open additional centres within the next two years. Nine months ago Aviva sold BSM to private equity group Arques Industries. BSM has a 10 percent share of Britain's driving school market. The Guardian
EVERY LIDL HELPS - TESCO BENEFITS FROM SLOWDOWN AT
DISCOUNTERS Doubling the points accrued to its Clubcard loyalty scheme helped Tesco increase its share of the groceries market for the first time in two years. Data from market research firm TNS shows the supermarket group's market share rose to 30.7 percent in the three months to November -- up 0.1 per cent on the same period last year. TNS's research also suggests that the recent popularity enjoyed by discount retailers is starting to wane -- with the market share of Lidl and Aldi down 5.5 and 5.8 per cent respectively.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO APPOINTS FTSE'S FIFTH FEMALE CHIEF Imperial Tobacco has appointed Alison Cooper as its new chief executive, bringing the number of female chief executives in the FTSE 100 to five. Cooper, who is currently the group's chief operating officer, will take up the role in May next year -- succeeding Gareth Davis. According to chairman Ian Napier, Cooper's appointment followed "a rigorous review of potential candidates, both internally and externally". Imperial reported a 40 percent increase in pre-tax profits to 2.23 billion pounds.
NORTHERN TO CUT 220 JOBS AT FOX'S BISCUIT FACTORIES Northern Foods expects to cut around 220 staff at its Fox's Biscuit factories following the introduction of automated technology. The group, which is to invest 26.5 million pounds in the Fox brand over the next 18 months, reported a pre-tax profit of 12.9 million pounds for the six months to September 26 and chief executive Stefan Barden said that sales and profit expectations for the financial year remained unchanged, despite market conditions remaining competitive. Prepared for Reuters by Durrants ($1=.6002 Pounds) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 11-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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MOVE TO PROTECT PENSIONS OF HIGH EARNERS BLOCKED The High Court has rejected attempts by pension fund trustees to buy annuities that would cover additional benefits that are higher than those guaranteed by the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF). The court case centred on the trustees of a pension scheme whose sponsoring employer entered administration in 2004. Lawyers said the ruling meant that trustees would be unable to take riskier business investment decisions in the future on the basis that "if it all goes wrong the PPF will pick up the pieces".
MAGIC CIRCLE LEGAL BILLS UNDER FIRE A survey of more than 40 legal firms to be published in Legal Week magazine has found that leading "Magic Circle" lawyers often fail to provide predictable and value-for-money bills. The poll of corporate clients ranks the five traditional prestige firms -- Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy and Slaughter and May -- below average, highlighting increasing tensions over the issue of legal fees between big businesses and their solicitors. The findings reflect the rise in power of company in-house lawyers and cost-cutting measures triggered by the credit crunch.
TRADE DEFICIT FLAT AS DOMESTIC DEMAND GROWS The Office of National Statistics has reported that the trade deficit increased marginally in the third quarter as import volumes rose faster than exports. The deficit shrank by 208 million pounds ($346.5 million) to 8.4 billion pounds in the three months to September, compared with a 1.2 billion pound decline in the second quarter. Import volumes increased at an almost 14 per cent annualised pace in the quarter, compared to a 10 percent rise in exports amid a pick-up in global trade.
CITY JOB VACANCIES RISE 15 PERCENT TO HIGHEST THIS YEAR Financial recruitment specialist Morgan McKinley has revealed that new job opportunities in the City increased by 15 percent last month to the highest level this year. Employment vacancies rose to 4,410, compared with 3,843 in September. Although the October figure was 19 percent below the equivalent level a year ago, the drop was the smallest seen for 16 months. Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley's financial services division, said that while progress during 2009 had been "slow and somewhat unsteady", employers' confidence in hiring had "slowly but surely" started to return.
TOP SHAREHOLDER'S STANCE UNCLEAR AS NAT EXPRESS LAUNCHES
CASH CALL National Express will today launch a 370 million to 375 million pounds rights issue, a move which will draw a lie under weeks of speculation over the company's future. The rights issue will be fully underwritten, with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley taking the lead and a syndicate of other institutions accounting for the balance. Shares will be issued at a 40 percent discount to the ex-rights price. There remains some uncertainty over whether the Cosmen family, which is the company's largest shareholder, will back the rights issue. The Cosmen family has reservations about the bus and rail operator's strategy and has been canvassing shareholders and investors over the past week, urging them to consider a merger with Stagecoach .
REVENUE PRESSURE BESETS SAINSBURY Figures from market research group Nielson reveal that sales at Sainsbury's rose 4.7 percent in the 12 weeks to Oct. 31, the lowest rate of expansion of the four big supermarkets and less than Tesco's 5.6 percent. Figures from rival TNS Worldwide showed Sainsbury's sales growing at 4.4 percent and Tesco's growing at 4.8 percent. However, figures from TNS of total till roll showed Sainsbury growing at 5.6 percent while Tesco had only a 4.7 percent growth. Sainsbury declined to comment on the figures but Tesco said on Tuesday that it was continuing to converge with rivals. LLOYDS BANKING CUTS 5,000 JOBS Lloyds Banking Group has announced that it will cut 5,000 jobs as it integrates its wide-ranging businesses. 2,820 of the cuts will come from group operations, which include collections, IT and payment services, the remaining jobs losses will be split between the insurance and mortgage businesses. Unite has reacted angrily to the cuts, saying they demonstrated "the depth of corporate arrogance within this taxpayer-supported bank." Rob MacGregor, national officer at Unite, said: "This country's financial sector should be looking towards the future, rather than continuing to slash jobs without proper consideration of how to rebuild the public's confidence in our tarnished banking sector."
YELL TO RAISE 660 MILLION POUNDS FOR DEBT DEAL Yell is to raise 660 million pounds in a share issue the proceeds of which it will use to cut debt to 3.5 billion pounds, the publisher has also committed to pay back a further 260 million pounds over the subsequent 18 months. Yell, advised by JPMorgan and Rothschild, will pay about 80 million pounds in fees. On Tuesday, Yell also reported a fall in interim profits of more than two thirds to 38.7 million pounds on revenue which dropped four percent to 983 million pounds. Earnings per share fell 70 percent to 3.3 pence. Shares in the company closed at 46.25 pence, down 1.75 pence.
BABCOCK EYES RAPID GROWTH Babcock has said that it expects pressures on defence budgets around the world to speed up its international expansion as governments consider outsourcing to reduce costs. The engineering support services company's portfolio is dominated by long-term contracts to support the Royal Navy, although it does already have some exposure to international markets through work on submarines in Australia and Canada. The company has also won a contract to provide flying training for the South African Air Force. For the six months to September 30, Babcock reported pre-tax profits up from 50.9 million pounds to 66.1 million pounds. Revenue fell from 942 million pounds to 935 million pounds. Shares on Tuesday closed at 619.5 pence, down 22.5 pence.
