AGM Information • Mar 29, 2022
AGM Information
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THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you are recommended immediately to seek your own personal financial advice from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares in Capricorn Energy PLC, you should pass this document, the accompanying Form of Proxy and the Annual Report and Accounts of Capricorn Energy PLC for the financial year ended 31 December 2021 without delay to the stockbroker, bank or other person who arranged the sale or transfer so they can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares.

(incorporated in Scotland with registered number SC226712)
Notice of Annual General Meeting
This document should be read as a whole and in conjunction with the accompanying Form of Proxy. Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chair of Capricorn Energy PLC (the "Company" or "Capricorn"), which is set out on pages 3-7 of this document recommending, on behalf of the Directors, that you vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting referred to below.
Notice of the 2022 Annual General Meeting of Capricorn to be held at The Gallery, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ at 12.00 noon (BST) on Wednesday, 11 May 2022, is set out at the end of this document.
As at 25 March 2022 (being the last practicable date prior to the publication of this document), there are no restrictions on public gatherings in Scotland as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that Capricorn is able to facilitate the attendance of Shareholders in person at the Annual General Meeting, although face coverings will be required to be worn in line with Scottish restrictions in place at the time of the Annual General Meeting. Capricorn will continue to monitor the situation and, in particular, any changes to the applicable law or guidance in force as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. If circumstances change such that it is necessary to change the arrangements for the Annual General Meeting, Capricorn will communicate such change via its website and (where appropriate) through the release of an announcement to a Regulatory Information Service. Further information on this is set out in paragraph 2 of the Chair's letter on pages 3 and 4 of this document.
Enclosed with this document is a Form of Proxy for use in respect of the Annual General Meeting. Shareholders are encouraged to appoint the chair of the Annual General Meeting as their proxy and submit their completed Forms of Proxy as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to arrive at the offices of the Company's registrars, Equiniti, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA, not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022. You may register your proxy appointment or voting directions electronically via the www.sharevote.co.uk website not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022 (further information regarding the use of this facility is set out in the notes to the Notice of Annual General Meeting). If you hold your Ordinary Shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy by completing and transmitting a CREST Proxy Instruction so as to be received by the Company's registrars, Equiniti, not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022.
A summary of the action to be taken by Shareholders in relation to the Annual General Meeting is set out in paragraph 4 of the Chair's letter on page 7 of this document and in the accompanying Notice of Annual General Meeting.
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Letter from the Chair of Capricorn Energy PLC | 3 |
| NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING | 8 |
Questions of a factual nature relating to the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting may be directed to the Company's registrars, Equiniti, using the telephone helpline number 0371 384 2660 (for calls from within the United Kingdom) and +44 121 415 7047 (for calls from outside the United Kingdom) between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. (BST) on any day (other than a Saturday or Sunday or public holiday) on which pound sterling deposits may be dealt in on the London inter-bank market and commercial banks are open for general business in London (a "Business Day"). Please note that calls to these numbers may be monitored or recorded. Calls to +44 121 415 7047 from outside the United Kingdom are charged at applicable international rates.
This helpline will not be able to provide advice on the merits of the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, or give personal, legal, financial or tax advice.
(Incorporated in Scotland with registered number SC226712)
Nicoletta Giadrossi (Non-Executive Chair) Keith Lough (Non-Executive Director) Peter Kallos (Non-Executive Director) Alison Wood (Non-Executive Director) Catherine Krajicek (Non-Executive Director) Erik B. Daugbjerg (Non-Executive Director) Simon Thomson (Chief Executive) James Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
Registered and Head Office: 50 Lothian Road Edinburgh EH3 9BY
29 March 2022
Dear Shareholder
Please find herein details of the Company's Annual General Meeting which will be held at The Gallery, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ at 12.00 noon (BST) on Wednesday, 11 May 2022. Enclosed with this letter is a Form of Proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.
The business to be conducted at the Annual General Meeting is set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting at the end of this document (the "Notice"). You will be asked to consider and vote on the resolutions set out in the Notice. Shareholders should read the whole of this document and not just rely on the summarised information set out in this letter.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK and Scottish legislation and government guidance currently available, there will be no restrictions on public gatherings on the date of the Annual General Meeting. As such, Capricorn is able to facilitate the attendance of Shareholders in person at the Annual General Meeting, although face coverings will be required to be worn in line with guidance in place at the time of the Annual General Meeting. Should Shareholders wish to attend the Annual General Meeting in person, they are encouraged to pre-register by sending an email to [email protected]. Shareholders are responsible for understanding and complying with any restrictions applicable to their own journey and should bear in mind that at the time of the Annual General Meeting these rules may differ between different parts of the UK.
