Announcement
Falcon Acquisitions : Admission to Trading and First Day of Dealings
RNS Number : 1043M
Falcon Acquisitions Limited
18 January 2016
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, WITHIN, INTO OR IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN.
For Immediate Release
18 January 2016
Falcon Acquisitions Limited
("Falcon" or the "Company")
Admission to Trading and First Day of Dealings
Falcon Acquisitions Limited is pleased to announce that its entire issued ordinary share capital consisting of 20,375,100 Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each (the "Ordinary Shares") will today be admitted to the standard segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities (together, the "Admission"). Dealing will commence at 8:00 a.m. under the TIDM code "FAL" (ISIN: GG00BYTLL975).
Highlights
· Targeting acquisitions in the mobile, online television and broadcasting sectors with particular focus on the fast growing over-the-top content ("OTT") market - intention is to acquire controlling stakes, which will allow the Company to implement a strategy to generate substantial value for shareholders
· OTT is a rapidly growing market which involves delivering media content, such as audio and video, either over the open internet without a multiple-system operator or via an internet enabled device - smart televisions with a broadband connection, phones, tablets, and set top boxes
· Strong growth expected to continue - according to July 2015 whitepaper by MTM Research entitled "Prospects for Premium OTT in the USA: A snapshot of industry perspectives on the evolution of the market" (the "2015 Report") and Juniper Research Ltd:
o US premium OTT market (excluding Amazon Prime Instant Video) grew at a compound annual growth rate of 36% between 2011 and 2014 and was worth US$4 billion in 2014
o 40.3% of US TV households subscribed to at least one premium OTT service by end of 2014
o Structural growth drivers include: increased penetration of broadband and devices such as tablets and smartphones; increased willingness of consumers to pay for content; OTT undercuts more established pay-TV services; a wealthy and scalable US market, a world leader in technology and media; the success of Netflix which has stimulated competition
o Global OTT subscription numbers and market forecast to grow to 332.2 million (2014: 92.1 million) and US$31.6 billion (2018: US$8 billion) by 2019
· Total Net Proceeds available to the Company following a Subscription of New Ordinary Shares to investors and the Founder are £1,730,009 which will be used for general corporate purposes, due diligence costs and other costs associated with sourcing, reviewing and pursuing acquisitions
· The Board, comprising Gert Rieder (Executive Chairman), Mark Gustafson (Non-Executive Director), and William Kennish (Non-Executive Director), collectively has a proven track record of raising money for listed entities, making substantial acquisitions, and operating and growing a wide diversity of businesses, and has collectively subscribed for 450,000 shares on Admission
Gert Rieder, Falcon's Chairman, said "OTT is a fast growing market which is transforming the way millions of us access media content both in our homes and via mobile devices. This is due to a compelling combination of technological advancements, competitive pricing, enhanced flexibility compared to other competing systems, and the growing willingness of consumers to pay for content. Despite the strong growth seen to date, we believe there is significant room for additional growth and as the 2015 Report above demonstrates, we are not alone. With a management team in place which has a proven track record in building businesses in a variety of industries including telecommunications, media and technology, both organically and through acquisitions, we are highly confident we can do the same with Falcon and in the process generate substantial value for investors. I look forward to providing updates on our progress in due course."
The Prospectus published by the Company on 13 January 2016 in connection with the Admission can be found at www.falconacquisitions.com.
Defined terms in this announcement shall have the same meanings as in the Prospectus.