PRIVATE EQUITY GROUPS ON THE GRID FOR BRITISH CAR AUCTION British Car Auction (BCA), Europe's largest vehicle reselling network, has attracted bids from a number of private equity groups. Bridgepoint, Cinven, BC Partners and Clayton Dublier & Rice are all expected to submit final offers next month that will value the company at between 400 million and 500 million pounds. BCA, which sells over 12,000 vehicles a week at physical and Internet auctions, was bought by private equity group Montagu in 2006 for 450 million pounds. Prepared for Reuters by Durrants ($1=.6002 Pounds) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 10-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 3070C Yell Group plc 10 November 2009 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN. 10 November 2009 Yell Group plc ('Yell' or 'the Company')
PUBLICATION OF PROSPECTUS Further to Yell's announcement today that it is proposing to raise gross proceeds of approximately £660 million through a firm placing and a placing and open offer involving the issue of 1,571,786,222 New Ordinary Shares at an issue price of 42 pence per New Ordinary Share, the Company announces that a prospectus relating to the Capital Raising (the 'Prospectus') was approved by the UK Listing Authority (the 'UKLA') today. The Prospectus will be posted to Qualifying Shareholders (other, subject to certain exceptions, than Excluded Territory Shareholders) today, and copies of the Prospectus, which includes a notice convening a extraordinary general meeting of the Company to be held at the offices of Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2HS on 26 November 2009 at 11:00 a.m., will shortly be available for inspection at the UKLA's Document Viewing Facility, which is situated at Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS. In addition, the Prospectus will shortly be available to view on the Company's website (www.yellgroup.com). Copies of the Prospectus will be available from the registered office of Yell at Queens Walk, Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 7PT. The Prospectus will also be available for inspection during normal business hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excluded) at the offices of Herbert Smith LLP at Primrose Street, Exchange Square, London, EC2A 2HS. Capitalised terms in this announcement have the same meaning as in the Prospectus. For further information, please contact:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Anthony Carlisle
Laurence Hollingworth, Rupert Sadler Rupert Hume - Kendall, Mark Astaire
Important notice This announcement is not a prospectus but an advertisement and Qualifying Shareholders should not acquire any New Ordinary Shares referred to in this announcement except solely on the basis of the information contained in the Prospectus. Neither the content of Yell's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks to Yell's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement. The distribution of this announcement, the Prospectus and any other documentation associated with the Capital Raising into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession these documents come should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. In particular, such documents should not be distributed, forwarded to or transmitted, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, or South Africa. No action has been taken by Yell or any other person that would permit an offer of the New Ordinary Shares or possession or distribution of this announcement, the Prospectus or any other documentation or publicity material or the Application Forms in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. This announcement and the information contained herein is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The New Ordinary Shares may not be offered or sold in the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a person located in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended or an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration. The New Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or jurisdiction of the United States and no public offering of the New Ordinary Shares will be made in the United States. No money, securities or other consideration from any person inside the United States is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained in this announcement, will not be accepted. The New Ordinary Shares have not been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the US or any other US regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the New Ordinary Shares or the accuracy or adequacy of the Application Form or this document. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the US. The New Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the relevant laws of any state, province or territory of any of the Excluded Territories and may not be offered, sold, resold, taken up, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly or indirectly, within any Excluded Territory except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration requirements. There will be no public offer of New Ordinary Shares in Australia, Canada, Japan, or South Africa. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in any jurisdiction and should not be relied upon in connection with any decision to subscribe for or acquire any of New Ordinary Shares. In particular, this announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States. J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Rothschild, Lloyds, and RBS, each of whom are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom, and BNP Paribas which is regulated by the Comit?es ?blissements de cr?t et des entreprises d'investissement and supervised by the Commission Bancaire in France, are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Capital Raising and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this announcement) as a client in relation to the Capital Raising and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in connection with the Capital Raising or any matters referred to in this announcement. Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, that may be imposed on each of the Banks by FSMA or the regulatory regime established there under, each of the Banks accepts no responsibility whatsoever, and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, for the contents of this announcement including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on behalf of them, the Company or any other person, in connection with the Company or the Capital Raising and nothing in this announcement shall be relied upon as a promise or representation in this respect, whether as to the past or the future. The Banks accordingly disclaim all and any liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above), that they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any such statement. This announcement should not be considered a recommendation by the Company, the Banks or any of their respective directors, officers, employees advisers or any of their respective affiliates, parent undertakings, subsidiary undertakings or subsidiaries of their parent undertakings in relation to any purchase of or subscription for the New Ordinary Shares. Prices and values of, and income from, securities may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. It should be noted that past performance is no guide to future performance. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial advisor. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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| 10-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Yell Group PLC:
((London Equities Newsroom; +44 20 7542 7717)) (For more news, please click here)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 10-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 2543C Yell Group plc 10 November 2009 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN. 10 November 2009
YELL GROUP PLC Firm Placing of 785.9 million New Ordinary Shares at 42 pence per New Ordinary Share and Placing and Open Offer of 785.9 million New Ordinary Shares at 42 pence per New Ordinary Share The Board of Yell Group plc ("Yell" or the "Group") today announces a fully underwritten share issue by way of a Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer to raise gross proceeds of approximately £660 million through the issue of 1,571.8 million New Ordinary Shares at 42 pence per New Ordinary Share.
The Issue Price of 42 pence per New Ordinary Share represents a 12.5% discount to the closing price on the London Stock Exchange of 48 pence per Ordinary Share on 9 November 2009. Summary
Yell has also, today, released its results for the half year ended 30 September 2009, details of which are set out in a separate announcement. A prospectus and shareholder circular containing details of the Capital Raising and associated proposed shareholder resolutions is expected to be posted to shareholders later today and will be available on the Company's website, www.yellgroup.com. An Extraordinary General Meeting to approve the Capital Raising is expected to be held at 11:00 a.m. on 26 November 2009. John Condron, Chief Executive, said: "Following last week's approval by our lenders of our refinancing proposals, our shareholders are today demonstrating their support for the second and inter-dependent part of these proposals, the raising of £660 million of new equity. This is significantly above the "at least £500 million" to which we had committed ourselves. We very much appreciate the support that our investors are demonstrating and the confidence they are placing in Yell. Our refinancing will strengthen our capital structure, immediately reducing debt and supporting our strategic and operational focus. The extension of maturities of our debt out to 2014 provides a meaningful window for economic recovery while we also pursue our goal of deleveraging. Our six months results have again delivered slightly above the revenue and EBITDA guidance with margins benefiting from the cost restructuring actions we undertook last year. While the results reflect the continued effects of the economic recession and reduction in confidence among businesses across all sectors, they also show the comparative strength of Yell's trading position and Yell's continued very strong cash generation. We are seeing the rate of revenue decline stabilising. We have continued to invest in our growing internet operations, and the actions we have taken to reshape our business in order to take advantage of the opportunities of changing consumer behaviour are standing us in good stead. We are progressively strengthening our position as a leading provider of business leads to SMEs regardless of channel and we are well placed to benefit from the economic recovery when it arrives." A presentation to analysts is scheduled for 09:00 a.m. on 10 November 2009 at the City Presentation Centre, 4 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4UP.
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Anthony Carlisle Tel
+44 (0)20 7638 9571
Mobile
+44 (0)7973 611888
Laurence Hollingworth, Rupert Rupert Hume * Kendall, Mark
IMPORTANT NOTICE This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, securities of the Company in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. This announcement has not been approved by the Financial Services Authority or by any other regulatory authority. This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for or purchase any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information provided in the prospectus to be published by the Company in due course. Copies of the prospectus will, following publication, be available from the Company's registered office at Queens Walk, Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 7PT, United Kingdom and at the Company's website at www.yellgroup.com. The securities of the Company (the "Securities") have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. No public offering of Securities is being made in the United States. No communication or information relating to the offer of Securities (the "Offering") may be disseminated to the public in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland where prior registration or approval is required for that purpose. No action has been taken that would permit an offer of the Securities in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. J.P. Morgan Cazenove is acting as Joint Sponsor, Joint Global Co-ordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Financial Adviser to Yell in respect of the Capital Raising. Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are acting as Joint Global Co-ordinators and Joint Bookrunners in respect of the Capital Raising. HSBC is acting as Joint Bookrunner in respect of the Capital Raising. Rothschild is acting as Joint Sponsor and Joint Financial Adviser to Yell in respect of the Capital Raising. RBS, Lloyds and BNP Paribas are acting as Co-Lead Managers in respect of the Capital Raising. This announcement has been issued by and is the sole responsibility of Yell. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Rothschild, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets or RBS Hoare Govett or by any of their respective affiliates or agents as to, or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any responsibility or liability therefore whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise is expressly disclaimed. J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Rothschild, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets and RBS Hoare Govett are acting for Yell and no one else in connection with the Capital Raising and will not regard any other person as a client in relation to the Capital Raising and will not be responsible to anyone other than Yell for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Capital Raising or any matters referred to in this announcement. Certain statements made in this announcement constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "annualised", "goal", "target", "aim", "may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or similar expressions (in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology). Statements in this announcement that are not historical facts are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those relating to future business prospects, revenue, liquidity, capital needs, interest costs and income, in each case relating to Yell, wherever they occur in this document, are not necessarily based on assumptions reflecting the views of the Group and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements should, therefore, be considered in the light of various important factors. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: economic and business cycles, the terms and conditions of the Group's financing arrangements, including fluctuations in interest rates, foreign currency rate fluctuations, competition in the Group's principal markets, acquisitions or disposals of businesses or assets and trends in the Group's principal industries and markets. As such, forward-looking statements are no guarantee of future performance.