The Company will continue to monitor the situation and, in particular, any changes to the applicable law or guidance in force as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the unlikely event of a material change in circumstances that results in the tightening of measures or restrictions relating to travel and public gatherings before the date of the Annual General Meeting, the Company will consider if it is appropriate, safe and legally permissible to continue with the intended open Annual General Meeting with Shareholders in attendance. If this is no longer the case, an update will be given on the Annual General Meeting page of the Company's website at www.capricornenergy.com/investors/shareholder-information/agm/ and (where appropriate) by separate announcement through the regulatory news service of the London Stock Exchange. Shareholders are therefore encouraged to check Capricorn's website and the latest Scottish and UK Government guidance before finalizing their travel arrangements to attend the Annual General Meeting.
Given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shareholders are encouraged to appoint the chair of the Annual General Meeting as their proxy and submit their completed Form of Proxy as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to arrive at the offices of the Company's registrars, Equiniti, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA, not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022.
You may register your proxy appointment or voting directions electronically via the www.sharevote.co.uk website not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022 (further information regarding the use of this facility is set out in the notes to the Notice of Annual General Meeting). If you hold your Ordinary Shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy by completing and transmitting a CREST Proxy Instruction so as to be received by the Company's registrars, Equiniti, not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022. We encourage Shareholders to submit their vote electronically where possible. If you do require a copy of the Form of Proxy, this can be downloaded on the Company website at www.capricornenergy.com/investors/shareholderinformation/agm/, where you will also find instructions for completion of that Form. Further instructions on voting by proxy are set out in this Notice of Annual General Meeting.
As was the case last year, the presentation will be made available on the Company's website at www.capricornenergy.com/investors/shareholder-information/agm/ following the closure of the meeting. The voting results on the resolutions put to the Annual General Meeting shall be announced to the market and uploaded onto the Company's website following the closure of the Annual General Meeting.
If Shareholders have any questions for the Board in advance of the Annual General Meeting, these can be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. The Board will endeavour to answer key themes of these questions on the Company's website as soon as practical.
There are 17 resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting. Resolutions 1 – 13, inclusive, are to be proposed as ordinary resolutions and accordingly will be passed if more than 50% of the votes cast are in favour. Resolutions 14 – 17, inclusive, are to be proposed as special resolutions and accordingly will be passed if at least 75% of the votes cast are in favour. The main terms of the resolutions are summarised below.
The Directors' biographies are set out on page 79 of the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts. The Articles of Association provide that directors can be appointed by the Company, by ordinary resolution or by the Board. The Nomination Committee makes recommendations to the Board on the appointment and replacement of directors. Further details of the rules governing the appointment and replacement of directors are set out in the Corporate Governance Statement on pages 84-95 (inclusive) of the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts and in the Articles of Association. An explanation of the performance evaluation procedure carried out by the Company is also contained in the Corporate Governance Statement, on pages 86 – 87 of the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.
13 Resolution 13 seeks to renew the Directors' power to allot shares. Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 provides that the Directors may not allot new shares (other than pursuant to employee share schemes) without Shareholder approval. It proposes that authority be granted in substitution for the existing authority to allot securities up to a maximum amount of £2,668,203.19, representing approximately 33.33% of the Company's total issued ordinary share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 25 March 2022, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document.
Following share capital management guidelines issued by the Investment Association in July 2016, the Company is seeking an additional authority to allot securities in connection with a pre-emptive rights issue up to a maximum amount of £2,668,203.19, representing approximately 33.33% of the Company's total issued ordinary share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 25 March 2022, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document. The benefit to the Company of obtaining such authority on an annual basis is that it would allow the Company to implement a rights issue of up to approximately 66.66% of the issued ordinary share capital without the need to call an additional general meeting. This would shorten the implementation timetable of such a rights issue.
The Directors consider that the authorities sought pursuant to resolution 13 are desirable to allow the Company to retain flexibility, although they have no present intention of exercising these authorities. The authorities will expire on 30 June 2023 or, if earlier, at the end of the next annual general meeting of the Company to be held in 2023.
