Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement • Oct 10, 2014
Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement
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THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt about the contents of this document, you should consult a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, if you are within the United Kingdom, or a person licensed to carry on investment business in accordance with the Financial Services Act 2008, if you are within the Isle of Man and, in either case, who specialises in advising on the acquisition of shares and other securities.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares, please send this document, together with the other accompanying documents, at once to the purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected, for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
| Directors: | Registered Office: | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr P P C Gregory | Harbour Court | |
| Dr L S Polonsky CBE | Lord Street | |
| Mr G S Marr | Box 192 | |
| Mr M Dyson | Douglas | |
| Mr A C Frepp | IM99 1QL | |
| Mr M A L Polonsky (Alternate) |
10th October 2014
Dear Shareholder,
The Directors of Hansard Global plc (the "Company") wish to take the opportunity at the forthcoming annual general meeting (the "Annual General Meeting"), notice of which appears in the document accompanying this letter, to propose two items of special business. I set out below the reasons why these proposals will be put to Shareholders.
If you would like to vote on the resolutions, but you are unable to attend the Annual General Meeting, please complete the proxy form attached to this notice and return it to the Isle of Man office of the Company's share registrars, Capita Registrars (Isle of Man) Limited, Clinch's House, Lord Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1RZ by no later than 9.00 am on 4th November 2014.
The approval of Shareholders is sought for the Company to be authorised to purchase its own shares, within the limits set out in the attached notice, until whichever is the earlier of: (i) the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in 2015 or (ii) 15 months after the date on which the proposed resolution is passed.
Shares will only be repurchased under the authority granted pursuant to this resolution if the Directors consider such purchases to be in the best interests of Shareholders generally. The authority will only be used after careful consideration, taking into account market conditions prevailing at the time, the constitution of the Company's existing shareholder base, other investment opportunities, appropriate gearing levels and the overall financial position of the Company.
The current Directors' authority to allot shares will expire on 6th November 2014 and it is proposed to renew this authority for the period commencing 6th November 2014 and ending on the date of the Company's next annual general meeting in 2015 or (if earlier) 15 months following the Annual General Meeting, subject to this authority being limited to 6,000,000 ordinary shares (being approximately 4.4% of the issued share capital of the Company).
In accordance with the recommendations of the UK Corporate Governance Code the Directors will each retire and seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting. The Board believes that the performance of the Directors continues to be effective and that they continue to demonstrate commitment to their roles. The Company therefore also considers each of the independent Directors will be an effective Director. None of the independent Directors seeking re-election have any existing or previous relationship with the Company, the other directors, nor any controlling shareholder of the Company or any associate of a controlling shareholder of the Company within the meaning of Listing Rule 13.8.17R(2)
As a result of recent changes to the Listing Rules, independent Directors are now required to be elected or re-elected by a majority of votes cast by independent shareholders as well as by a majority of votes cast by all shareholders. Therefore the votes cast by independent shareholders and all shareholders will be calculated separately and will only be passed if a majority of votes cast by independent shareholders are in favour, in addition to a majority of votes cast by all shareholders being in favour. In the event that this formulation results in a resolution not being passed, another vote will be organised after 90 days. The resolutions impacted by the dual voting structure at the meeting are Resolutions 5, 6 and 8.
Copies of the Company's articles of association will be available for inspection at the Company's registered office, the address of which appears above, during usual business hours on weekdays (Saturdays and public holidays excluded) until the conclusion of the Company's Annual General Meeting to be held on 6th November 2014. Alternatively, a copy may be obtained by contacting the Company Secretary, Mr M B Patel at the above address; by telephoning (00 44) 1624 688000 or by email: [email protected].
As required under the recent revisions to the Listing Rules the Company confirms that it has in place an Agreement with Dr Polonsky CBE, as a controlling shareholder which is available for inspection in the same way as the Company's articles of association.
The Directors consider that all the resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting are in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole. The Board will be voting in favour of the said resolutions and they unanimously recommend that you do so as well.