YELL GROUP PLC Firm Placing of 785.9 New Ordinary Shares at 42 pence per New Ordinary Share and Placing and Open Offer of 785.9 New Ordinary Shares at 42 pence per New Ordinary Share Introduction On 30 June 2009, the Company announced that it had embarked upon a process to comprehensively refinance the Group. As announced on 2 November 2009, the Group has concluded discussions with its lenders in relation to the Refinancing and an agreement has been reached with in excess of 95 per cent. (by value) of its lenders of record to exchange their participations under the Existing Facilities Agreement for indebtedness under the New Facilities Agreement, which will become effective subject to, among other things, a minimum gross equity raising of £500 million to prepay amounts outstanding under the New Facilities Agreement. The Company is proposing to raise gross proceeds of approximately £660 million to accelerate the prepayment of amounts outstanding under its New Facilities Agreement, which, in turn, will improve the strength of its balance sheet, and lower the costs of borrowing by taking advantage of the margin ratchet provisions of the New Facilities Agreement. The Capital Raising is conditional on, among other things, the approval of the Capital Raising Resolutions by Shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company to be held at 11:00 a.m. on 26 November 2009 at the offices of Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2HS and upon the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects. Shareholder approval is required to remove the limitation on the Company's authorised share capital in line with the Companies Act 2006, the granting of authority to allot and issue the New Ordinary Shares on a non pre-emptive basis, the discounted Issue Price and the approval of related party transactions. Background to and reasons for the Capital Raising Yell is a leading international classified advertising publisher operating in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and certain countries in Latin America. Yell puts buyers in touch with sellers through an integrated portfolio of simple-to-use, cost-effective advertising products available through printed, online and mobile-based media. Yell aims to be the best provider of quality business leads in all of its markets, regardless of channel, by continuing to meet the changing demands of advertisers and consumers, and by taking advantage of new technologies and communication methods. Yell aims to deliver value for money advertising solutions and believes that the directories sector in general has traditionally proved relatively resilient to economic downturns. This continues to be the case, with Yell UK's internet revenue outperforming many other advertising competitors such as the regional press. (1) The Board notes the comparative strength of the Group's trading position, the _____________________________________________ (1) Local press, Enders analysis estimate of print/online revenue split for 2004, 2006 and 2008. continued growth in internet revenue and the Group's strong cash generation, with 134.7 per cent. of adjusted EBITDA in the six months ended 30 September 2009 converted to operating cash flow of £399.8 million. However, the severity of the recent economic downturn has adversely affected the confidence and hence, advertising spend, of Yell's core customer base of SMEs. The Group believes that while customers continue to see the value of Yell's products and, therefore, continue their relationship with the Group, they have reduced their spend on classified advertising as economic pressures have increased. The reduction in customer advertising spend has negatively affected Yell's operating performance and balance sheet position. The Group's revenue began declining in the three months ended 30 September 2008 with a decline of 0.6 per cent., on a constant currency basis, compared to the same period in the prior year. This revenue decline has continued through the economic downturn and, for the three months ended 30 September 2009, the Group's revenue declined by 15.6 per cent. on a constant currency basis, as compared to the same period in the prior year. The Group does not expect revenue to improve until after market conditions improve. In response to the difficult trading conditions, the Group has undertaken a number of initiatives with the aim of reducing costs, growing internet revenue, demonstrating the value of its products and refinancing the Group's term loans. Since 2008 the Group has taken steps to reduce its annual costs by £250 million (approximately 20 per cent. of the cost base in the year ended 31 March 2008) by, among other things, automating processes, changing publishing schedules and improving customer targeting. The Group has focused on growing the Group's internet revenue by investing in the development of the Group's internet products (including its websites). The Group has also invested in demonstrating the cost effectiveness of its products. In addition, the Group has successfully negotiated the New Facilities Agreement to refinance a significant portion of the Group's term loans, which required refinancing before their maturity in April 2011. Through the refinancing, the Group has also made favourable revisions to its financial covenants, which, in light of the economic environment, were becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy. Notwithstanding the Board's confidence about the growth prospects of Yell over the medium to long term, it believes that the business will benefit from the Capital Raising in three ways:
The Board has concluded that the Group's capital structure is no longer appropriate for the business going forward. Accordingly, the Group has created additional headroom and extended the debt maturities by successfully negotiating the New Facilities Agreement, which will provide the Group greater operational and financial flexibility. The New Facilities Agreement includes, among others, the following provisions:
The Board believes that the Capital Raising represents the only viable means of meeting the equity raising condition of the New Facilities Agreement. If the Capital Raising does not complete, the Board believes that it will not be possible for the Group to satisfy the equity raising condition referred to above within the required timeframe and, accordingly, that the New Facilities Agreement will not become effective and the Group will remain subject to the Existing Facilities Agreement. Should this occur, the Board believes it is probable that the Group would breach certain of its financial covenants under the Existing Facilities Agreement at the next test date as at 31 December 2009. Under the New Facilities Agreement, the Board believes that the Group would have sufficient covenant and liquidity headroom throughout the term of the New Debt Facilities. The Board believes that, in conjunction with the New Debt Facilities, the Capital Raising should enable Yell to protect and enhance shareholder value and improve shareholder confidence without significantly detracting from the Group's ability to take advantage of the evolving marketplace for business leads as and when an economic recovery begins.
The Capital Raising is intended to strengthen the Group's balance sheet as a result of a more robust capital structure achieved through the prepayment of debt, as required by the New Facilities Agreement. The Board believes that the proposed Capital Raising will achieve an immediate reduction in the Group's net debt, allowing it to deleverage more rapidly and diversify its funding sources and will support the Group through the current difficult economic climate and ensure it is well positioned to benefit once the economic recovery begins.
The increased operational and financial flexibility provided by the Group's New Facilities Agreement, which will come into effect in the circumstances described above, are expected to improve the Group's ability to focus on its strategy to move from a multi-channel directories publisher to a comprehensive provider of business leads. As the usage market fragments further, businesses and, in particular, SMEs, increasingly need "hassle free" assistance to be found by consumers, regardless of media channel. In order to increase the overall cost-efficiency of its product offering, Yell aims to become a one-stop shop for generating business leads, by maintaining a robust, established print offering and affordable internet and mobile-based products. In particular, the Group intends to continue to invest in technology that enables it to demonstrate the effectiveness of its products and assist its advertising customers in increasing their online presence, and focus on improving the Group's operational and sales force efficiency.
The Board believes that the Group has a number of key strengths, including the following:
Yell is a leading provider of classified directory advertising in the United Kingdom, Spain, Chile, Peru and Argentina. It is also the largest independent classified directory publisher in the United States with operations in 48 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Group has 1.6 million customers across a diverse range of SMEs. The Group acts as an outsourced "sales and marketing department" for many of its SME customers, who often receive many of their business leads through advertisements placed in the Group's products. In the current economic climate, SMEs have been reducing their advertising expenditure, but have generally continued their relationships with the Group. The Group believes the strength of these relationships is evidenced by the Group's strong retention rates for advertising customers, who continue to demonstrate high levels of customer loyalty despite the economic downturn.
The Group's products are offered to advertising customers by a team of over 6,300 experienced sales consultants who have direct contact with the Group's customers, maintaining and supporting the strong relationship-based service the Group offers. The Group's sales consultants are trained to market comprehensive advertising solutions across all of the Group's products. The Group uses sophisticated techniques to incentivise and manage its sales force to efficiently and effectively target potential sales leads and offer the most appropriate advertising solutions to its customers, depending on the preference and behaviour of consumers.
Directories (both print and online) are simple to use and are frequently used by a wide variety of consumers to search for a broad range of products and services. The Group believes that classified directory advertising is a key advertising medium for SMEs because it is generally recognised as a cost-effective and targeted form of advertising. The Group believes that return on investment for advertisers remains high in both the Group's print and internet products. The Group seeks to continue to "prove value" to its advertising customers through a number of new and existing initiatives. As consumers are using a wider variety of channels to search for local businesses, the Group believes SMEs are looking for simple ways to increase their exposure on the internet and to exploit its potential power as an advertising and promotional medium. The Group understands SME advertisers typically lack the time, expertise and resources to devise complex internet advertising strategies involving keyword selection, SEM, SEO and many other techniques necessary to gain prominence and effectively target consumers. The Group believes, with its strong sales force, close customer relationships, extensive databases and solid customer service processes, it is well placed to put buyers in touch with sellers through its internet products.
Brand recognition is key to making Yell a trusted business that is attractive to consumers and advertisers. The Group believes it has achieved excellent brand recognition through effective advertising and strong promotional campaigns in the markets in which it operates.
Despite difficult economic conditions and the resulting decline in consumer activity and advertising revenue, the cash generation of the Group remains very strong with 89.5 per cent. of adjusted EBITDA in the year ended 31 March 2009 converted to operating cash flow of £730.2 million(2) and 134.7 per cent. of adjusted EBITDA converted to operating cash flow of £399.8 million for the six months ended 30 September 2009. _____________________________ (2) Operating cash flow is adjusted EBITDA plus the change in working capital minus capital expenditure.
Each of the Group's senior management has, on average, more than 20 years of experience in either directory advertising or media and communications businesses more generally. The team has both substantial experience and a successful track record of operating the Group, delivering organic revenue growth, implementing ongoing efficiency gains and making and integrating acquisitions. Objectives and strategy of the Group The key objectives and strategies of the Group are set out below:
The Group believes that its close customer relationships and experienced sales force allow it to deliver business leads via any combination of print, online and mobile search channels, and provide its SME customers a particular advantage in today's fragmenting usage market. As well as delivering leads from its own products, the Group intends to continue to deliver additional value by helping SMEs manage their online marketing and exposure on major search engines and on other platforms.
The Group believes its products provide attractive value in terms of generating business leads and the Group intends to continue to invest in technology that enables it to demonstrate the effectiveness of its products and so improve its customer retention and increase its market share. The Board believes that continued investment in product development and marketing will allow the Group to maintain and increase usage across its products. For example, the Group has significantly increased the unique phone lines available to its customers. These lines allow resulting calls to be logged and tracked, enabling the Group to demonstrate to its customers the effectiveness of each advertisement.
