NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, ISRAEL, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN OR IN, INTO OR FROM ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION
for immediate Release |
24 July 2013 |
Plus500 Ltd
("Plus500" or "the Group")
First day dealings on AIM for Plus500 under ticker "PLUS"
Dealings commence at 8am, 24 July 2013
Plus500, the provider of an online trading platform for retail customers to trade CFDs internationally, is pleased to announce that Admission and trading of its Ordinary Shares commences today on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("AIM").
The Placing successfully raised US$75 million via the placing of US$25 million (c.£16.5 million) new ordinary shares and US$50 million (c.£33.1 million) existing ordinary shares at a placing price of 115 pence per share. Plus500's market capitalisation on admission, based on the Placing Price, is approximately US$200 million (c.£132 million).
The Group's net proceeds of the Placing will be used to invest in additional marketing activities to increase brand awareness; penetrate new markets and accelerate growth in existing markets; strengthen the Group's balance sheet and capital base; give the Group additional flexibility when assessing potential acquisitions; and maintain reserve capital surplus to the Group's existing mandatory regulatory capital requirements.
Liberum Capital Limited is acting as nominated adviser and broker to Plus500.
Plus500's TIDM Code is "PLUS".
For further information, contact:
Buchanan
Jeremy Garcia / Sophie McNulty / Clare Akhurst Tel: 020 7466 5000
Liberum Capital
Chris Bowman / Christopher Britton / Thomas Bective Tel: 020 3100 2000
Company website: www.plus500.com
About Plus500
Plus500 has developed and operates an online trading platform for retail customers to trade CFDs internationally over more than 1,700 different underlying global financial instruments comprising equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, indices and commodities.
The Group enables retail customers to trade CFDs in more than 50 countries. The trading platform is accessible from multiple operating systems (Window, smartphones (iOS and Android) and tablets (iOS and Android)) and the internet. The Directors believe that the success of the Group to date has been primarily due to the proprietary technology it has developed and continues to develop to support the trading platform. The trading platform has been designed to be as intuitive and easy to use as possible. The trading platform has been localised into 30 languages. The Directors believe that this emphasis on technology, together with the Group's targeted online marketing strategy, has helped to differentiate the Group from its competitors.
The Group generates its revenues principally from the dealing spreads on the trading platform. In addition, the Group generates revenues from overnight premiums, effectively a financing charge, on certain positions held by customers overnight and gains (offset by losses) on customers' trading positions. The Group does not charge customers a commission on trades.
The Group conducts its operations from three offices which are located in Haifa (Israel), London (United Kingdom) and Sydney (Australia).
Plus500UK Limited ("Plus500UK"), the Group's UK subsidiary, is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Plus500UK also operates in other European Economic Area countries and Gibraltar through a regulatory passporting mechanism. Plus500AU Pty Ltd has also received an ASIC licence which enables it to conduct a financial services business in Australia.
This announcement does not constitute an offer for sale of, or a solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States of America (including its territories or possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia) (the ''United States'') nor will it form the basis of any contract for the purchase of or subscription for any securities nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Ordinary Shares which are the subject of the Placing have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 , as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be, offered, sold, resold, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly or indirectly, within, into or in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction that is not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. Terms used in this paragraph have the meanings given to them by Regulation S, promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act.
Forward-looking information
This announcement contains certain forward‐looking information and statements relating, but not limited, to the proposed use of proceeds of the Placing. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "could", "will", or similar words suggesting future outcomes. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward‐looking information as by its nature, it is based on current expectations regarding future events that involve a number of assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by Plus500. In addition, the forward‐looking information is made as of the date hereof, and the Company, and Liberum Capital Limited ("Liberum Capital") expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this document to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law, regulation or the AIM Rules for Companies.
Disclaimer
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares or any other securities nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore. The Placing and the distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with Admission and the Placing in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes 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.
The contents of this announcement, which have been prepared and issued by, and is the sole responsibility of Plus500 have been approved solely for the purposes of section 21(2) (b) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) by Liberum Capital.
This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning the Placing. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Information in this announcement or any of the documents relating to the Placing cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Potential investors should consult a professional advisor as to the suitability of the Placing for the person concerned. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness. The information in this announcement is subject to change.
Liberum Capital which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Placing and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than Plus500 for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for giving advice in relation to the Placing or the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.
In connection with the Placing, the Liberum Capital or any of its affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may subscribe for or purchase Ordinary Shares and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise deal for their own accounts in such securities of Plus500 or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Liberum Capital or any of its affiliates do not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.
Liberum Capital nor any of its subsidiary undertakings, affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other person accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to Plus500 or its subsidiaries, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.
The contents of the Group's website, including any websites accessible from hyperlinks on the Group's website, do not form part of this document.
Certain figures contained in this document, including financial information, have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, in certain instances, the sum or percentage change of the numbers contained in this document may not conform exactly with the total figure given.