Yours faithfully,
Philip Gregory Chairman
OF
(the "Company")
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held on 6th November 2014 in the Board Room, Harbour Court, Lord Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1QL at 9.00 am for the transaction of the following business:
| Ordinary Resolution No 1 | that the Company's financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2014, together with the Directors' report and auditor's report on those financial statements be and they are hereby adopted. |
|---|---|
| Ordinary Resolution No 2 | that the Remuneration Report of the Board of Directors for the year ended 30th June 2014 be and it is hereby adopted. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 3 | that a final dividend for the year ended 30th June 2014 of 5 pence per ordinary share in the capital of the Company be and is hereby declared payable on 13th November 2014 to shareholders registered in the books of the Company on 3rd October 2014. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 4 | that Dr L S Polonsky CBE be and is hereby re-appointed as a Director of the Company. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 5 | that Mr M Dyson be and is hereby re-appointed as a Director of the Company. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 6 | that Mr P P C Gregory be and is hereby re-appointed as a Director of the Company. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 7 | that Mr G S Marr be and is hereby re-appointed as a Director of the Company. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 8 | that Mr A C Frepp be and is hereby re-appointed as a Director of the Company. |
| Ordinary Resolution No 9 | that Mr M A L Polonsky be and is hereby re-appointed as an Alternate Director of the Company (being an alternate for Dr L S Polonsky CBE). |
| Ordinary Resolution No 10 that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, Isle of Man be and they are hereby appointed as auditor of the Company from the conclusion of the meeting to the conclusion of the next meeting at which accounts are laid before the Company and that the Directors be and they are hereby authorised to determine their remuneration. |
By order of the Board M B Patel
Company Secretary Dated: 10th October 2014
Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to attend and vote at general meetings of the Company. The total number of issued ordinary shares in the Company on 3rd October 2014, which is the latest practicable date before the publication of this document, is 137,379,634. On a vote by show of hands every member who is present has one vote and every proxy present who has been duly appointed by a member entitled to vote has one vote. On a poll vote every member who is present in person or by proxy has one vote for every ordinary share of which he is the holder.
Entitlement to attend and vote at the meeting, and the number of votes which may be cast at the meeting, will be determined by reference to the Company's register of members at 6.00 pm on 4th November 2014 or, if the meeting is adjourned, 48 hours before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting (as the case may be). In each case, changes to the register of members after such time will be disregarded.
Members may vote electronically, by no later than 9.00 am on 4th November 2014, by visiting www.capitashareportal.com. They will be asked to enter the Investor Code shown on their share certificate or dividend tax voucher and to agree to certain terms and conditions.
In order for a proxy appointment made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with CRESTCO's specifications and must contain information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message must be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA10) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in this Notice. 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 Application Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that CRESTCO 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 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 providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
Hansard Global plc (the "Company")
I/We
of
being (a) member(s) of the Company hereby appoint:
whom failing the Chairman of the Meeting, as my/our proxy to vote for me/us on my/our behalf at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in the Board Room, Harbour Court, Lord Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1QL on 6th November 2014 at 9.00 am and at any adjournment thereof.
I/We request such proxy to vote on the following resolutions as indicated below:
(Please mark with an "X" how you wish to vote)
Please tick here if this proxy appointment is one of multiple appointments being made
| ORDINARY BUSINESS |
For | Against | Vote Withheld |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Resolution 1 | to receive the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts and the auditor's report thereon. |
|||
| Ordinary Resolution 2 | to approve the Remuneration Report for the year ended 30th June 2014. |
|||
| Ordinary Resolution 3 | to declare the final dividend of 5 pence per ordinary share for the year ended 30th June 2014. |
|||
| Ordinary Resolution 4 | to re-appoint Dr L S Polonsky CBE as a Director. | |||
| Ordinary Resolution 5 | to re-appoint Mr M Dyson as a Director. | |||
| Ordinary Resolution 6 | to re-appoint Mr P P C Gregory as a Director. | |||
| Ordinary Resolution 7 | to re-appoint Mr G S Marr as a Director. | |||
| Ordinary Resolution 8 | to re-appoint Mr A C Frepp as a Director. | |||
| Ordinary Resolution 9 | to re-appoint Mr M A L Polonsky as an Alternate Director (alternate to Dr L S Polonsky CBE). |
|||
| Ordinary Resolution 10 | to re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, Isle of Man as auditor and to authorise the Directors to determine their remuneration. |
|||
| SPECIAL BUSINESS | Vote | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For | Against | Withheld | ||
| Special Resolution 11 | to renew the Company's authority to purchase its own shares. |
|||
| Special Resolution 12 | to renew the Directors' authority to allot shares. |
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________Dated: ________________________________
Joint Holders (if any):___________________________________________________________________
To assist with arrangements, if you intend to be present at the meeting in person please mark an "X" in the box . 7
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