The Group intends to continue to develop new technologies and platforms, assist its advertising customers in increasing their online presence and leverage the value that new technology can bring to its existing products and processes. The Group continues to invest in online technologies. The Group also intends to continue to invest in its ability to deliver quality business leads to its advertising customers through existing and emerging media channels.
The Group intends to continue to improve the efficiency of its sales teams while maintaining the recent improvements made to its cost structure. Measures being implemented to enhance sales efficiency include devoting fewer resources to targeting new advertising customers who the Group believes are less likely to generate repeat business and rescheduling printing runs to improve capacity. In addition, the Group has increased the level of automation, allowing sales consultants to spend more time with advertising customers and to meet more advertising customers per day. In line with its recent initiatives, the Group also intends to maintain an efficient cost base, through a continued focus on streamlining back office functions and overall process efficiency. The New Facilities Agreement The New Facilities Agreement will become effective subject to, among other things, the Company completing a gross equity raising of at least £500 million. The gross equity proceeds less agreed costs and expenses (including, but not limited to, equity raising, debt amendment and hedging costs) will be used to prepay, on a pro rata basis, the term loans made available under the New Facilities Agreement. The New Debt Facilities will be used to fund the purchase of the term loan commitments of the lenders consenting to the exchange of participations in the Existing Debt Facilities for participations in the New Debt Facilities. The participations under the New Debt Facilities to which the Consenting Lenders become entitled will be of the same principal amount and denominated in the same currency as the participations in the Existing Debt Facilities. The New Debt Facilities also include a revolving credit facility of up to £200 million. The New Debt Facilities will mature in April 2014, "Facility A" and July 2014, "Facility B", respectively. Under the new Facility A, the Group is obliged to make six monthly mandatory repayment instalments of £25 million (commencing 30 September 2010), with the remainder to be repaid in full on the applicable maturity date. The new Facility B is to be repaid in full on the applicable maturity date. The New Debt Facilities carry a higher interest rate than the Existing Debt Facilities. Terms and Conditions of the Capital Raising Structure of the Capital Raising The Company proposes to raise gross proceeds of approximately £660 million through the Capital Raising by the issue of New Ordinary Shares at an issue price of 42 pence per New Ordinary Share, a discount of 6 pence (12.5 per cent) to the Closing Price on 9 November 2009. 785.9 million New Ordinary Shares will be issued through the Firm Placing and 785.9 million New Ordinary Shares will be issued through the Placing and Open Offer. In setting the Issue Price, the Directors have considered the price at which the New Ordinary Shares need to be offered to investors to ensure the success of the Capital Raising and have held discussions with a number of key institutional investors to determine their willingness to subscribe for the New Ordinary Shares at that price. The level of discount reflects the need, due to the size of the Capital Raising relative to the existing market capitalisation of the Group, to generate demand from both existing shareholders of the Group and new investors. The Directors believe that both the Issue Price and the discount are appropriate. In structuring the Capital Raising, the Directors have had regard, among other things, to the current market conditions, the level of the Company's share price and the importance of pre-emption rights to Shareholders. After considering these factors, the Directors have concluded that the Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer is the most suitable option available to the Company and its Shareholders. The Open Offer component of the fundraising provides an opportunity for all Qualifying Shareholders (other than, subject to certain exceptions, Excluded Territory Shareholders) to participate by subscribing for Open Offer Shares pro rata to their current holding of Ordinary Shares. Principal terms of the Firm Placing The Company is proposing to issue 785.9 million New Ordinary Shares at a price of 42 pence per New Ordinary Share pursuant to the Firm Placing. The Firm Placing is fully underwritten by the Joint Underwriters pursuant to the Placing Agreement. The Firm Placed Shares are not subject to clawback and do not form part of the Open Offer. The Firm Placing is expected to raise £330 million before expenses. The Firm Placing is subject to the same conditions and termination rights that apply to the Placing and Open Offer. The Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer are inter-conditional and conditional, among other things, on Shareholder approval, which will be sought at the Extraordinary General Meeting. The Joint Bookrunners, as agents for the Company, have made arrangements to conditionally place the Open Offer Shares pursuant to the Placing, subject to clawback to satisfy valid applications by Qualifying Shareholders pursuant to the Open Offer. Application will be made to the UK Listing Authority for the Firm Placed Shares to be admitted to the Official List and to the London Stock Exchange for the Firm Placed Shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that Admission will become effective on 30 November 2009 and that dealings for normal settlement in the Firm Placed Shares will commence at 8:00 a.m. on 30 November 2009. The Firm Placed Shares will, when issued and fully paid, be identical to, and rank in full with, the Ordinary Shares for all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after Admission and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares as at the date of issue. Principal Terms of the Placing and Open Offer The Issue Price of 42 pence per New Ordinary Share represents a discount of 6 pence (12.5 per cent.) to the Closing Price of 48 pence per Ordinary Share on 9 November 2009 (being the last Dealing Day prior to announcement of the Capital Raising). The Placing and Open Offer is expected to raise approximately £330 million before expenses. Under the terms of the Placing and Open Offer, Qualifying Shareholders (other than, subject to certain exceptions, Excluded Territory Shareholders) will be given the opportunity to apply for the Open Offer Shares at the Issue Price, pro rata, to their holdings of Existing Ordinary Shares on the Record Date, on the basis of: 1 Open Offer Share for every 1 Existing Ordinary Share Qualifying Shareholders (other than, subject to certain exceptions, Excluded Territory Shareholders) may apply for any whole number of Open Offer Shares up to their maximum entitlement. Application Forms are expected to be despatched to Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders (other than, subject to certain exceptions, Excluded Territory Shareholders) on 10 November 2009 and Qualifying CREST Shareholders (other than, subject to certain exceptions, Excluded Territory Shareholders) are expected to receive a credit to their appropriate stock accounts in CREST in respect of their Open Offer Entitlements at 8:00 a.m. on 11 November 2009. The Placing and Open Offer is fully underwritten by the Joint Underwriters pursuant to the Placing Agreement. J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Rothschild have been appointed as Joint Sponsors; J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and HSBC have been appointed as Joint Bookrunners and J.P. Morgan Securities, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and the Co-Lead Managers (being each of RBS, Lloyds and BNP Paribas) have been appointed as Joint Underwriters to the Capital Raising. Application has been made for the Open Offer Shares to be admitted to CREST. It is expected that the Open Offer Entitlements will be admitted to CREST at 8:00 a.m. on 11 November 2009. The Open Offer Entitlements will also be enabled for settlement in CREST at 8:00 a.m. on 11 November 2009. Applications through the CREST system may only be made by the Qualifying Shareholder originally entitled or by a person entitled by virtue of a bona fide market claim. The Placing and Open Offer is conditional, among other things, upon the passing of the Capital Raising Resolutions at the Extraordinary General Meeting and Admission of the New Ordinary Shares occurring by no later than 8:00 a.m. on 30 November 2009 (or such later time and/or date as the parties to the Placing Agreement may determine). If Admission does not take place on or before 8:00 a.m. on 30 November 2009 (or such later time and/or date as the parties to the Placing Agreement may determine), the Open Offer will lapse, any Open Offer Entitlements admitted to CREST will thereafter be disabled and application monies under the Open Offer will be refunded to the applicants, by cheque (at the applicant's risk) in the case of Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders and by way of a CREST payment in the case of Qualifying CREST Shareholders, without interest as soon as practicable thereafter. In these circumstances, the Placing to the Conditional Placees will not proceed. Application will be made to the UK Listing Authority for the Open Offer Shares to be admitted to the Official List and to the London Stock Exchange for the Open Offer Shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that Admission will become effective on 30 November 2009 and that dealings for normal settlement in the Open Offer Shares will commence at 8:00 a.m. on 30 November 2009. Any Qualifying Shareholder who has sold or transferred all or part of his or her registered holding(s) of Ordinary Shares prior to 8:00 a.m. on 10 November 2009 is advised to consult his or her stockbroker, bank or other agent through or to whom the sale or transfer was effected as soon as possible since the invitation to apply for Open Offer Shares may be a benefit which may be claimed from him or her by the purchasers under the rules of the London Stock Exchange. The Open Offer Shares, when issued and fully paid, will be identical to and rank in full for all dividends or other distributions declared, made or paid after Admission and in all respects will rank pari passu with the Existing Ordinary Shares. No temporary documents of title will be issued. Commitments of Conditional Placees to subscribe for Open Offer Shares pursuant to the Placing are subject to clawback in respect of valid applications for Open Offer Shares by Qualifying Shareholders pursuant to the Open Offer. Effect of the Capital Raising Upon completion of the Capital Raising, the New Ordinary Shares will represent approximately 200 per cent. of the Company's existing issued share capital and approximately 66.7 per cent. of the Company's Enlarged Issued Share Capital. New Ordinary Shares issued through the Placing and Open Offer and New Ordinary Shares issued through the Firm Placing will each account for 50 per cent., of the total New Ordinary Shares to be issued. The Capital Raising Resolutions set out in the Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting must be passed in order for the Capital Raising to proceed. Following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares to be allotted pursuant to the Capital Raising, Qualifying Shareholders who take up their full entitlements in respect of the Open Offer will experience a dilution of 33.3 per cent. of their interests in the Company as a result of the Firm Placing. Qualifying Shareholders who are not eligible to or do not take up any of their entitlements in respect of the Open Offer will experience a greater dilution of approximately 66.7 per cent. of their interests in the Company as a