As at 25 March 2022, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document, the Company did not hold any shares in treasury.
14 and 15 Resolutions 14 and 15 are to approve the disapplication of pre-emption rights. Section 561(1) of the Companies Act 2006 provides that if the Directors wish to allot any equity securities, or sell any treasury shares (if it holds any), for cash, they must first offer them to existing Shareholders in proportion to their existing shareholdings. Section 561 does not apply to allotments of equity securities made in connection with an employee share scheme.
In accordance with the Pre-Emption Group's Monitoring Report issued in May 2017, two separate resolutions are being proposed in connection with the disapplication of pre-emption rights.
The first, resolution 14, seeks to give the Directors power to allot equity securities or sell treasury shares for cash as if section 561(1) of the Companies Act 2006 did not apply, in connection with rights issues, open offers and other pre-emptive offers pursuant to the authority granted by resolution 13, and otherwise up to a total amount of £400,270.51, representing approximately 5% of the Company's total issued ordinary share capital as at 25 March 2022, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document.
The second, resolution 15, is being proposed to give the Directors further power to allot equity securities or sell treasury shares for cash as if section 561(1) of the Companies Act 2006 did not apply, for transactions which the board determines to be an acquisition or specified capital investment defined by the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, up to a further total amount of £400,270.51 representing approximately 5% of the company's total issued ordinary share capital as at 25 March 2022, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document.
In accordance with the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, the Directors confirm that, to the extent that this latter part of the authority is used for an issue of shares representing more than 5% of the Company's issued share capital at that date, the Directors intend that such authority will be used only in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment that is announced contemporaneously with the issue, or that has taken place in the preceding six-month period and is disclosed in the announcement of the issue. This power is being sought in order to give the Company the flexibility to raise funds in the future should it choose to do so. The Directors confirm, in accordance with the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, that they do not intend to issue ordinary shares for cash representing more than 7.5% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital in any rolling three-year period other than to existing Shareholders, save as permitted in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment as described above, without prior consultation with Shareholders.
The power conferred by resolutions 14 and 15 will expire at the same time as the authority conferred by resolution 13, unless previously revoked, varied or extended by the Company in general meeting.
16 If passed, resolution 16 will authorise the Company to make market purchases of its own Ordinary Shares. Ordinary Shares repurchased by the Company pursuant to such authority may be cancelled or held in treasury and then either sold (in whole or in part) for cash or cancelled (in whole or in part). No dividends will be paid on treasury shares and no voting rights attach to them.
As previously announced, following the resolution of the India tax dispute, the Company intends to return up to US\$700 million to Shareholders, up to US\$500 million of which by way of tender offer (expected to conclude in early April) and a subsequent up to US\$200 million by way of ongoing share repurchase programme. In order to facilitate this ongoing buyback programme, it is proposed that the maximum aggregate number of Ordinary Shares that may be purchased pursuant to the authority shall be 14.99% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 25 March 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publishing of this document), being 74,286,393 Ordinary Shares. The maximum price which may be paid for an Ordinary Share pursuant to this resolution (exclusive of expenses) shall be the higher of (i) an amount equal to 105% of the average of the middle market quotations for the Company's Ordinary Shares for the five Business Days immediately preceding the date of purchase and (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent trade of an Ordinary Share and the highest current independent bid for an Ordinary Share on the trading venues where the purchase is carried out. The minimum price that may be paid for an Ordinary Share pursuant to this resolution (exclusive of expenses) shall be 21/13 pence, being the nominal value of an Ordinary Share.
This authority, if conferred, will only be exercised if the Directors consider that any purchase would be in the best interests of Shareholders generally, and normally only if it would result in an increase in earnings per share of the ordinary share capital in issue after the purchase.
This authority will expire on the earlier of 30 June 2023 or the conclusion of the annual general meeting of the Company to be held in 2023, unless previously revoked, varied or renewed by the Company in a general meeting. The Directors intend to seek renewal of this authority at subsequent annual general meetings.
As at 25 March 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publishing of this document), options to subscribe for shares were outstanding over an aggregate of 1,552,453 Ordinary Shares (representing approximately 0.31% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 25 March 2022). If the new authority was granted at the Annual General Meeting and was then utilised in full, the options outstanding at 25 March 2022 would represent approximately 0.37% of the issued share capital of the Company.