STATISTICS
ADMISSION STATISTICS
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Total number of Ordinary Shares unconditionally issued pre-Admission
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4,375,100
|
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Total number of Subscription Shares issued conditional on Admission
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16,000,000 |
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Total number of Ordinary Shares in issue on Initial Admission
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20,375,100 |
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Estimated costs in relation to incorporation, the Founder Subscription, the Subscription and Initial Admission
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£220,000 |
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Estimated Net Proceeds receivable by the Company
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£1,730,000 |
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Market capitalisation of the Company at the Subscription Price on Initial Admission
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£2,037,510 |
Directors
Gert Rieder, Executive Chairman
(born 2 June 1962 aged 53)
Mr Rieder, who is based in Denmark, has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive and consultant building companies, markets and revenues globally while heading up start-ups, advising on board positions, and leading business development and growth for companies and customers in Scandinavia, Europe and the Middle East. After graduating from Aarthus School of Business, Mr Rieder joined leading telecom provider Tele Danmark where he took on a series of commercial roles finally becoming a Product Director. He then moved to a telecom start-up Sunrise Communications in Switzerland where he joined as Chief Commercial Officer and was later promoted to Chief Operating Officer leading the product roadmap activities and successfully developing the initial product launch plan. At Danish TDC Fixnet Nordic he served as Executive Vice President and Member of Executive Board focusing on restructuring the organisation with emphasis on strengthening customer service and sales operation. He was also responsible for optimisation of distribution channels by redefining a nationwide chain of retail shops and call centres. He was also a Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Vopium, a global voice over internet protocol player, helping to prepare the company for listing on Euronext Paris. Mr Rieder also served as Chief Executive Officer of Batelco in Bahrain one of the leading telecom providers in the Middle East and Africa region and as Chief Executive Officer for Comendo Group, the leading provider of cloud-based IT-security solutions in Scandinavia - both publicly listed companies that focused on acquisitive growth.
Currently Mr Rieder is a non-executive director of Challenger Acquisitions Limited, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange that is focused on the attractions sector. In this role, he is responsible, together with his colleagues, for sourcing, negotiating and executing appropriate investment or acquisition opportunities. Mr Rieder is highly experienced in consumer marketing having built his career creating and selling products and services.
Mark Garland Gustafson, Non-executive Director
(born 23 November 1959 aged 55)
Mr Gustafson is a Canadian based Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in building public and private companies and arranging financing either as a senior executive or through his personal consulting company, M.G.G. Consulting. Over the span of his career he has been actively involved in numerous corporate acquisitions directly participating in debt and equity fund raisings totalling over 200 million Canadian dollars ("CAD"). After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse, Mr Gustafson joined EnServ Corporation where he spent 6 years helping to build the company through various acquisitions into a sizable energy services company, which in 1996 was acquired for CAD 229 million by Precision Drilling Corporation. Mr Gustafson then served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Total Energy Services Ltd, a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company providing oilfield rental services, for which he raised CAD 25 million. He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Triangle Petroleum Corporation where he helped to lead active exploration shale plays in North America and to raise over USD 84 million in convertible and equity instruments. More recently Mr Gustafson held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Euromax Resources Ltd. where he was responsible for securing funding of CAD 18 million to advance gold and base metal projects in Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Previously Mr Gustafson served as Chairman of Tuzo Energy Corporation, overseeing an unconventional oil and gas company and helping to raise CAD 50 million in private equity funding to advance this project.
Currently Mr Gustafson is Chief Executive Officer of Challenger Acquisitions Limited (and director of several subsidiaries of Challenger Acquisitions Limited), a company listed on the London Stock Exchange that is focused on the attractions sector. He is also a director of the Founder. In both of these roles, Mr Gustafson is responsible, together with his colleagues, for sourcing, negotiating an executing appropriate investment or acquisition opportunities. Mr Gustafson is experienced in successfully developing and growing start-up businesses through focused acquisitions into commercially viable companies.
William Clark Kennish, Non-executive Director
(born 26 May 1966, aged 49)
Mr Kennish is a London based investment banker and adviser who has specialised in the Telecoms, Media and Technology space for over 20 years. Since 2013, he has been a managing director of TAP Securities, where he advises on transactions in the Telecoms sector, which continues to be his principal activity. Prior to joining TAP, Mr Kennish was a Senior Managing Director and Head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa TMET investment banking practice at Macquarie Capital in London. From 2006 until 2010, he was a Managing Director and Head of the EMEA TMT investment banking group at Citi. During his career, Mr Kennish has extensive experience in telecoms M&A and capital raising and has advised on a variety of landmark transactions in the sector.
Mr Kennish graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1989 with a degree in history and economics and received an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1994.
**ENDS**
For more information visit www.falconacquisitions.com or contact:
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Falcon Acquisitions Limited |
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Gert Rieder |
+43 51 52 30 00 |
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St Brides Partners Ltd (PR) |
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Lottie Brocklehurst, Frank Buhagiar |
+44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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