result of the Capital Raising. Qualifying Shareholders should note that the Open Offer is not a rights issue. In the Open Offer, unlike in a rights issue, any Open Offer Shares not applied for will not be sold in the market on behalf of, or placed for the benefit of, Qualifying Shareholders who are not eligible to or do not apply under the Open Offer but rather will be issued to Placees for the benefit of the Company. Use of proceeds The Directors will use the gross proceeds of the Capital Raising, amounting to £660 million, to prepay the term loans made available under the New Facilities Agreement, to settle hedging contracts relating to the prepayment, and to satisfy the fees and expenses associated with the Refinancing and the Capital Raising. Current trading and future prospects The Group's third quarter trading is in line with guidance given on 10 November 2009, when the Group indicated it expected revenue for the third quarter to be around 16 per cent. lower than the comparable period last year at constant exchange rates. For the three months ended 30 September 2009, actual revenue at constant exchange rates was down 15.6 per cent. compared to the same period last year. Trading conditions continue to be challenging and the Group believes it is too early to tell if confidence has returned to its core target customer base. As a consequence, the Group does not currently anticipate any significant improvement in the rate of year on year revenue decline for the remainder of the fiscal year. Dividends and dividend policy As part of the New Facilities Agreement, Yell is restricted from paying dividends until its net debt to EBITDA ratio is less than 3.50:1, subject to the exceptions described below. Subject to reducing the New Debt Facilities by a further £250 million within 18 months of the first utilisation date of the New Debt Facilities, as part of the negotiation of the terms of the New Debt Facilities, the Company has agreed an exception to the dividend restriction. In the financial year commencing 1 April 2010 (but not before 1 December 2010), the Company may pay an annual dividend of £25 million plus a further £8.5 million for every £50 million by which the amount of gross proceeds of the Capital Raising exceeds £500 million (of which up to one third may be paid as the interim dividend with the remaining proportion paid as the final dividend). The Board intends to re-assess its dividend policy on a regular basis with a view (subject to business performance, the ongoing investment requirements of the business and the restrictions under the New Facilities Agreement) to re-commence the payment of dividends. Directors' intentions Each of the Directors who currently has a beneficial holding in the Company intends to take up all, or a majority of (as the case may be) his Open Offer Entitlements. Extraordinary General Meeting The Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at 11:00 a.m. on 26 November 2009 at the offices of Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2HS. The purpose of the Extraordinary General Meeting is to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the Resolutions necessary to effect the Capital Raising. Shareholders should read the full text of the Resolutions contained in the Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting in the Prospectus. Expected Timetable of Principal events
Prospectus and Form of Proxy published
CREST
Open Offer and settlement of the CREST
instructions (as appropriate)
appointments by registered Shareholders for the
Extraordinary General Meeting
Shareholders
Shares for which they are subscribing
General Meeting
Exchange
New Ordinary Shares in certificated form (to
Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders only)
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions apply throughout this announcement,
unless the context otherwise requires:
"Capital Raising Resolutions" Resolution 1, Resolution 2
"Joint Global Co-ordinators" J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Merrill
"New Facilities Agreement" the facilities agreement that
"Non-Executive Directors" the non-executive directors
"Qualifying Shareholder(s)" holder(s) of Ordinary Shares
This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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RNS Number : 2369C Yell Group plc 10 November 2009
Yell Group plc financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2009 Results slightly ahead of guidance. Declines stabilising. Strong cashflow. Internet growth continues. Refinancing agreed. £660 million equity raise.
conversion 134.7% (2008 * 98.4%)
Six months ended 30
on page 16.** Statutory earnings are reconciled to adjusted earnings in note 5 to the
John Condron, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Last week, over 95% by value of our lenders approved our refinancing proposals and, today, our shareholders are demonstrating their support for the second and inter-dependent part of these proposals, the raising of £660 million of new equity - significantly above the "at least £500 million" to which we committed ourselves. We very much appreciate the support that our investors are demonstrating and the confidence they are placing in Yell. The equity raise is fully underwritten. The placing and open offer period starts tomorrow. We will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 26 November to approve the proposals, and completion is scheduled for the end of this month. A parallel Stock Exchange announcement gives fuller details. "While today's results continue to reflect the effects of the economic recession and reduction in confidence among businesses across all sectors, they also show the comparative strength of Yell's trading position. We are seeing the rate of decline stabilising. We have continued to invest in our growing internet operations, and the actions we have taken to reshape our business to take advantage of the opportunities of changing consumer behaviour are standing us in good stead. We are progressively strengthening our position as a leading provider of business leads to SMEs regardless of channel and we are well placed to benefit from the economic recovery when it arrives." John Davis, Chief Financial Officer, said: "Our six months results have again delivered slightly above the revenue and EBITDA guidance with margins benefiting from the cost restructuring actions we undertook last year. The results also demonstrate Yell's continued very strong cash generation. "Our comprehensive refinancing will strengthen our capital structure, immediately reducing debt and supporting our strategic and operational focus. The extension of maturities out to 2014, coupled with a new covenant package giving greater headroom, provides a meaningful window for economic recovery while we also pursue our goal of deleveraging." Enquiries
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Anthony Carlisle
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, securities of the Company in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities of the Company (the "Securities") have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. No public offering of Securities is being made in the United States. No communication or information relating to the offer of Securities (the "Offering") may be disseminated to the public in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland where prior registration or approval is required for that purpose. No action has been taken that would permit an offer of the Securities in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. Certain statements made in this announcement constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "annualised", "goal", "target", "aim", "may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or similar expressions (in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology). Statements in this announcement that are not historical facts are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those relating to future business prospects, revenue, liquidity, capital needs, interest costs and income, in each case relating to the Yell Group, wherever they occur in this announcement, are not necessarily based on assumptions reflecting the views of the Group and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements should, therefore, be considered in the light of various important factors. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: economic and business cycles, the terms and conditions of the Group's financing arrangements, including fluctuations in interest rates, foreign currency rate fluctuations, competition in the Group's principal markets, acquisitions or disposals of businesses or assets and trends in the Group's principal industries and markets. As such, forward-looking statements are no guarantee of future performance. You should read pages 20 through 24 in Yell Group plc's annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2009 for a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties. We undertake no obligation publicly to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. A copy of this release can be accessed at: www.yellgroup.com/announcements
Yell Group plc summary financial results (unaudited)
exceptionals(f)
share (pence)(g)
Effective average exchange
rates:
See end notes on page 8. End notes c through g provide an explanation of non-statutory figures along with references to where they are reconciled to statutory figures. Group results Overview We delivered slightly ahead of guidance with revenue (b) at constant exchange rates down 15.6% and adjusted EBITDA (b) (c) at constant exchange rates down 24.0% for the three months ended 30 September 2009. The nervousness and caution displayed by our customers as a reaction to the recession continues to have a negative effect on our business. For the half year, revenue at constant exchange rates was down 13.2% and adjusted EBITDA at constant exchange rates was down 21.0%. The cost savings are evident in the results and limited the EBITDA margin decrease to 3.4 percentage points, despite the declining revenue and continued investment in the business for future recovery. Reported results reflect the benefit of the weakening of the pound compared to the first six months of last year. Our internet businesses continued to grow, up 17% at constant exchange rates for the six months. Internet revenue accounted for 20% of our total revenues compared with 15% in the same period last year. The release of working capital from the reduction in revenue coupled with strong cash management has resulted in a 6.3% increase in operating cash flow (b) (d) at constant exchange rates, despite 21.0% lower adjusted EBITDA on the same basis. Cash conversion (b) (e) was up 36.3 percentage points to 134.7%. Our free cash flow(f), after all interest and tax payments and before payments of previously accrued exceptional items, increased 34.2% to £243.9 million, maintaining our net debt multiple at just under 5.0 times adjusted EBITDA when calculated at consistent exchange rates. The Group has continued to meet its scheduled interest and debt repayments and covenant headroom at 30 September 2009 was 10%, which was ahead of our 7% guidance. Group financial outlook As stated in the press release of 23 September, trading conditions continue to be challenging and we believe it is too early to declare that confidence has definitively returned to our core target customer base. As a consequence, we are not assuming any significant improvement in the rate of year on year revenue decline for the remainder of the fiscal year, although we are seeing the rate of decline stabilising. Revenue in the second quarter was 15.6% lower than the same period last year at constant exchange rates and we expect a similar third quarter decline of around 16% on the same basis. As announced on 2 November 2009, we reached conditional agreement with more than 95% of lenders (by value) to effectively extend their debt to 2014. The remaining lenders will be repaid in accordance with the terms of the existing debt facilities. The agreement is conditional upon, among other things, a gross equity raising of at least £500 million. Net proceeds are required to be used to prepay lenders who have agreed to the debt extension. Today we are announcing a fully underwritten placing and open offer for £660 million. This will, subject to shareholder approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 26 November 2009, complete the refinancing. Yell UK operating performance