17 Under the Companies Act 2006, the notice period required for general meetings of the Company is 21 clear days unless Shareholders approve a shorter notice period, which cannot however be less than 14 clear days. Annual general meetings must be held on at least 21 clear days' notice.
At the Company's annual general meeting in 2021, Shareholders authorised the calling of general meetings other than annual general meetings on not less than 14 clear days' notice. The Directors believe that it is appropriate for the Company to retain the flexibility of being able to call a general meeting on 14 clear days' notice and in order to preserve this ability, resolution 17 seeks such approval. The flexibility offered by this resolution will be used where, taking into account all the circumstances, the Directors consider this appropriate in relation to the business to be considered at the meeting. The approval will be effective until the Company's next annual general meeting in 2023, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
As referred to above, the Company is in the process of undertaking a tender offer to return up to US\$500million to Shareholders. The issued share capital of the Company following the completion of that tender offer process is not yet known. Whilst the number and nominal values of shares referred to in resolutions 13 to 16 have been calculated by reference to the issued share capital of the Company as at 25 March 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publishing this document), it is the Company's intention to restrict the exercise of the authorities and power afforded by those resolutions to such number or nominal values of shares (as applicable) as represent the relevant percentage proportions (as noted in the summaries of those resolutions above) of the issued share capital of the Company immediately following the close of the tender offer and corresponding share cancellation.
Enclosed with this document is a Form of Proxy for use in respect of the Annual General Meeting. You are requested to complete, sign and return the Form of Proxy as soon as possible, and in any event, so as to arrive at the offices of the Company's registrars, Equiniti, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA, not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022, being 48 hours before the time appointed for the meeting (excluding any part of any day that is not a working day). Alternatively, you may register your proxy appointment or voting directions electronically via the www.sharevote.co.uk website not later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022. Further information regarding the use of this facility is set out in the notes to the Notice. If you hold your Ordinary Shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy by completing and transmitting a CREST Proxy Instruction so as to be received by the Company's registrars, Equiniti, by no later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022.
If you have any queries in relation to the Form of Proxy you may call the Shareholder helpline on 0371 384 2660 (for calls from within the United Kingdom) and +44 121 415 7047 (for calls from outside the United Kingdom) between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. (BST) on any Business Day. Please note that calls to these numbers may be monitored or recorded. Calls to +44 121 415 7047 from outside the United Kingdom are charged at applicable international rates.
Please note that the Shareholder helpline will not provide advice on the merits of the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, or give any personal, legal, financial or tax advice.
The Board is of the opinion that the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting are in the best interests of Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that you vote in favour of the resolutions, as the Directors intend to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings amounting in aggregate to 1,187,044 Ordinary Shares representing approximately 0.240% of the current issued ordinary share capital of Capricorn as at 25 March 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this document).
Yours faithfully,
Nicoletta Giadrossi Chair
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting") of Capricorn Energy PLC (the "Company") will be at The Gallery, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ at 12.00 noon (BST) on Wednesday, 11 May 2022 for the following purposes of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following resolutions, of which resolutions 1 to 13 (inclusive) will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 14 to 17 (inclusive) will be proposed as special resolutions:
in each case, subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or appropriate in relation to fractional entitlements, legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws or the requirements of any regulatory body or stock exchange of any territory or otherwise.
("Ordinary Shares") on such terms and in such manner as the directors of the Company may decide provided that:
By Order of the Board Anne McSherry Company Secretary 50 Lothian Road Edinburgh EH3 9BY
29 March 2022
In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited's specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the Registrars (ID RA19) by no later than 12.00 noon (BST) on Monday, 9 May 2022, or, in the event that the Meeting is adjourned, not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for the adjourned Meeting (excluding any part of any day that is not a working day). No such message received through the CREST network after this time will be accepted. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST core processor) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time, any change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s) should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his or her CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s) are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings, which can be viewed at www.euroclear.com. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001.4. You may appoint more than one proxy provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise rights attached to different Ordinary Shares. You may not appoint more than one proxy to exercise rights attached to any one Ordinary Share. To appoint more than one proxy, please contact the Registrars on 0371 384 2660 (for calls from within the United Kingdom) and +44 (0) 121 415 7047 (for calls from outside the United Kingdom) between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. (BST) on any Business Day. Please note that calls to these numbers may be monitored and recorded. Calls to +44 121 415 7047 from outside the United Kingdom are charged at applicable international rates.
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