Six months ended 30 September (unaudited)
Printed directories
Internet
advertiser (£)(m) See end notes on page 8. Overall UK revenues were down by 12.8% in the six months and EBITDA was down 13.1%. The adjusted EBITDA margin was relatively flat as the benefits of cost cutting measures nearly offset the effect of declining revenue. Yell.com revenue grew by 8.7% and unique users were up 2.0%. Internet revenues are now 29% of total UK revenues, up from 23% a year ago. Printed directories revenue declined 19.7%, primarily reflecting the 14.7% reduction in unique advertisers. The acquisition of new print advertisers was not enough to offset those that were not retained. Overall printed directories' revenue per unique advertiser was down reflecting cautious advertiser behaviour. Yellowbook operating performance
Six months ended 30 September (unaudited)
Printed directories
Internet
advertiser ($)(m) See end notes on page 8. The 13.3% revenue decline comprised:
The net organic decline of 13.0% comprised:
Internet revenues grew by 28.1%, while unique visitors were up 2.9%. Internet revenues are 16% of total US revenues, up from 11% a year ago. Printed directories revenue declined 18.4%, primarily reflecting the 15.9% reduction in unique advertisers. Print unique advertiser retention has come under pressure and the acquisition of new advertisers was not enough to offset those that were not retained. Average revenue per unique advertiser was down 3.0% with cautious advertiser behaviour partially offsetting the retention of higher value advertisers. The adjusted EBITDA margin was down 2.3 percentage points compared with last year reflecting the decline in revenues, partially offset by cost cutting measures. Yell Publicidad operating performance
Six months ended 30 September (unaudited)
Paginas Amarillas classified directories (Spain)
Internet (Spain)
advertiser (EUR)(m) See end notes to the above table on page 8. Paginas Amarillas (our Spanish Yellow Pages directories) revenue declined 27.5% due to the economic pressures that led to a reduction in both retention and yield. This was partially offset by Spanish internet revenue, which grew 17.4% as we more fully monetised our strong usage. The unbundling programme (whereby we are charging separately for our print and internet products) has resulted in a significant increase in the annualised revenue per average searchable advertiser. Revenue from Latin America at EUR32.7 million increased 13.1%, or increased 22.1% at constant exchange rates. The adjusted EBITDA margin was down 10.4 percentage points on last year, reflecting the revenue decline, and the increased investment in the six months offset by the savings from cost cutting initiatives. Statutory disclosures The principal risks and uncertainties that could affect our business activities or financial results include strategic risks faced by our industry, operational risks faced by our businesses and the financial and market related risks we face in funding our operations. They have not changed from those detailed on pages 20-24 of Yell Group plc's annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2009, except for the risk of refinancing the group as set out in note 19 on page 28. There are no related party transactions in the six months ended 30 September 2009 except compensation for key management. Key management compensation for the financial year ended 31 March 2009 is detailed in note 29 to Yell Group plc's Annual Report. A copy of Yell Group plc's Annual Report is available on our website www.yellgroup.com. End notes for pages 3 through 7.
Yell.com 30 September 2009 * 215,000; 30 September 2008 * 209,000.
Yellowbook.com 30 September 2009 * 377,000; 30 September 2008 * 377,000.
PaginasAmarillas.es 30 September 2009 * 125,000; 30 September 2008 * 221,000.
In the UK the revenue includes our netReach product, in the US our WebReach product, and in Spain our Europages product.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
Six months ended 30 September
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Six months ended 30 September
translation of foreign operations
defined benefit pension schemes
financial instruments used as hedges
recognised in the income statement
payments
income statement
See notes to the financial information for additional details. YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Six months ended 30 September
Net cash inflow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
equipment
cash acquired
Cash flows from financing activities
and other short-term credit facilities
period
CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS
Adjustments for:
equipment and amortisation of software
Changes in working capital:
See notes to the financial information for additional details.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
See notes to the financial information for additional details.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY Six months ended 30 September 2009
after taxation
recognised in the income
statement
for the six months
Value of services provided
payments
loss
Six months ended 30 September 2008
after taxation
statement
for the period
in return for share based payments
ESOP trust
shareholders
(a) Cumulative foreign currency gains attributable to equity shareholders at 30 September 2009 are £283.4 million
See notes to the financial information for additional details.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The principal activity of Yell Group plc and its subsidiaries is publishing classified advertising directories in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and certain countries in Latin America. This unaudited condensed set of financial statements for the six months ended 30 September 2009 has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union ("IFRSs") as set out in our annual report for the year ended 31 March 2009, with IAS 34 - Interim Financial Reporting, as adopted by the European Union, and with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority. The financial information contained herein has been prepared on a going concern basis. The Group is currently in full compliance with the financial covenants contained in all of its borrowing agreements. However, as a consequence of the continuing uncertain trading conditions there is a risk that the Group would need to reset its financial covenants with its lenders. As described in note 19, we concluded negotiations with our lenders for a New Facilities Agreement that is subject to completion of certain conditions. Until those conditions are met we continue to be subject to the covenants under the facilities agreement in force at 30 September 2009, details of which are set out in our risk management disclosures in our 2009 annual report along with our management of the risks associated with meeting those covenants. If the Group were required but not able to agree amendments to the covenants such that undertakings to the Group's lenders were breached, then the syndicate of lenders would have the right to demand immediate repayment of all amounts due to them, but only after a two-thirds majority vote for such action. Whilst this eventuality would, if it arose, cast doubt on the future capital funding of the Group, the Group's cashflow forecasts show that in the remainder of this financial year interest payments will be fully met, with further cash generated to repay debt. For this reason the directors believe that adopting the going concern basis in preparing the consolidated financial statements is appropriate. Nevertheless, the directors are making full disclosure, as required by accounting standards, to indicate the existence of a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt about the Group's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial information does not include the adjustments that would result if the Group were unable to continue as a going concern. In the opinion of management, the financial information included herein includes all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated results, financial position and cash flows for each period presented. YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The unaudited financial information contained herein does not constitute statutory financial statements within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2009 were approved by the Board of Directors on 4 June 2009 and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The audit opinion on the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2009 was unqualified, and contained an emphasis of matter paragraph on going concern. It did not contain any statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information herein should be read in conjunction with Yell's 2009 annual report published in June 2009, which includes the audited consolidated financial statements of Yell Group plc and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 March 2009. The preparation of the consolidated financial information requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial information and the reported amounts of income and expenditure during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates are used principally when accounting for doubtful debts, depreciation, retirement benefits, acquisitions and taxation. Taxes on income in the interim periods are accrued using the tax rate that would be applicable to expected total annual earnings. The following new standards and amendments to standards are mandatory for the first time for the financial year beginning 1 April 2009: IAS 1 (revised), Presentation of financial statements prohibits the presentation of items of income and expenses (that is 'non-owner changes in equity') in the statement of changes in equity, requiring 'non-owner changes in equity' to be presented separately from owner changes in equity. All 'non-owner changes in equity' are required to be shown in a performance statement. The group has elected to present two statements: an income statement and a statement of comprehensive income. The interim financial statements have been prepared under the revised disclosure requirements.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
(b) Segments are determined by management reports used by the chief decision maker, which are based upon the location of responsible management.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
Reconciliation of operating profit to adjusted EBITDA(a)
Six months ended 30 September
rate(c)
rates(c)
We do not allocate interest or taxation charges by product or geographic segment.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
The tax charge for the period is different from the standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom of 28% (2008 - 28%). The differences are explained below:
Six months ended 30 September
Effects of:
The tax on the Group's profit before tax is analysed as follows:
Six months ended 30 September
Current tax:
Deferred tax:
Taxation credited (charged) directly to equity is as follows:
Six months ended 30 September
Deferred tax on fair valuations of
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the profit for the relevant financial period and on the weighted average share capital during the period.
£ millions unless noted otherwise Six months ended 30 September 2009
(millions)
(pence)
(pence)
(pence) Six months ended 30 September 2008
issued ordinary shares
(millions)
(pence)
(pence)
(pence)
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
Exceptional items are transactions that, by virtue of their incidence, size or a combination of both, are disclosed separately. Exceptional items comprise the following.
Six months ended 30 September
Six months ended 30 September
Proceeds on the sale of property, plant and equipment were £nil in the six months ended 30 September 2009 and 2008. Capital expenditure committed at 30 September 2009 was £8.2 million (2008 - £15.9 million).
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
Six months ended 30 September 2009
In the six months ended 30 September 2009, the Yell Group acquired an in-fill acquisition in the US for £3.0 million. Total costs were allocated to the acquired assets and liabilities as follows:
Non current assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
assets
Goodwill of £1.5 million was attributable to the expected future synergies, the workforce acquired and expected future growth of the business.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
Six months ended 30 September 2008 In the six months ended 30 September 2008, the Yell Group acquired 100% of the Adworks businesses in the UK, US, Spain and India for £8.7 million, and an in-fill acquisition in the US for £0.2 million. Total costs were allocated to the acquired assets and liabilities as follows:
Non current assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Goodwill of £5.3 million was attributable to the expected future synergies, the workforce acquired and expected future growth of the business. Cash flow
A reconciliation of cash paid on acquisitions, including deferred payments for prior period acquisitions, to the cash flow on page 10 is as follows:
Six months ended 30 September
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
The following table reconciles EBITDA, operating cash flow and cash conversion to cash generated from operations as presented on the cash flow statement on page 10.
Six months ended 30 September
included in cash generated from operations
plant and equipment (see note 7)
Free cash flow before payment of exceptional items (defined as operating cash flow less interest and tax payments) was £243.9 million, up 34.2% compared with £181.8 million in the same period last year.
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Goodwill is not amortised but is tested for impairment at least annually. During the year ended 31 March 2009, impairment losses of £1,103.9 million, £120.1 million, £40.8 million and £7.5 million on goodwill in relation to its operations in Spain, Chile, Argentina and Peru, respectively, were recorded. The goodwill in the UK and the US was not written down, because estimated recoverable amounts continued to be in excess of carrying values.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
The elements of deferred tax assets recognised in the accounts were as follows:
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Tax effect of timing differences due to:
The elements of deferred tax liabilities recognised in the accounts were as follows:
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Tax effect of timing differences due to:
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Amounts falling due within one year
facilities (committed until April 2011)
leases and other short term borrowings
Amounts falling due after more than one year
The movement in net debt for the six months ended 30 September 2009 arose as follows:
Net debt
Six months ended 30 September
of cash acquired
Our bank facilities at 30 September 2009 ("Existing Debt Facilities") are committed until 2011 and 2012 and contain covenants over net cash interest cover and debt cover. The net cash interest cover covenant requires that the ratio of adjusted EBITDA for the latest 12 month period to net cash interest payable for the latest 12 month period does not fall below specific threshold ratios at specific test dates. The debt cover covenant requires that the ratio of net debt at the testing date to adjusted EBITDA for the latest 12 month period should not exceed specific threshold ratios at specific test dates. We operated within our debt covenants for the six months ended 30 September 2009 with headroom of 11% and 10% on the net cash interest cover ratio and debt cover ratio, respectively. Drawings on our £400 million revolving credit facility and other short term lines totalled £36.0 million at 30 September 2009. Under the Articles of Association, the directors are required to ensure that the total of all amounts borrowed by group companies do not exceed five times capital and reserves. This ratio is currently exceeded following the significant goodwill impairment during the previous year. Resolutions to authorise the exceeding of this restriction in the Articles were approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 24 July 2009.
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Amounts falling due within one year
Amounts falling due after more than one year
Trade and other payables
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
(obligation) surplus at 1 April 2009 and 2008
Net actuarial loss ondefined benefit pension schemes(a)
YELL GROUP PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)
Future aggregate minimum operating lease payments for the Group at 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009 are as follows:
At 30 September 2009 and 31 March 2009
Payable
A lawsuit filed by Verizon against Yellowbook was settled in October 2004. Yellowbook was later served with complaints filed as class actions in five US states and the District of Columbia. In these actions, the plaintiffs alleged violations of consumer protection legislation and placed reliance on findings of the court in the settled Verizon suit. These class actions were consolidated into a single class action before a New Jersey state court. In the year ended 31 March 2005, we accrued $45 million as an estimate of the likely costs arising from the class action. On 26 August 2005, the New Jersey court approved a comprehensive national settlement, with no admission of liability. However, several appeals were subsequently lodged against the approved settlement, the most significant of which were resolved by 30 June 2007. With resolution of these appeals, Yellowbook was able to reassess the likely costs of the settlement, and we reversed $23.6 million (£11.8 million) of the originally accrued settlement obligation as an exceptional credit through the income statement in the year ended 31 March 2008. We reversed a further $12.7 million (£8.9 million) of the obligation as an exceptional credit in the year ended 31 March 2009. At 30 September 2009, the remaining $4.4 million of accrued settlement obligation represented our best estimate of the remaining amounts to be settled. We also have £27 million of restructuring provisions expensed but not yet paid at 30 September 2009 as our best estimate of remaining amounts to be settled. There are no contingent liabilities or guarantees other than those referred to above and those arising in the ordinary course of the Group's business. No material losses are anticipated on liabilities arising in the ordinary course of business.
The principal risks and uncertainties that could affect our business activities or financial results as detailed on pages 20-24 of Yell Group plc's annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2009 highlighted the risks from a requirement to refinance a significant portion of our term loans under the Existing Facilities Agreement before April 2011, when they fall due, and from increasing difficulties in satisfying debt covenants in the face of the currently challenging trading conditions. As announced on 2 November 2009, we reached conditional agreement with lenders to refinance more than 95% of our Existing Debt Facilities. The agreement becomes effective upon, among other things, a minimum gross equity raising of £500 million to prepay amounts outstanding under a New Facilities Agreement. We propose to raise £660 million of gross equity, which is fully underwritten and subject to shareholder approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 26 November 2009. If the refinancing is completed, then the covenants under the Existing Facilities Agreement would cease on the debt that is not refinanced. The New Facilities Agreement includes, among others, the following provisions:
INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO YELL GROUP PLC Introduction We have been engaged by the company to review the financial information in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2009, which comprises the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of cash flows, consolidated statement of financial position, consolidated statement of changes in equity and related notes. We have read the other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements. Directors' responsibilities The financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority. As disclosed in note 1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. The financial information included in this financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union. Our responsibility Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the financial information in the financial report based on our review. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the company for the purpose of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority and for no other purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing. Scope of review We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, 'Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity' issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion. Conclusion Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the financial information in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2009 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 as adopted by the European Union and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority. Emphasis of matter - Going concern In arriving at our Review Conclusion, which is not qualified, we have considered the adequacy of the disclosures made in note 1 to the financial information concerning the ability of the Group to continue as a going concern. The New Facilities Agreement is subject to completion of certain conditions, including the raising of at least £500 million of additional equity and shareholder approval. Until these conditions are met the Group continues to be subject to the covenants under the facilities agreement in force at 30 September 2009. If the Group needed to but were unable to agree amendments to the covenants and those covenants were breached, the syndicate of lenders would have the right to demand, with a two-thirds majority vote, immediate repayment of all amounts due to them. This right creates doubt about the future capital funding of the Group. These conditions, along with the other matters explained in note 1 to the financial information, indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the Group's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial information does not include the adjustments that would result if the company was unable to continue as a going concern. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Chartered Accountants 10 November 2009 London
The directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, Interim Financial Reporting, as adopted by the European Union, and that the interim management report herein includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, namely:
By order of the Board [Signature] Howard Rubenstein 10 November 2009 Company Secretary [Signature] John Davis 10 November 2009 Chief Financial Officer On behalf of the Board: Bob Wigley, Chairman John Condron, Chief Executive Officer John Davis, Chief Financial Officer Tim Bunting John Coghlan Toby Coppel Joachim Eberhardt Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros Richard Hooper
FINANCIAL CALENDAR
Third quarter results 4 February 2010
Shareholder Contact Details Website for viewing information about your holding: www.shareview.co.uk Equiniti telephone line for shareholders: 0871 384 2049* Equiniti telephone line for employee shareholders: 0871 384 2130* Text phone for the hard of hearing: 0871 384 2255* Equiniti Limited Aspect House Spencer Road Lancing West Sussex
BN99 6DA Yell Group plc Yell Group plc Queens Walk Reading Berkshire RG1 7PT www.yellgroup.com
NOTES TO EDITORS Yell Group Yell is a leading international classified advertising publisher operating in the UK, US, Spain and certain countries in Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. In the year ended 31 March 2009, Yell published 113 directories in the United Kingdom, 996 in the United States, and 89 Paginas Amarillas directories in Spain. In the United Kingdom, where it is a leading provider in the classified advertising market, it served 390,000 unique advertisers. In the United States, where it is the largest independent classified directory publisher, it served 634,000 unique advertisers. In Spain, the Paginas Amarillas directories served 285,000 unique advertisers. Yell's principal brands include: in the United Kingdom - Yellow Pages, Yell.com and 118 24 7; in the United States - Yellowbook and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain - Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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RNS Number : 9821B Yell Group plc 04 November 2009
TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES
existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments An event changing the breakdown of voting rights Other (please specify):
subject to the notification obligation:
4. Full name of shareholder(s)
date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:
notified:
crossed or reached: 8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares
if possible using
the ISIN CODE
B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: Barclays Bank plc Barclays Global Investors Ltd Barclays Stockbrokers Ltd Gerrard Investment Management Ltd Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: 13. Additional information:
15. Contact telephone number: 020 7116 2913 Note: Annex should only be submitted to the FSA not the issuer Annex: Notification of major interests in share
A: Identity of the persons or legal entity subject to the notification obligation
(including legal form of legal entities)
Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons)
B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable
7PT
Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation) C: Additional information For notes on how to complete form TR-1 please see the FSA website. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - French cable television operator Numericable has extended the final deadline for its loan covenant reset and debt buyback proposal by almost two weeks until Nov. 13, bankers said on Tuesday.
(zaida.espana@reuters.com; +44-20-7542-7996; Reuters Messaging zaida.espana@reuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 03-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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Reuters has stopped distributing the full text of Moody's Investors Service press releases on ratings actions, effective April 1, 2009. The text of this Moody's Investor Service rating is available at www.moodys.com. COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 03-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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RBS AND LLOYDS AIM FOR 54 BILLION POUND FUNDING Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group will outline on Tuesday moves to raise a combined 54 billion pounds in new funding. Chancellor Alistair Darling is set confirm the government will inject more than 30 billion pounds of the new capital in a bid to reshape Britain's finance industry. Darling will also announce an emergency 8 million pound "contingency equity" fund to rescue RBS in the event of a future financial crisis. Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable has described the move as "very precarious".
'END GAME' NEAR FOR FINAL SALARY PENSIONS According to EEF, the manufacturing employers' association, the "end game" for final salary pensions is rapidly approaching as its latest figures pointed to a continuing fall in the number of schemes. EEF's annual survey showed that a third of businesses currently retaining final salary, or defined-benefit, pensions plan to close it to new entrants or to further contributions from existing employees. David Yeandle, head of EEF's employment policy, said: "As more and more companies go down this road, the closure of DB schemes will start to become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy."
EDF READY TO PROTEST OVER REGULATION Electricity and gas group EDF is ready to call in the Competition Commission to investigate the regulation of electricity distribution networks. The French-owned company says that, in order to invest in the latest "smart grid" technology, the industry needs to be allowed to make sufficient profits. Energy watchdog Ofgem is soon due to reveal the results of its latest five-yearly review of the price control regime for local electricity networks. The review will cover the years 2010-2015.
BUILDERS GIVE TAX PROPOSALS A HAMMERING Critics are lining up to oppose a proposed government crackdown on tax-dodging builders, saying such a move would penalise the genuinely self-employed, increase construction costs and boost the black economy. The Treasury is facing a mounting backlash against plans to collect an extra 350 million pounds of tax and national insurance contributions from an estimated 300,000 workers falsely described as self-employed.
HALF OF DIRECTORS SEE PAY STALL According to the Institute of Directors, half of directors have had their pay frozen this year and many more are working longer hours because of the recession. The group is calling for the public sector to accept the need for pay freezes and to share the pain being felt in the private sector. The IoD's annual directors' rewards survey found that 44 percent of executive directors had faced having their pay frozen and 6 percent had taken a pay cut.
FRIENDS SITE SALE HITS OBSTACLE Friends Reunited has been referred to the Competition Commission over concerns its sale could damage the online genealogy market. In August ITV agreed to sell the networking site for 25 million pounds to Brightsolid, a division of newspaper and magazine publisher DC Thomson. However, the Office of Fair Trading says it believes the sale would lead to reduced competition in a fast-growing market. OFT is concerned about Brightsolid's plan to combine the history arm of Friends, namely Genes Reunited, with its own genealogy properties: FindMyPast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
MARK WARNER REVIEWS OFFERS Mark Warner has asked PwC to review a number of approaches from interested parties over a sale of the travel operator. The company's shareholders have asked PwC to "give strategic advice" and review its business plan as they consider a sale in light of this year's weaker outlook. Mark Warner frequently attracts potential bidders and the recession is making consolidation in the sector a more compelling strategy.
YELL POISED TO DETAIL CAPITAL-RAISING PROPOSALS It is likely that Yell will unveil plans to raise at least 500 million pounds next week following an agreement with more than 300 creditors to restructure its business. It is thought that the fundraising will take the form of a placing and open offer which will help diversify its shareholder register. Further details of the equity raising could come on Nov. 10 when Yell releases first-half results. Its shares climbed 4 percent to reach 51.25 pence on Monday.
TELECITY SET TO DOUBLE CAPACITY Telecity is facing the prospect of its data centres becoming full in just over a year's time and the group is preparing to raise its capacity significantly, in facilities across Europe, to cope with the demand. Chief Executive Mike Tobin said plans could be announced next year and involved further centres in Amsterdam and London. Telecity, which saw its shares rise 2.5 pence to reach 337.5 pence on Monday, is completing an expansion that will see it double capacity over four years, reaching 60MW of power by 2011.
PRIVATE COMPANY PURCHASE VALUE FALLS A report by accountants UHY Hacker Young has revealed that the value of private company acquisitions dropped by two-thirds in the year to July. The fall came as banks stopped financing takeovers and the economic uncertainty meant managers held back from launching buy-outs. Chris Lowry, a partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: "Before this hiatus there was always a belief that owning your own business was a good thing to do, but now that is not clear, because of the uncertainty." In the year to July 31, there were 1,453 private companies acquired for a total value of 6.8 billion pounds. This is down from 2,336 private company acquisitions for a total of 19.5 billion pounds in the previous year. Prepared for Reuters by Durrants. Keywords: BRITAIN PRESS/FT
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| 02-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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By Tom Freke
LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - British Yellow Pages publisher Yell moved one step closer to fixing its heavy debt burden as lenders gave it the green light to raise equity, sending its shares up 13 percent.
($1=.6090 Pound) (Editing by Karen Foster) Keywords: YELL/REFINANCING (tom.freke@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0)207 542 4036; Reuters Messaging: tom.freke.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 02-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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By Tom Freke
LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - British Yellow Pages publisher Yell moved one step closer to fixing its heavy debt burden as lenders gave it the green light to raise equity, sending its shares up 13 percent.
($1=.6090 Pound) (Editing by Karen Foster) Keywords: YELL/REFINANCING (tom.freke@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0)207 542 4036; Reuters Messaging: tom.freke.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 02-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 7623B Yell Group plc 02 November 2009 Yell Group plc - Voting Rights and Capital In accordance with the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rule 5.6.1, Yell Group plc advises that as at 31 October 2009, its capital consists of 785,893,111 ordinary shares with voting rights. Yell Group plc does not hold any ordinary shares in Treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in Yell Group plc is 785,893,111. The above figure (785,893,111) may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Yell Group plc under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. Arit Amana Company Secretarial Assistant 2 November 2009 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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| 02-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - British Yellow Pages publisher Yell secured the backing of lenders for refinancing deal, it said on Monday, allowing it to raise 500 million pounds ($821 million) in equity, sending its shares soaring.
(tom.freke@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0)207 542 4036; Reuters Messaging: tom.freke.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. More |
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| 02-11-09 | AFX UK Focus |
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LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Yell Group PLC:
((London Equities Newsroom; +44 20 7542 7717)) (For more news, please click here)
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| 02-11-09 | RNS |
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RNS Number : 7479B Yell Group plc 02 November 2009
2 November 2009 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE
UNITED STATES
YELL GROUP PLC
UPDATE ON COMPREHENSIVE REFINANCING PROPOSALS Yell is pleased to announce that it has received acceptances in excess of the 95% threshold required as part of its refinancing proposals. Yell now intends to continue with the second, inter-dependent part of its comprehensive refinancing proposals which, as announced previously, is the intention to raise at least £500 million of equity. The company plans to approach its major shareholders and announce details of the equity raise as soon as practicable. John Davis, Chief Financial Officer of Yell, said: "We are delighted that our proposals have been so overwhelmingly approved. We have over 1,000 lenders' commitments, and collecting their acceptances has been a huge logistical exercise. We are naturally very grateful to all our lenders for what is virtually unanimous support and look forward to announcing details of the planned equity raise in the near future." Enquiries:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Anthony Carlisle Tel +22 (0) 20 7638 9571 Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 611 888 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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